Third victory of the season for reigning World Champion, who now holds five wins at Indianapolis. Dani Pedrosa, fourth, misses out on podium on last lap.
The Indianapolis Grand Prix was an exciting race until the final lap, with Marc Marquez taking his third win of the year –a second consecutive victory after his triumph in Germany before the summer break. Marquez now has five wins at Indianapolis in the last five years. His teammate, Dani Pedrosa, competed for the podium until the final lap in a tough fight with Valentino Rossi, but finally crossed the line in fourth place.
Marc Marquez extended his excellent record in the United States, where he now has nine wins in the last five years. In today’s race he put on an exciting show until the last lap, after escaping from the start alongside Jorge Lorenzo. Matching his rival’s pace throughout the race and beating the circuit record with a few laps to go, Marquez took the lead with three laps remaining and held his position until the checkered flag.
Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa stood firm in third position from the start of the race. With ten laps remaining, Valentino Rossi overtook him –and the Spaniard managed to recover his position with four laps to go. However, a mistake on Turn 10 enabled the Italian to take third again and, although Pedrosa overtook him again on the last lap, Rossi made the definitive pass before the end.
With little time to rest, the MotoGP riders fly to the Czech Republic this week, where Sunday sees the eleventh round of the 2015 season.
Marc Marquez >> AUDIO
1st – 41:55.371
“The race went very well, but we were pretty much on the limit. The truth is that Jorge improved a lot during the race, and I didn’t think there would be so many laps in the 1’32s. Even towards the end of the race we did a 1’32.6, which is very fast! We used the strategy of attacking at the end, when there were three laps remaining, and I think it was ideal for taking victory at this circuit. I’m also very proud to have taken Honda’s 700th victory! This is a very special moment for all the team and I dedicate it to all of Honda.”
Dani Pedrosa >> AUDIO
4th at 6.147 sec.
“It was a very physical race. We had to fight a lot with the bike because the grip was difficult. The surprise was Valentino. I knew my pace was a little slower than Marc and Jorge’s, but after practice I thought I might be a little closer. However, Valentino made a big step forward as usual and we had to fight for the podium; on the last lap he overtook me on the second corner and I couldn’t return the pass. I’m happy for Honda to have achieved the 700th victory, it’s an honour to have played a part in this impressive statistic!”