Dani Pedrosa shows talent to win and Marc Marquez displays battling nature, putting both in top two of World Championship standings.
111,259 spectators filled the Circuito de Jerez for a Spanish motorcycling party on Sunday: The Grand Prix of Spain. They witnessed a thrilling race in which Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez took a Repsol one-two. Pedrosa was the victor, ahead of his young teammate in a reversal of results from a fortnight ago at Austin. Marquez continues to lead the World Championship with 61 points with Pedrosa 3 points behind his teammate.
Dani Pedrosa imposed his authority on the Spanish Grand Prix early on, passing Jorge Lorenzo on Lap 5 and then storming to his 46th career victory (8 in 125cc, 15 in 250cc and 23 in MotoGP). He is now the rider with the seventh most wins in Grand Prix racing. The controversy of the race involved Marc Marquez on the final lap. After much grit and effort throughout the second half of the contest, the Repsol rider caught Lorenzo with half a lap remaining. Without thinking twice, he tried to overtake him. A failed attempt at Turn 6 limited his options to the last corner, where he slipped through a gap when Lorenzo took a wide line. The two made contact but both finished the race, with Marquez taking second place.
The result puts Marquez ahead in the World Championship standings with 61 points, followed by Pedrosa on 58 and Lorenzo on 57. The riders will be back on track tomorrow for a day of testing.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
1st – 45:17.632
“It was a beautiful race. I was able to ride the bike well, even though it was difficult because the tyres were really on the limit. I couldn’t push too hard because of that, so I had to ride carefully. I was able to maintain a good advantage throughout the race and collect this win at home as a result. It was fantastic, especially seeing all the fans in the stands; this year we’ve had a lot of people come to watch this Grand Prix. I also want to say “Happy Mothers’ Day” to my mum and thanks to all my team, it’s been a great day!”.
Marc Márquez >> Audio
2nd at 2.487 sec.
“It was a very good race. I gave 100% from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident –a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it”.
