It took more than 30 years, but someone finally broke Freddie Spencer’s record as the youngest winner ever of a GP in the Premier class (formerly the 500cc GP class). Both 20 years old, Honda’s Marc Marquez turned the trick 4-1/2 months earlier in life when he won the Austin MotoGP event Sunday.
Marquez stalked Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa the first half of the race before eventually taking the lead and then gaping the second place finisher. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo followed them home in third place.
The high-speed track favored the Hondas, as Lorenzo struggled to keep touch with the Repsol teammates at the front. The next Yamaha home was ridden by Cal Crutchlow, while factory rider Valentino Rossi finished sixth complaining of brake issues.
The Americans participating in the event did not fare too well, as reflected in the results.
After two races, Marquez and Lorenzo are tied for the championship points lead. For additional details, results and points, visit the official MotoGP site here.
|
Pos. |
Points |
Num. |
Rider |
Nation |
Team |
Bike |
Km/h |
Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 158.9 |
43’42.123 |
| 2 | 20 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 158.8 |
+1.534 |
| 3 | 16 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 158.7 |
+3.381 |
| 4 | 13 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 158.5 |
+6.616 |
| 5 | 11 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 158.1 |
+12.674 |
| 6 | 10 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 157.9 |
+16.615 |
| 7 | 9 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 157.6 |
+22.374 |
| 8 | 8 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | Honda | 157.5 |
+22.854 |
| 9 | 7 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 156.9 |
+33.773 |
| 10 | 6 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing | Ducati | 156.4 |
+42.112 |
| 11 | 5 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 156.0 |
+48.837 |
| 12 | 4 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 155.9 |
+50.705 |
| 13 | 3 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Ignite Pramac Racing | Ducati | 154.5 |
+1’14.132 |
| 14 | 2 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 154.4 |
+1’15.651 |
| 15 | 1 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART | 154.2 |
+1’19.591 |
| 16 | 70 | Michael LAVERTY | GBR | Paul Bird Motorsport | PBM | 153.4 |
+1’34.391 |
|
| 17 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | Avintia Blusens | FTR | 153.1 |
+1’39.823 |
|
| 18 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Blusens | FTR | 153.1 |
+1’39.952 |
|
| 19 | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | FTR Kawasaki | 152.7 |
+1’46.773 |
|
| 20 | 67 | Bryan STARING | AUS | GO&FUN Honda Gresini | FTR Honda | 152.6 |
+1’48.084 |
|
| 21 | 79 | Blake YOUNG | USA | Attack Performance Racing | APR | 151.1 |
1 Lap |
Anyone doubt he could have won a moto gp race last year?
The facilities at COTA were extremely nice. The track looked beautful and very smooth with some interesting turns and elevation changes. Would be a gas to do a track day there !!
The kid has “world champion” written all over him. Amazing riding style, too. Modern lean angles are incredible.
BTW this report once again has twice the hits that the WSBK race at Aragon report had. Same as all of last year….. MotoGP always generates way more posts than WSBK. There must some interest in MotoGP.
Post count on congressional discussions are high too but it’s not positive interest.
Agree but on this forum time after time, for the last couple of years its stated NOBODY is interested in MOtoGP because its so boring, and WSBK is where all the interest lies, yet MotoGP consistently generates twice as much discussion as WSBK. If there would be no interest, there would be no chatter.
Having been spoiled by real competition in WSBK races, I thought this race was somewhat boring after the shootout @ Qatar. Yes, closer competition makes a race more exciting. Knowing who’s going to win doesn’t. As a racer it feels better if you walk away from your competition.
Obviously you didn’t read my post below comparing results of WSBK vs MotoGP.
Austin was my first in-person motoGP. Despite the overpriced food, I enjoyed the experience and expect to return next year. Having said that, though, the “undercards” were far more exciting than the main event — the Moto2 was great fun.
If Marquez had not had the head injury 2 years ago, he would easily beaten Bradl for the Moto 2 championship,
and would have come to MotoGP LAST year.
Very possibly, he might have won a race LAST year.
I think you meant he was “gapping” him. Pedroa was “gaping”, probably, along with everyone else.
Boring? Did you guys even watch the Qatar race? This year MotoGP is and will be exciting for the first time in a few. A big part of the problem here is the coverage in the US which is usually cut up and crammed into a one hour slot between NASCAR shows. For the last three seasons I’ve plunked down the 99 Euros for the online season access and it is the way to go if you’re at all interested in MotoGP. For less than $8 a race weekend you get all of the practice, qualifying and racing for all three classes! Race coverage typically starts 40 minutes before the warm up lap and ends after the post race interviews. If you can watch the the Moto3 race from Sunday and tell me it was boring then I don’t believe you really like motorcycle racing.
I guess I’m one of the few who don’t find MotoGP boring also. Racing is racing. MotoGP is supposed to be an open class where the factories showcase their latest and greatest in both rider and machine. If one firm has found a few extra horsepower hiding that gives them the edge over their rivals then that’s racing. The competition then needs to work harder. But power isn’t everything as we all know. Just because a rider runs away from the pack is good racing also. If you were racing wouldn’t you be proud of yourself for leaving the rest far behind? If you sit back and demand that the racing be closer then guess what? You’ll have rules and regulations aimed at dumbing down the field to a lower common denominator and what fun is that. No thanks!
I agree ^^^ good comment.
Altho, I really enjoy close racing too — like flat-track.
Re: MotoGp / COTA, I was sort’a expecting the front-runners to either expire or run-out of fuel or ?? — things like that happen…
In this case, it was a Honda “show of force” — like the Honda of old.
“If you sit back and demand that the racing be closer then guess what? You’ll have rules and regulations aimed at dumbing down the field to a lower common denominator and what fun is that. No thanks!”
Equipment does not equal racing, competition does. If one make has an advantage that the others can’t or won’t match (too expensive) then their incentive to participate vanishes and nobody, not even you would watch the same bike go faster than all the others every single week for long. Every racing form that has ever fallen into this rut has either changed its rules or gone extinct.
I understand what you’re saying but again, this is MotoGP. This is the “open” class. Yes, it is expensive and during lean times it makes it even leaner. I want to see what the factories have wrought, both in machine and rider. Just taking Honda as an example, a very long history of technical innovations that in one form or another trickle down to what we see on the street. If the bikes are artificially dumbed down to meet some lower level just to increase the number of riders in a close race then where does true innovation come from? How do the factories showcase new developments that push forward engine and frame technologies?
They find a way. If the cost of entry is too high the class will go extinct. Supercross fills stadiums and privateers bikes are very close to the level of factory bikes (Andrew Short was competitive on a lightly prepped Honda that he bought himself). I’m not saying it should be a spec class, but it has to be attainable. More competition = more legitimacy which I think will lead them back to positive growth.
I agree, I didn’t find the coverage boring at all. The Marquez/Pedrosa battle was a lot of fun for most of the race, Lorenzo tried to make a charge around the middle, and it’s always a nailbiter to see if Crutchlow will run off the track and/or crash.
Everyone thought Qatar was exciting, must be that any race in which Rossi does not contend will be labeled by the folks here as “boring”.
Moto2 was awesome at both venues.
Kid looks fast and in control. A new alien in Repsol colors has replaced the old alien in Repsol colors.
Other than Marquez/Pedrosa battle it was boring to watch but I think the track contributed to a lot of that. Too technical, too any turns, not enough places to pass. You could see how the turns were spreading the riders out. Not a fun track from a tv spectators stand point.
Y’all know how I feel about MotoGp vs WSBK but lets examine the results of the first two races:
WSBK. Both races won by same rider by a comfortable margin. Same guy gets second both races. Two different guys get third. 4 different guys on podium
MotoGP.. Two races, two different winners with the second race being a close finish, two different second places and two different third places, 4 different guys on podium. It would apear MotoGP is more competitive to me.
I think in the end it will show in both formats that there will be only 3 maybe 4 riders capable of winning the championship.
Great ride by what I think will be an all time great rider but the first two comments pretty much cover it, with a few exceptions MotoGP is dull.
I really hope the FIM will stop kowtowing to Honda (and probably Yamaha to a degree) and get back to providing a good show. Ten years ago F1 was as or more dull than MotoGP today. They put real effort into improving the show and the results speak for themselves. Sunday’s F1 race was dull by F1 standards and about ten times better than the Austin race.
I can’t give raivkka a comments from a riders point of view but I was in Austin for the F1 race last fall, from a spectator’s POV this track is incredible. It makes my local track (Laguna Seca) look like the refuge from the fifties it is. If there is an event at COTA you are interested in I recommend going. Just be sure to wear your Kevin Schwantz hat/ shirt/ jacket.
Goose
Surely some mistake – Rossi COMPLAINING of something on his bike??? Only Stoner complained about his bike, as I was constantly reminded while my compatriot was riding. Or at least thats what some would have you believe 🙂
I read he was missing a chunk out of one of his carbon rotors.
Here’s to hoping that the gremlin that affected the M1 of Spies all last year didn’t find its way into Rossi’s garage…
re: “When domestic viewer rating are behind WSB and even our local championship, alarms should be ringing (motogp).”
getting one’s mitts on WSBK is the corporate equivalent of hitting the MUTE button.
damn, i might have a new favorite racer. this kid touching his elbow down is quite a spectacle. plus he’s friendly and easy-going. i realize this is coming very early, but my money says he’ll be a multiple champion and a great ambassador of the sport for a long time to come.
as far as this race goes, i agree it was boring. honda (not just marquez) found something at COTA that none of the other factories could match. Jorge will be more of a factor in the remaining races, and I still expect him to be the champ in ’13.
Re: ” honda (not just marquez) found something at COTA that none of the other factories could match.”
Many think it’s Honda’s special zero loss gearbox and this track which is full of lower speed corners and longer straightaways.
90V’s and million buck boxes… they kick like a mutha…!
Good race by the young kid and the track looked really nice.
I would like to see some rider comments on the track.
But, once again MotoGP delivers a REALLY BORING race.
When domestic viewer rating are behind WSB and even our local championship, alarms should be ringing (motogp).