Repsol Honda Team rider wins GP of the Americas for the third time and opens victory account for the year. Teammate Hiroshi Aoyama finishes eleventh.
Marc Marquez took a third consecutive victory at the Circuit of The Americas, Texas, on Sunday. It was the track where, two years ago, he claimed the first of his 20 victories in the premier class, and is one of his favourite circuits. In 2015, the Repsol Honda Team rider gave his rivals no chance of challenging him, almost right from the beginning of the race.
Although Andrea Dovizioso and his Ducati took the initiative at the start of the race, after a few laps Marquez took over at the front. Within a couple of laps he had established a gap that was enough to earn his first victory of the season, riding alone with a lead of more than 2 seconds at the chequered flag. With this win, Marquez occupies third in the overall standings with 36 points –five points behind current leader Valentino Rossi.
Teammate Hiroshi Aoyama made clear progress throughout the weekend, and went from eighteenth on the grid to eleventh by the end. He was involved in an intense duel with Ducati rider Hector Barbera during the race.
After this intense weekend, the World Championship moves south for next weekend’s Argentinian Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
1st – 43:47.150
“I am very happy with this victory! After yesterday, things looked positive for us, but the only doubt was about the weather. In the end, it turned out stranger than it had seemed. When I saw that it was going to be a dry race, I started out very focused –because I knew it was important to try to win today. However, right from the first lap I saw that the track was not like it had been before the rain of last night. There was less grip and it was harder to ride comfortably. I decided to keep calm in the early laps to try to understand the situation well, and when I started to find a feeling similar to practice, I decided to push the pace a bit. That was when I was able to open up a gap.”
Hiroshi Aoyama >> Audio >> Audio JAP
11th – at 47.199 sec.
“It was an exciting race! It hasn’t been an easy week with the weather so unstable and the race was the first time we’ve had 100% dry conditions. I tried my best, the bike worked well and Dani’s team really helped me. I pushed to the last lap for the best position and I have learned a lot this weekend! Now I will try to build on this experience and improve in Argentina next week.”
