Repsol rider takes top step of the podium for third consecutive race, extending series lead to 53 points over nearest rival.
Marc Márquez took another victory at Misano for the third year in a row, also his third win in succession this season. Márquez’ seventh victory of the season so far came after an intense duel with fellow Spaniard Pol Espargaró in a spectacular finale, at the end of which he crossed the line just 359 thousandths of a second ahead.
The race began with Márquez out in front, with Iannone on his tail. Both escaped from the rest of the field in the early stages, until Gino Rea’s engine broke on lap three and left oil on the track. Race Direction brought out the red flags to suspend the race.
Márquez started from second for the restart, which kicked off a 14 lap contest. The Repsol rider this time stuck behind Iannone, until a scare on the second lap dropped him down to fourth, behind Espargaró and Rabat. He fought his way back past Rabat and pushed to catch Pol and Iannone a little further in front.
Four laps from the end, both Spaniards passed the Italian rider after cutting back an advantage of over a second. The scene was set for a final battle. On the last lap, Márquez made the definitive move to take his seventh win of the campaign.
With 5 races to go and 125 points in play, Márquez leads the Moto2 standings with 238 points, 53 ahead of Espargaró in second place.
Marc Márquez >> Audio
1st – 23:11.278
“I liked winning like that above all because of how I planned out the race. I knew that I could be out in front, but in the warm up I found it a little difficult to ride and didn’t have the required pace. We didn’t know if the tyres would last the race. I came close to crashing, which lost me a little concentration. At that moment Pol [Espargaró] and Tito [Esteve Rabat] got ahead of me and a third rider came close to going through as well. Being such a short race, it was difficult to think calmly on the bike. That led to such a tense finale. I tried to regain ground by riding on the limit on every lap and, when I finally caught Pol, I tried to overtake him at the first braking point where there was an opportunity. I think that it was a nice battle for the fans to watch. Every time under the brakes I tried to leave it as late as possible and so did he. I was able to get into the final corners and close the door each time. It was an important win, because Pol has always been fast here.”
