Repsol rider takes first Grand Prix victory in a race interrupted by an accident and subsequently restarted. Alex Marquez crashes in second part of the race, after placing fifth before the red flag.
Alex Rins took a thrilling victory in the Grand Prix of the Americas today. After dominating practice and much of the race, the Repsol rider achieved the win after a restarted contest of just five laps in duration –after the interruption of the race due to a Jasper Iwema accident. Alex Marquez, who had completed the “first race” in fifth position, crashed on the second lap of the restart while fighting for sixth. The wrong choice of rear tyre, going with one that was too soft, was the cause of the fall.
Starting from pole position, Rins dominated the race from the opening lap as part of a group containing Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom –who gradually lost ground as the laps went by. Rins’ work in breaking away was cancelled out on lap twelve, when a nasty crash for Jasper Iwema brought out the red flag. The race resumed half-an-hour later, with a five-lap shootout. Rins faced off against a resurgent Salom and again had Viñales alongside him, but an impeccable final lap gave him the win.
With this result, the Repsol rider becomes the championship leader with 41 points, tied with Salom and 1 point ahead of Viñales. The next destination is the Circuito de Jerez, where the action resumes within a fortnight at the Grand Prix of Spain.
Alex Rins >> Audio
1st – 11:26.535
“I’m super happy about the victory today. Since Friday the team and I worked very hard to pick up the pace and be able escape at the beginning of the race. We tried to do that, but Viñales stuck with me at all times. When the red flag was shown, I thought that the race was over. I celebrated, then when I reached the pits I was told that there was going to be a restart. It was not easy to think that, for the sake of a single lap- we had to get back on track. At first I worried a bit, because I know that Salom and Viñales are very strong over the distance of a few laps, but everything went well. At the end of the second race, when Luis Salom caught up to me, I thought that there was still another twist in the story, but when I saw the chequered flag I opened the throttle like crazy to overtake and get past him.”
Alex Marquez >> Audio
Fall
“During the first part of the race I was not entirely comfortable on the bike. It was hard for me to pick up the pace, but from the middle of the race I started to feel good and even started to lower my times. Unfortunately we had to stop and have a new start. This is where we made a bad decision to mount a soft rear tyre, which pushed the front too hard. Apart from this we can take away some positives, which is that during the race we got up to fifth and set a good pace. Now we go to Jerez, which is a circuit I know, convinced and motivated – knowing that we can go as fast as we did in the IRTA test.”
