Defending champ Marc Marquez (Honda) continued his dominance of the MotoGP series by winning his fourth straight GP at Jerez. The last rider to win the four opening rounds was Mick Doohan in 1992. A strong showing by Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi saw the aging nine-time World champion slot into second on the podium, finishing just in front of third place Dani Pedrosa (Honda).
Former champ Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) was unable to maintain the pace of the front runners (blaming tire wear), and finished in a lonely fourth position with large gaps on both sides of him.
Marquez continues to build his points lead in the championship over Pedrosa (now 28 points). For additional details, results and points visit the official MotoGP site.
Congrats to MM for another awesome performance, and also to Vamentino for a great race.
Here’s an idea- Barring an injury or a string of mechanical DNFs (unlikely) it appears that Marquez is well on his way to a second title, likely clinching before the final race (or two). How about, once the title is in hand, parking the factory RC213V and hopping on a RCV1000R open class bike? Nothing to lose, right? What better way to showcase his skills than racing an “inferior” machine? From Honda’s point of view, a good result (is there much doubt?) would serve to silence the critics of the “customer bike”.
Could Marc Marquez beat the factory bikes riding an open class customer bike? If the championship is already decided, it would certainly add some interest to the final race or two and could make for a very entertaing contest.
That should be Valentino in the first line, couldn’t see any way to edit my comment.
Marquez will be slow(er): he is an alien AND has a superior machine. Put him on a bike that is 2sec slower that his current bike and he will be 1.9 sec slower (he is THAT good). Rossi did EXACTLY that experiment on a Ducati and we all know how that went.
I think that at the right track the difference would be much closer. According to Nicky Hayden, the RCV1000R is a fine handling bike, but down on power, particularly coming out of corners. Marquez’s high corner speed riding style would be better suited to negate that disadvantage than Nicky’s point and shoot style. As far as Rossi’s failure on the Ducati, the issue there was handling not power. If someone, even Rossi, can’t get the front end to stick into, through and out of a corner, then no amount of power (or talent) is going to produce consistantly fast lap times. So far Casey Stoner is the only rider that’s been able to make the Ducati work. It is a very elusive solution that no other rider or the engineers have been able to fix.
re: “If someone, even Rossi, can’t get the front end to stick into, through and out of a corner, then no amount of power (or talent) is going to produce (consistently) fast lap times.”
first conceived by yours truly more than a decade ago, i believe the acronym you’re looking for is NATCORK…
No Amount of Talent Can Overcome Recalcitrant Kit.
re: “So far Casey Stoner is the only rider that’s been able to make the Ducati work.”
except for those ignominious moments he was upside down in the gravel with gas pouring out the tank. then it was the ANTITHESIS of work.
Don’t kid yourself, GKS. Riding Nicky’s bike, neither Marquez nor anybody else would have a prayer of cracking a legitimate top five at any track on the calendar. At the Moto GP level, the rider can’t make up a one-minute difference over race distance. Also, as Rob Muzzy once said (paraphrasing), “Slow bikes handle great.” Nicky’s bike doesn’t have Ohlins suspension or Brembo brakes, like the factory bikes. It doesn’t have pneumatic valves or a seamless transmission. Give it forty more HP and twenty more mph and let’s see how well it handles at the edge.
Actually VLJ, looking at the Jerez results, if Nicky had been 9 seconds faster over the race distance, he would have finished 5th.
I do think that Marc Marquez could have been in the top five on an RCV1000R.
You’re assuming that race times are static, and that they’re not often the result of circumstances.
This is why I specified a “legitimate top five,” as opposed to one that was merely the result of attrition, an intentional slowing-down of the pace due to a safe, lonely position on the track, or a wet race. Also, your question was, “Could he beat the factory bikes?” That would mean beating Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, and his own replacement on the other Repsol Honda. Those are the only true factory rides in Moto GP. All the rest are satellite bikes, Open bikes, or Iditarod sleds.
No, he would have no chance of legitimately beating any of the factory bikes.
Marc is the real deal. If Lorenzo shoves another Island seagull into his fairing, he may win the championship.
Seems like a good kid, not all ego and BS.
I agree. Marc appears to be a good role model for the kids watching the races – no foul mouth like some we know. Oh well, I wish him all the best.
The headline is not a spoiler, but the photo sorta gives it away.
Once again, why is someone pointing out spoilers when they are ON THE INTERNET ON A MOTO SITE ON THE DAY AFTER A RACE.
Well, Tim, I guess that’s how I role. Wanna ease up a bit?
Maybe he didn’t see Haterade’s rant on the Assen WSBK report’ Then again, maybe he IS Haterade. Ever see Tim and Haterade in the same place at the same time?
I meant Gary and Haterade
I’m not saying I’m Batman. I’m just saying nobody has ever seen me and Batman in a room together.
The funny thing is I didn’t realize the Haterade post had gone on – just saw the initial replies, not H’s followup, Dirck’s eventual involvement etc!
Does this mean the AARP is going to revoke Rossi’s membership?
Excuse me, but aren’t they all “aging”?
Only the lucky ones.
I love MotoGP, but except for Rossi’s ride, this one was even a snooze fest even for me. Maybe the cameras would have been better off following the race for 5 th between the up and comers.
Rossi was a surprise. Marquez certainly wasn’t.
MM is amazing. Too bad he’s helping to turn MotoGP into a labyrinth-ruled snooze-fest.
Bravo Rossi! Old people everywhere salute you.
I’m not sure he qualifies as being a role model for ‘old people’—He’s not really that old and with the right focus, team and level of fitness could win consistently. You could say he is approaching an age where an injury might be devastating. The french Canadian Miguel Duhamel was more of an old man’s hero (or Randy Couture in MMA).
Doohan did the same thing in his first title year Hot Dog, and being an Aussie I was really happy as he had overcome a fair bit of adversity to get there. Then he won the first of 5 titles in a row, and I freely admit that by the end I was waiting for him to retire so the whole thing would be shook up.
Marquez is just very good – we all knew that from his performances in Moto2, where the bikes are close in performance.
Yes, you are correct. That’s back in the day when Aussie’s smiled and laughed.
But that time seems to be back with Jack Miller. He seems to be able to ride,win,smile and laugh too. Keep and eye on him, Romano Fenati,and a host of other rising stars in Moto2/3 including MM’s little brother Alex to keep things interesting.
Re: ” That’s back in the day when Aussie’s smiled and laughed. ”
That’s funny to read because Doohan and Mladin (two of the more dominant Aussie riders in past history) were both known to be deadly serious and competitive.
And who can forget the ‘laughing & scratching’ Casey? Mick could smile and Matt was machine.
Congrats to Marc. Another dominating weekend…
Good to see Rossi riding so well.
go Rossi!
Love to see an “aging” guy do well! Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks (by tricks, I mean to learn how to hang his body further off the bike to maximize lean angle and preserve corner speed and tire wear..)
Even G-Lo couldn’t hang with Rossi…
I’ve been a fan of bike racing since the early 70’s and it’s hard to fathom what MM is doing now. It must suck the life out of the other racers when he dominates so completely. His only enemy is himself, I hope he stays upright and let’s see how far he can ride this horse.
Being several years older than Val, I assume my dreams of MotoGP stardom are over?
I’m a year younger than Edwards… So if someone drafts me for next season maybe I have a chance…
Biaggi first rode a motorcycle at 17, raced as a 18-year old and won world championships at 23, 24, 25 26, 39 and 41. Its not an age thing.
Another great racer ( like Pedrosa) who deserved a GP title, but could never seem to top the mountain)
Btw whose spot on the Honda Team did Pedrosa take in 2006? Biaggis.
Only the first few laps were exciting before Marquez passed and pulled away. Kudos for Rossi doing his best and finishing 2nd. The Repsol Hondas are just fast enough to frustrate the Yamaha riders.
re: “aging”
aw, man.
Better than younging.