Montmeló (Spain) (AFP) - Spain’s Alex Marquez, on a Kalex, stormed to victory in the Catalan Moto2 on Sunday to take the lead in the category’s standings.

Marquez, younger brother of MotoGP champion Marc, clocked 38min 25.678sec to finish ahead of Switzerland’s Thomas Luthi, with another Spaniard, Jorge Navarro, rounding out the podium at the Montmelo circuit.

The victory saw Marquez leapfrog Italian teammate Lorenzo Baldassarri in the standings.

There was more glory for Spain in the Moto3 when Marcos Ramirez, on a Honda, notched up his maiden victory, and in doing so became the 12th different winner in the last 12 races in the highly competitive class.

Ramirez took the lead from Honda teammate Kaito Toba after the Japanese, who started 24th on the grid, fell on the final lap.

Despite a last-corner pass attempt from KTM’s Spanish rider Aron Canet, Ramirez held on through to the line of a chaotic, crash-marred race.

Spain’s Canet heads up the riders’ standings, extending his lead from three points before the race to 23, with his closest rival Lorenzo Dalla Porta forced to retire with trouble on board his Honda.