The Repsol rider, Marc Márquez, became part of racing history today after a great performance in the Spanish GP on his KTM 125 FRR. Márquez, who started on the front row for the first time ever in the World Championship and who today took part in his first home GP race – last year he was injured – got a hard-fought third place in Cadiz, after battling it out with the fastest riders in this category. In Jerez, in front of his relatives and friends and with the unconditional support of his compatriots the young rider Márquez was almost in heaven at the end of the race.
The race got away from the young rider practically at the very start as Bradley Smith galloped away alone at the head of the field to the victory, but that meant that the fight for the places of honour got hotter. A group of up to seven riders fought hard for the other two positions on the podium, after Simón the race favourite ruled himself out of the race with a fall on the 5th lap.
Of the four Repsol rider in the 125cc category the Briton Scott Redding and the Spaniard Marc Márquez were the ones who had the best start, with Márquez second at the end of the straight and Redding third. On corner 4 a small \mistake by Márquez meant that he almost fell as he went over a piano. That allowed Redding, just behind him, to overtake and move into second place, whilst Smith was alone at the front of the field.
The laps went by, Márquez was 3rd just behind Cortese, Simón fell when he was riding alone, Redding was falling further and further behind but Gadea and Espargaró caught up with with Márquez and Cortese, who were all fighting for the second position.
These four overtook each other again and again throughout the race. The attempts by the Repsol rider to get away from the others when he got to the front of the group were cut off by his rivals and by the strong wind which stopped Márquez from going faster. That made it easier for the group following behind, led by Folger, to catch them up. Among the riders in this group was Redding, on the attack again.
Towards the end of the race the group of seven riders was cut into two on the final corner, as Folger braked too late he hit Espargaró and Márquez and he lost a lot of time and fell back to the following group, meanwhile Márquez, Gadea and the other Repsol rider, Scott Redding a little further behind, took advantqage of what had happened.
The final lap was a fight between Márquez, Gadea and Redding. The three overtook each other several times on the 4 423 metre lap of the track in Cadiz, and they reached the final corner together. Márquez moved to the front of the group after a great overtaking manoeuvre involving Gadea, but starting the home straight a small loss of engine power whilst he accelerated towards the chequered flag in second position meant that Gadea was able to get past him, and so he finished in a deserved and hard-fought third position, a great success for the Repsol rider in the Spanish GP.
Scott Redding, also put in a great performance and was 4th at the finish whilst Esteve Rabat was 12th and Cameron Beaubier, fifteenth got his first ever point n the World Championship.
Marc Márquez, 3rd a 13.553 secs. >> Audio
“I started on the first row and it was a bit strange seeing the straight empty ahead of me. I got off to a good start and I moved into second place, but on corner 4 I made a mistake and I almost fell. Even so I carried on quite well and during the whole race I was studying where I would be able to overtake the other riders, because if you moved o the front of the group it was more difficult because of the wind. I could have finished second, but entering the home straight the engine failed a little and Gadea got past me. But getting a podium here, in front of my fans is really something.”
Esteve Rabat, 12th 32.554 secs. >> Audio
“This was a hard-fought race, but I just could not find a way to feel comfortable on the bike and I could not find the pace of the other riders. We did our best but not everything turned out bad, because I have not felt comfortable on the bike since yesterday afternoon. What I can say is that the mechanics have made the bike go really fast but on the corners it was me who did not have the confidence. It was always hard work for me. Even though we were towards the back of the field the race was competitive the whole time.”
Scott Redding, 4th a 14.251 secs. >> Audio
“The race went well although it was a bit crazy. We did not have a lot of power so I had to brake strongly and use the throttle coming out of the corners to make up the lost ground. The set up was fine but the performance of the tyres dropped halfway through the race, I began to notice a lot of vibrations. I tried to push as hard as I could to catch the riders in front of me, and in spite of the problems I managed to do so. In the end I was 4th, which is a good result, in a very good race.”
Cameron Beaubier, 15th a 44.443 secs. >> Audio
“Finally! At the beginning of the race I had to fight with the rear wheel because it did not have a good level of traction. We fought a lot to get among the points, and the falls meant that we climbed in the classification and get my first point in the championship. We were able to finish and I am pleased with the result so I now have even more desire to race. It was a fun race but also very tiring.”
