Marc Marquez (Honda) returned to his winning ways at Round 2 of the 2015 MotoGP championship held in Austin, Texas earlier today. Overcoming early leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), Marquez rode away to a sizable gap over second place and cruised to the win. Dovizioso finished second with Round 1 winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) finishing third.
Rossi leads the championship by a single point over Dovizioso after two rounds. For additional details, results and points, visit the official MotoGP site. Below is the finishing order of the riders credited with completing the race.
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 43’47.150 |
| 2 | 20 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | Ducati | +2.354 |
| 3 | 16 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +3.120 |
| 4 | 13 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +6.682 |
| 5 | 11 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati Team | Ducati | +7.584 |
| 6 | 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +10.557 |
| 7 | 9 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | CWM LCR Honda | Honda | +16.967 |
| 8 | 8 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +19.025 |
| 9 | 7 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +38.570 |
| 10 | 6 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +41.796 |
| 11 | 5 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +47.199 |
| 12 | 4 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +47.339 |
| 13 | 3 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | +56.484 |
| 14 | 2 | 43 | Jack MILLER | CWM LCR Honda | Honda | +56.731 |
| 15 | 1 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +57.372 |
| 16 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | +58.898 | |
| 17 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Athinà Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | +1’08.787 | |
| 18 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Octo IodaRacing Team | ART | +1’22.236 |
I’d like to see Marc do this on anything but a Honda. I doubt he could. HRC has the most championships money can buy and they throw a fit every time Dorna proposes a rule change that doesnt favor them and threaten to take their toys and go home.
Years ago I sent an e-mail to MD after it carried on and crowed about “Little Princess Nicky.”
It seems a Yank had made it to prominence in the world of MotoGP.
Sure, he got there on Miguel Duhamel’s ticket.
I reminded MD that the winningest rider on the circut was Rossi and their reportage seemed biased to reflect a very patriotic theme.
This was about ten years ago. The “flash in the pan” riders come and go, but talent hangs around.
The only question is how many more championships is Rossi after.
What will come next after this season?
The electric championship?
Rossi vs. Hayden at Ducati: What the Numbers Tell Us – http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2013/07/rossi-vs-hayden-at-ducati-what-the-numbers-tell-us/ . Not bad for a “Little Princess”.
Undoutably they both have talent and skill.
They all must have at this level of competition.
What I find amazing is Rossi’s ability to “educate” other riders by showing them the passing strategy he uses. After a lap or two he will let them pass him then set up and take the lead again. When the current victim tries to perform the pass again Rossi will change his line and stuff the other rider.
Racing is not just about being fast. Rossi is also among the smoothest riders on the track. He has proven his ability on slower torquier bikes time and again by winning or coming in second. Even third place gets championship points.
Qualifying on a motorcycle is generaly done against the clock, racing is a group event where there is one victor. A comparison is interesting, yet does not illustrate the varying degrees of talent that seperates the pack from the pack leader(s).
The question, I suppose, is one of drive. What is the motivation. What makes a rider like Miguel Duhamil jump up and charge back to his bike immediately after low-siding and another slump like a wilted daisy after doing the same. I know the topic is Rossi, but they are among a group of riders driven to succeed at motorcycle racing, through what seems to be the joy of expressing technical skill on two wheels.
Isn’t that what motorcycle racing is all about?
Respectable and consistent placing by Ducati, looks like the real deal finally.
Rossi finishing within 5 seconds of Marquez compared to his performance here the past 2 years.
If JL’s helmet and bronchioles behave, I’m sure he will perform as well.
Looks to be more promising in the next few rounds. I don’t see a Marquez slaughter like last year.
Pretty cool of MM93 to wear a stars ‘n’ stripes themed helmet, no?
Yes indeed! When the top dog pays his respects to the locals like that, it looks good on both him and the sport.
Jeremy is correct, “No surprises here” but if you think Rossi fans are bummed out, what about Nick Haden’s fans? I wish Nick would hang Moto GP up and go for his grand slam while he promotes Moto America.
What was the attendance figures for each day?
1+ on the Grand Slam idea. Would SO love to see him pull that off.
Yes, Hayden is washed up at this level, I believe, though I don’t blame him one bit for playing this out as long as he can. I think he is just one of those riders who hasn’t adapted to the electronics as well? But who knows, maybe he would perform like an alien were he on a Repsol Honda again.
It could be that Hayden’s not had a remotely competitive bike since leaving Honda. The year after his championship Honda built a bike taylored to a much smaller Pedrosa. Possibly never has a MotoGP champ been so disrespected by his factory as Hayden was by Honda. The Ducati’s have not been competitive until this year, except for a few wins by Stoner (Stoner’s Ducati championship year excluded, when he had a bike with killer horsepower). Everyone thought Rossi was washed up too, on the Ducati, but now look at him. Give him Marquez’s bike and Rossi may well win the championship. My point is, don’t discount the importance of the bike. If Hayden had this year’s Honda or Ducati, he would be a top 5 rider again, I have little doubt about that. I don’t think he would be a good fit for the Yamaha, given his riding style, but on the Honda or Ducati, he could still be reasonably competitive.
re: “never has a MotoGP champ been so disrespected by his factory as Hayden was by Honda.”
well, you might wanna think about that. Ross doesn’t own the only V5 outside the Motegi collection…
Nick does.
“My point is, don’t discount the importance of the bike.”
Oh, I don’t. At this level of racing, I think it is the most important component. If I remember correctly, Rossi, Dovi and Stoner routinely outmatched Hayden on the same bike.
If the bike was most important. Aoyama would have finished higher in some of the races he was in since he was riding Dani’s factory bike (and actually had the highest trap speed at Cota). Don’t dismiss rider talent. It allows guys like Rossi and Marquez to come from behind and win.
When Nicky was paired with Rossi at Ducati only two seasons ago he ran the same basic laptimes and scored similar race points. Everyone thought Rossi might have been washed up, but the truth was the Ducati was just that bad. Now that Rossi is on a good bike again, hey, what do you know, suddenly he’s Valentino Rossi again. Nicky isn’t Rossi or Marquez, but if had their bikes and they had his Open Honda you can bet your ass he’d be spanking them every race while consistently fighting for podiums.
re: “Now that Rossi is on a good bike again, hey, what do you know, suddenly he’s Valentino Rossi again.”
behold, my Law of NATCORK.
other examples of the Law being “obeyed”…
Melandri
Haslam (Ron’s boy)
Rea
Guintoli
Dovi
Iannone
The question isn’t whether or not Hayden could beat Marquez if they switched bikes – of course he could. The question is where would he fall in the pecking order if everyone currently racing GP had the same bike. My guess – routinely in 6th – 10th place, but who knows?
There is a reason he has been labeled as a B-level rider. I have to think the factory hawks watch him perform and determine if they think he can get on the podium more frequently with their kit than the current racers on payroll, and my take on it is that it has been determined in paddocks is that he doesn’t have what it takes. Maybe it doesn’t happen that way, or maybe it is unfair and he could prove everyone wrong if he could just score a few laps on a Repsol Honda.
Understand I don’t think Hayden sucks. I just don’t think he has a chance at ever getting on a competitive bike again, fair or not.
In terms of choosing riders, those “factory hawks” aren’t nearly as important as are the corporate sponsors. This is why Dani Pedrosa was given Nicky’s #1 seat on the Repsol Honda team in 2007, despite the fact that Nicky had just beaten him straight-up the previous season. Nicky was the reigning world champion and still Spanish corporate giant Repsol conspicuously chose to develop the new bike around the unproven Spaniard, who went on to reward Honda with, count ’em, zero championships over the ensuing decade.
Even to this day, Dani retains that plum ride.
Check their passports. While you’re at it, check the passports of every full Factory rider. It should come as no surprise that each and every one of them is either Spanish or Italian. The Brits are making inroads, but they still don’t have any full Factory rides.
Had Nicky been born Italian or Spanish there is no way he gets demoted to second fiddle-status in 2007 and thereafter, after winning the title in 2006. This simply does not happen. It never had before, and hasn’t since. Nicky was screwed in pointedly singular fashion, entirely due to sponsor jingoism/politics. To his credit, he went on to race Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso to virtual stand-offs when he was (second)teamed with them at Ducati, proving to any reasonable person that indeed Nicky can ride with anyone, given somewhat equal machinery.
American riders in the MotoGp era are given opportunities, yes, but those opportunities come with very short leashes. See: Ben Spies and Nicky Haden. Conversely, Dorna’s favorite-son Spanish riders practically have to kill the pope on live TV before they’ll lose their rides.
Talent is talent, but among equal talents it’s all about the passports.
I agree with Jeremy. Nicky was not a spectacular MotoGP rider…ever. He won 3 races in his entire career and majorly lucked out in winning the title in 06. Anybody that looks at the body of the 2006 season and doesn’t realize that is just being a Hayden Homer. Hayden was never going to come close again to winning another World Championship. Never, no matter what bike he was on. As far as the unproven Pedrosa getting his ride, MotoGP was implementing rules that would not have been favorable to one of Hayden’s square it up, point and shoot riding style. The new 800s were going to require high corner speeds, just like the 250’s, and who was 250 World Champion the previous year? Dani Pedrosa. It’s true Pedrosa has not directly handed Honda a World Champion, but with his astronomical on podium percentage he has kept an absolute ton of points out of Yamaha riders hands, in effect contributing to many Honda World Championships.
I’m with VLJ on this. Obviously the cream generally rises to the top, but once you get close luck, sponsors, economic climate, global warming, nationality, sponsor’s nationality, sanctioning body’s nationality, who has pictures of who, interview-ability, charm and karma all play into where a rider will end up. Same thing in F1. Same thing in any sport or pursuit where somebody else’s money is paying the bills. Honda screwed Nicky but there were a whirlwind of other factors IMHO: Pedrosa (Spanish), Repsol (Spanish), Puig (douchebag), DORNA (equipment change) along with Hayden’s less than dominating championship. The politics don’t always have the final say but more and more frequently as money becomes tighter backroom dealings help determine outcomes. I’m not saying MotoGP is fixed – no more than any other high-profile sport – but you have to recognize that there are things more important than how much a particular rider deserves the best bike. Maybe that’s why I’m such a fan of Moto3. As 5 guys try to stuff it in one corner just to show they can one-up each other in a frenzy of testosterone and sheer talent, the series political and economic realities tend to fade into the background for me. YMMV.
mickey, of course Dani has an astronomical podium percentage. He’s ridden a Repsol Honda his entire freaking career! LOL!
As for being a Homer, well, anyone who doesn’t see that Dani has been given unprecedented preferential treatment due to his passport and Alberto Puig’s omnipresence with Repsol is delusional. Nicky outrode Dani in 2006. Period. He outrode everyone in 2006. Period. He won the world title. At the end of the season, he had amassed more points than anyone in the championship. That’s a season-long achievement, and it doesn’t occur through sheer dint of good fortune. He put in the work, and was consistently fast. And, unlike Dani, he stayed upright and beat his teammate. In fact, he earned his championship despite his teammate, who nearly sabotaged his season.
The guy deserved better from Honda. No other reigning world champion was ever screwed over the way Nicky was in 2007 by Repsol. I know you’re a bit of a motorcycle Grand Prix history buff, so you know I’m right. What Repsol did to Nicky was without precedent, and it hasn’t been repeated. You know damn well that had Nicky been a Spanish rider there is no way Repsol does him like that, immediately after he’d brought home the world title.
The bottom line is the guy competed on equal terms with Rossi and Dovi despite being the #2 rider on those Ducati teams, so there is no reason to say he’s washed up. He’s no more washed up than they are. The only difference is the rides, and the team structures, both of which are clearly determined by one’s passport.
I will not argue whether Hayden was World Champion in 2006 nor that he ended the season with more points than anyone else that year. He clearly did (barely). 2 wins. Hardly dominating. Tell me another MotoGP champion with only 2 wins in his championship season? You can’t.
Nicky Haden is one of the most liked, most well respected guys in the MotoGP paddock. Great guy. Everybody likes him. If that’s the case (and it is) why would Honda not want him on their team. Because he’s American? Conversely Stoner is generally disliked by everyone, a whiner, complainer, the other riders dislike him, why would Honda WANT him on their team (after all he’s not Spanish..or..Italian.. so he has the wrong passport). Only one reason, and you know what that is. They believe Stoner can win, they don’t think Hayden can. Period.
Ben Spies was the next American coming.. had a factory ride, he didn’t produce, he couldn’t cut it and quit. It wasn’t because he wasn’t Spanish.
I think this whole Spanish conspiracy is a bunch of whoeee that Americans blame because we can’t produce any World Class road racers anymore because only an tiny fraction of motorcyclists in America cares a hoot about road racing. Wayne Rainey recognizes that. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t understand that.
My personal opinion is Honda/Yamaha/Ducati/Suzuki are companies with billions of dollars invested, willing to pay riders who can win millions of dollars per year. They don’t care if it’s a Spaniard,an Italian,a Brit,a German,a Frenchman, an Aussie, an Asian, or an American on top of their machine as long as they can produce. If that were not the case, wouldn’t EVERY rider in MotoGP be Spanish?
mickey, Nicky WON the championship. He produced, at the highest level. He beat Dani, straight-up. He beat Valentino Rossi, straight-up. He beat EVERYONE, straight-up, and he did so despite his own teammate doing his damndest to submarine Nicky’s title chances. Who cares if Nicky only won two races that season? He won the championship, which is clearly a more difficult thing to do than merely winning races here and there. Dani didn’t do it, “barely” or otherwise, nor has he done it in the seventy-three other seasons he’s seemingly been on that top-shelf Repsol Honda.
No way in the world Repsol does to Dani what they did to Nicky in ’07, not if Dani wins the title in ’06. Conversely, there’s no way in the world Dani retains his Repsol Honda ride for ten straight seasons without winning a title, not if he’s American.
Not a chance. None.
C’mon VLJ you know that in 2006 Hayden did not “outride” Rossi. Rossi won 5 races that year to Haydens 2. The title that year came down to Rossi’s three DNF’s due to mechanical failures. Even with that, Hayden only beat Rossi by 5 points for the championship. Rossi also lost 5 point when Elias beat Rossi in Portugal by something like 2/1000’s of a second. Rossi wins that race he is World Champion.It wasn’t Hayden “outriding” Rossi that won him the title it was a myriad of other little things that handed the title to Hayden by default.
I have asked this question before which no Hayden fan wants to answer. It’s 2015, you own the company, you have 1 factory bike needing a rider. You want to win. Is Nicky Hayden your first choice to pilot that factory bike? Is that who you would offer that bike to?
To answer your question, no, Nicky isn’t my first choice in that scenario. The thing is, neither is Dani Pedrosa, yet Dani has retained his plum ride for ten seasons despite never producing a championship, while Nicky was demoted the year following his world title.
That’s the point.
Now, let me turn it around on you. You have one race to win, or one championship to secure. Given equal machinery, equal seat-time on their rides, equal bike-rider development, and equal support from the factory, who do you pick to win in a no-holds-barred, mano-a-mano fight to the finish, Dani or Nicky?
Nicky is not going to lose to that guy, not if he has a fair chance of beating him. Nicky will gut it out and find a way. Dani will fold like a circus tent.
Re: “It’s true Pedrosa has not directly handed Honda a World Champion, but with his astronomical on podium percentage he has kept an absolute ton of points out of Yamaha riders hands, in effect contributing to many Honda World Championships.”
*3*. Dani Pedrosa made that contribution to 3 championships after 2006, 2 of which belong to Marc Marquez. After 2006 it was 2011 before Honda won the title again.
While very few riders have won the title with only 2 wins on the season, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, and Kenny Roberts Jr. all won titles with fewer than 5 wins on their seasons.
Also, when Nicky was paired with Dovi at Ducati a season later, it was the same story. He consistently ran neck-and-neck with Dovi. Rossi and Dovi didn’t suddenly become immensely better riders in the past year, while Nicky somehow became a boat anchor. No, it’s simply that Rossi’s and Dovi’s bikes became immensely better while Nicky has been riding a boat anchor. Again, make Nicky and Dovi swap bikes now and it’s Nicky qualifying well and consistently running near the front and it’s Dovi struggling to get a sniff of the Factory and Satellite bikes.
The guy didn’t forget how to ride, nor did he lose his desire to win. He’s simply saddled with an entirely uncompetitive machine in a class where the slightest advantage among near-equals means the difference between a Top Three vs a Top Ten finish. All the Open bike riders can hope to accomplish is the kissing-one’s-sister thrill of being the top Open bike, which means they may snag a few championship points here and there. That’s it. That’s as good as it gets, no matter who’s riding those sleds.
Retire at 32 years old? Can you imagine of any mere mortals like ourselves tried that? If he can get paid 1+ mil per year to travel the world and ride fast motorbikes, I don’t blame him. The future otherwise wouldn’t be as fruitful financially.
Unless Kentucky Kid bootcamp?
I’d go to that bootcamp….but like you said that ain’t a million bucks
Dovi is becoming Marquez’s biggest threat to another championship, with Rossi in the mix too. 2 seconds, while forever in a passing situation, isn’t a huge gap at the end.
No surprises here I suppose, except for the poor Rossi die-hards who got their hopes artificially elevated after Qatar. COTA is a tough track for HP deficient bikes. A lot of season and tracks left to go, though, so who knows?!
Ducati is back. VW/Audi must have pumped some serious money into that program. Great riders, great bikes. Wonderful to have them in the mix.
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a little more turnout for the MotoAmerica Saturday races.
Yamaha put 3 bikes in the top 6 so I have to believe they are pleased from an equipment standpoint. Rossi just got beaten by two excellent riders on great bikes, same as he beat them two weeks before. If everyone stays healthy, this could be one of the best motoGP seasons in decades.
Considering where Ducati is now and that they still have open engine development and many more engines to use through the season, the others should be very worried.
Yamaha is certainly happy, not saying that. I’m also not slamming Rossi, but I don’t think either of the Yamaha riders had a good shot at beating Marquez on a dry COTA track. That said, I suspect Marquez is still going to dominate the season.
I agree with you. Both Yamaha and Honda should be, and are no doubt, pretty concerned about Ducati.
re: “Ducati is back.”
Schwarzenegger voice…?
I need a smarter DVR. Who else was out playing on their bikes and came home to find the end of the race missing from the playback? Oh well that’s what the inet is for. Next live coverage I will extend the record just in case. Or just go to the event!
re: “I need a smarter DVR.”
couldn’t wait around for that so I cut to the quick and figured, it would be FAAAR better for all concerned if I just developed myself into a “smarter human being”.
Q: “Who else was out playing on their bikes and came home to find the end of the race missing from the playback?”
A: not I says the blind man.
all’s it took was 2 or 3 incidences (over the past decade) of being “pizzedoff” (Rossi speak) by bloody Nascar races on Speed running over their allotted time, for me to realize I need to start tagging whatever event was listed as being shown AFTER any motorcycle race (or preceding car race) that I knew would be shown live.
another trick is you can go into the settings of many DVR’s and set it up so the default recording process automatically begins X number before the program starts, and ends X number of minutes after the program is scheduled to end.
ezee-peezee japa-neezee.
Please…. that’s ezee-peezee lemon-squeezee
Dude, the correct nomenclature is Asian-American. Please.
as in eezee-peeze Asian-Americaneezee?
Dude … you watch NASCAR???
Q: you watch NASCAR???
A: yes.
I “watch” to see when and where it might have a negative impact on the beloved sport of motorcycle road racing.
I bought a video pass on motogp.com; it is a pricey service, but I’m such a big fan that all the extra coverage is well worth it to me.
re: “it is a pricey service”
relative to what though…? free lunch…?
exactly…a track day here at Miller Motorsports Park is about 200 bucks.
7 twenty minute sessions of one of the best tracks in America! A Bargain
COTA needs a smarter groundskeeper. The reason for the delay was an errant sprinkler that watered the track. As a result, I also missed the end of the race.
The kid is an animal.. ’nuff said..
The leading Ducati’s both ran out of fuel on the cooling off lap, and in the second half of the race did not have their big speed advantage on the straights, which I assume was due to fuel conservation measures. Now that their fuel load is more equal, they appear to be just that, more equal to the other leading bikes.
“…more equal…”
Which adds great interest to the series this year!
The kid is good, no doubt about it.
Ducati’s are the real deal now, no doubt about it.
2 Suzuki’s in the top 10, looking good
Aoyama had the fastest trap speed. The guy can ride in a straight line faster than Marquez. He needs to work on the corners, that’s all lol. Still he beat Hayden who I predicted he’d be racing against.
Straight line speed is not only about hp, its about corner exit speed leading onto the straight. Aoyama must have had some on this bit, but not necessarily elsewhere, but you’d need to see the data to know.
Marquez is a hard nut to crack like that picture shows. I applaud anyone that can beat him. Salutations to Dovi & Rossi for trying.
Damn you Marc! Long live Rossi!!!!!!!!!