Marc Marquez (Honda) won his third MotoGP race in a row today at Le Mans. Marquez benefited from crashes in front of him involving Johann Zarco (Yamaha) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), and ultimately held off a challenge by second place finisher Danilo Petrucci (Ducati). Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) finished third.
Marquez stretches his lead in the championship to 36 points. Follow this link to full race results. For additional details and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
See more of MD’s great photography:
When “Race Direction” screwed the pooch in Venezuela, Marquez is now on a mission.
In other news, there are less than 25 bikes on the grid for MotoGP.
A little off subject, but not too much – why the new announcers this year? Not nearly as good as the former guys, especially the new guy in the paddock. What happened, does anyone know?
Nick Harris, the longtime voice of Grand Prix motorcycling racing, retired following the 2017 MotoGP season. He still writes for motogp.com on occasion. His partner in the booth for the past few seasons, Matt Birt, is still part of the two-man announcing team, so I don’t quite get all the talk here of how the “new announcers” are so awful, when only one of them (Steve Day) is new, and he’s not really all that new anyway. Steve Day has been on the Grand Prix scene for years, both as a Moto2 announcer and also as the guy who asked the riders the fan questions during the pre-race pressers.
The only truly new guy to the telecasts is Simon Crafar, the longtime Grand Prix/WSB racer from New Zealand, who replaced Dylan Gray as the voice from pit lane.
I agree that the new announcing isn’t so bad as some are saying. My only problem is understanding what they’re saying due to their heavy accents. It makes me wonder if they’d have a hard time understanding me with my “Ya sure, you betcha” Fargo accent. The announcers have different ways of describing events, like a “tip off” is a crash, as one example.
During Misano qualifying, the announcers were talking about a interview JoZo gave to a French publication. Apparently Yamaha is/was less than accommodating to the Tech 3 team and Rossi permeates a acidic atmosphere (Jee, imagine that). Has anyone read the article/interview?
He is perfect.
By the way.
Dirk, I was wrong about “Big Escape”. Great movie
MM seems invincible, but sooner or later he will be a victim of his “crash rate”. Then the others will be back in it. It’s happened before, at his peak Mick Dohan was just as dominant.
For me, t’s still the best Motorsport you can watch (even if it’s a bit predictable at the moment).
You might be correct, but what if his crash rate may not catch up with him. Lol
Also, he seems to let it go in controlled low sides. Even when over the limit he is aware.
With Honda
i think other three sometimes better or worse.
It depends on time
The last few laps of the Moto 3 race made Argentina look like a big yawn!
Marc is simply in a league of his own right now. It makes me wonder what someone like Dovisioso, or Vinales could do on the Honda. Even then, I feel like Marc could always beat them though. His desire to win, and his lack of fear at the limit are almost super-human.
More to the point, it’s getting to be about that time when Marc will need to switch brands in order to cement his legacy, if he ever wishes to receive serious consideration in the GOAT discussion.
Ago, Hailwood, Lawson, and Rossi all won titles for multiple manufacturers. Riding for three different brands, Rossi won titles on two-stroke 250s, two-stroke 500s, 1000cc four-strokes, and 800cc four-strokes. He left Honda while in the midst of a Doohan-like period of unassailable dominance, strictly to give himself a new challenge. He took a dormant team and, along with Jerry Burgess, beat his old team and won a title in his first season on the new machine.
Marquez is now at that same point in his career arc. He’s arrived at a crossroads. Does he follow the path of the all-time best-of-the-best and go slay new dragons, or does he take the safer Doohan route and simply continue to drive home his dominance with an overdog bike/team.
Marquez has already signed for two more years, so this a moot point for now, but many long-time students of the sport will always keep this aspect of his career in mind whenever GOAT talk is on the table.
Once he’s again a free agent, I’d like to see him go to Suzuki. Taking Suzuki to another title would be a proper challenge, but not an impossible one. Otherwise, how cool would it be to see him take over Rossi’s ride and wage battle against his old Repsol team, as Rossi did before him.
Weird, that my post there is under ‘Anonymous.’ Wonder how that happened?
I disagree because Marc hasn’t just been winning championships, he’s been totally dominating. If he had the the best bike and was barely squeaking by for the championship, that would be one thing… The guy is making his competition look silly.
As were Doohan and even Rossi when they rode for Honda. The difference is, Rossi (and Ago, Hailwood, and Lawson) did it for multiple manufacturers, and Rossi made the switch to a going-nowhere-fast Yamaha and still continued his domination.
50 years from now, nobody is gonna know who rode what bike. Even today, people can only assume something like “The Ducati is a rocket but it can’t turn,” or ” The Honda is slow on the long straights but it’s well rounded.”
As the years go on, the most important statistic is championships and wins.
It’s already fifty years later, and people who truly follow the sport still remember that Ago and Hailwood won championships for multiple manufacturers. It’s one of the defining criteria of their shared legendary status.
” It makes me wonder what someone like Dovisioso, or Vinales could do on the Honda.”
I think we’re just seeing the near magic synergy between Marc and his team and the Honda. Dani Pedrosa is an excellent rider and he’s not getting on as well with the Honda anymore. I’m not sure Dovi or Vinales would do much better unless all of the pieces fell into place. Dovi, to his credit, won 6 GP’s on the Ducati last year. I think he’s very confident in that team’s direction and it sounds like they got his money right. Should be formidable into the future.
I don’t agree about Marc switching brands. Riders weight competitiveness with earning potential and unless something changes massively in the motorcycle industry’s economy, neither will improve for him at another team so I believe he’ll stay at Honda for his whole career. I don’t think it means anything to the vast majority of fans who’s bike he does/doesn’t win on.
The one thing that could bung up the works is Honda. They’ve inexplicably parted ways with champions in the past. it seems to have a desire to keep the bike in a brighter spotlight than the rider’s.
Marquez does not need to switch brands to cement his legacy.
Do we think less of Michael Jordan? Or Derek Jeter? Or John Elway? Tom Brady?. All of the aforementioned stayed on one team their entire career. In my opinion this is what has hurt Rossi. Just think for a moment if he stayed with Honda his whole career. I bet he has more championships. THAT is what counts. And it is more honorable. Just ask Jeter. Marquez, stay with Honda. It is the honorable and the best thing to do for your career and legacy. Something tells me he knows that too.
The Yankees don’t like to think they would have won those titles without Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Bernie, etc. Honda, on the other hand, long mainatained an attitude that it’s the bike, not the rider, which led to a few riders leaving Big Red.
Besides, comparing Moto GP with team sports is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Make no mistake, in the annals of Grand Prix lore, Valentino Rossi was and will always be given massive credit for jumping ship from the Honda juggernaut in an effort to challenge himself anew on the struggling Yamaha, and succeeding. So too, with Ago, Hailwood, and Lawson. That’s a very exclusive club.
Had Rossi stayed with Honda, man, what a wipeout of the series it would have been. He would have continued to win the championship every year, to the point that all but Rossi fans would have lost interest in the spectacle. Everyone loves Mick Doohan, but his legacy is always questioned and somewhat diminished on the basis of people saying his competition was vastly inferior, both in terms of the riders and their machinery.
Had he never left Honda, Rossi would have faced that same criticism.
Most of these guys would probably tell you that armchair quarterbacks are full of themselves, and that they(professional racers) are just professionals doing a job. At the end of the day they’re just gonna follow the money.
The competition is much closer to Honda in 2018 than they were when Rossi was riding red, so the “he has the best bike though,” argument is pretty weak IMO.
Sorry, but that is nonsense. The only people who think that Marc has to change brands to secure his legacy are people who don’t like him. Whether Rossi fanbois or fans of some other rider who is continually getting beat, they dislike Marc, and hope that he wouldn’t be able to win on another brand.
It’s taken me a few years to warm up to Marc, but I have. His skills are incredible. He is unfailingly polite and cheerful off track. Never heard of him using profanity. And he has a true warrior spirit.
He’s totally dominated the field in 4 races this year, and came in 2nd by than 1/50th of a second, in the other. Absolutely amazing.
Moto 3 and Moto 2 were very exciting and always are. I was excited watching the Moto GP until Dovi crashed. When Zarco fell down I was tempted to go out to the garage and start tinkering with my bikes and let the TV cool down. Yes Marquez is good, but like some of the rest of you, I’d like to see a podium without him perched on top more often.
I was thinking of buying the MotoGP subscription to watch the races, but it is not worth it anymore, maybe I will if I develop an interest in moto3 and moto 2 but going by the races I saw in Austin, there is still not a lot of excitment…will continue to watch youtube for the summary.
all but marquez had one if not two soft tires and marquez still set the fastest time and won the race on a medium/hard set-up. he’s not my favorite, but ya gotta be impressed…
With his tremendous talent now without making stupid excesses, his impressive bike, and the planets apparently aligned for him, he seems the unstoppable 2018 world champion…
Really hope not, I still don’t like at all the way he behaves on the circuit, and the unlucky Dovizioso deserves to fight again for the title.
About VR attitude with MM, it’s the logic one if the words he said after the Argentine GP reflects his true feelings. Too much happened the last three years to keep “moving on” with this arrogant and reckless boy.
It’s a basic requirement that a rider stays on his bike. All these riders falling off is getting tedious now. It’s MotoGP’s equivalent of F1’s non overtaking “racing”.
Still and all – the sun’s out and I’m off to Mugello on my bike :¬)
After the Qatar race and seeing how close MM finished to AD4’s Duc, I felt MM’s bike looked sorted in a way it didn’t look last year. His speed in Argentina was reminiscent of Rossi at PI on the Honda V5 all those years back.
3 wins on the bounce now. And they tested at Mugello recently. He’ll be up for winning that as it’s prolly where he’ll get the loudest booing.He’d enjoy putting one over the yellow brigade there.
@CB,
Completely agree re Rossi Marquez. Petrucci sprays Marc and Rossi neither congratulates nor acknowledges him or his victory. What VR doesn’t know is he’s inciting Marquez to obliterate his records. Which barring injury, He will.
Let’s not forget Barg-y Marc taking VR out last race – and the points that he took out too. VR being on podium – however he got there – has right to be pissed about where he’s at vs should be.
Not that I take any joy whatsoever in saying “told you so”, but this is what I said after Marquez dominated Jerez two weeks ago:
So Marquez ran a clean race and ran away with the victory. Hate to break the news, but it already looks like he’s got the championship locked up. Sadly, this may make for a very borrrrinnng season. Nothing against Marquez, he’s absolutely one of the most talented motorcycle racers of all time, but he’s just so dominant now that I fear the remainder of the season is going to be lopsided in his favor, and that makes for unexciting race viewing.
I bought a MotoGP subscription to watch the races because I thought it would be a competitive year, but MM dominating is making it boring. Plus the announcers are constantly in love with MM and the site doesn’t cover the paddock girls anymore. I need a refund.
The new announcers, track announcers, are a couple of buffoons. Babbling on about everything except the race, using descriptions about whats happening that never stops, completely distracting from whats actually going on. That constant stupidity and coupled with their inability to pronounce words correctly, then covered with an irritating whining accent, ruins what used to be informative race calling.
Marquez on a roll…
Looks like the 2018 Champ unless something goes astray…
He really does look like The Joker there.
Oh he’s the joker alright. Without one crash there really is no hope currently for anyone else as a typical bad day for him is no worse than 3rd. Time for the paddock to pick up the level again if they want to play.
Point two. I love Rossi but his attitude to MM, as a podium finisher, is so plain to see. Makes him look like a sore old loser and I know he’s not. He said his piece after Marc bashed everyone and he should move on now. I think everyone else has.
Yeah, Rossi has to be kicking himself harder and harder for his last failed championship bid/attempt at psych warfare (worked on others…), and has to be disgusted that the factory Yamahas are so lost. I doubt his attitude on the podium was pure anti-MM, but more a combination of that and everything else. Not that he shouldn’t sack up and a) be gracious and sportsmanlike, and b) figure something out on the bike itself….
Not only has 46 psychological warfare against Marc failed, 46 past egotistical decision of burning his bridges with Honda by throwing a tantrum about not being able to keep his championship bike (destroying the possibility of an untouchable Legacy) compounded by 46 actually riding the best he ever has but now realizing there is somebody even superior to his best,
46 is witnessing his record being chipped away in front of his face and he is unable to stop it.
Marc has not withered under the incredible dominance and talent of 46.
Nonsense.
+1
People make way more of a soap opera about this crap than it really is.
to VLC: Rossi started the current soap opera in 2015. Don’t you remember? To the point of accusing Marc of lying about having Rossi’s pictures on his walls as a kid. Marc’s mom was so hurt that she posted up the pictures of his childhood bedroom.
Marc isn’t just beating Rossi on the track, he is allowing Rossi to show the world just how poor of a sportsman their long-time hero really is.
Good points. After Rossi’s actions in 2015, Marc learned what kind of man his childhood hero was (and wasn’t). Marc doesn’t need Rossi’s whining and Rossi-fan’s booing to keep him motivated.
Whether intentional or not, Argentina paid Rossi in full for Sepang 2015. I can’t help but feel that Sete G felt that was some cosmic payback for Jerez 2005 as well.
After all the years of Rossi’s mind games, he has found that Marc is much stronger mentally and emotionally that he is, besides being a better motorcycle racer.
“Mind games.”
lol
Keep clinging to your silly soap opera fantasies.