Marquez wins tenth successive race at Indianapolis MotoGP
MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez won his tenth consecutive race on Sunday at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi joining him on the podium.
The victory saw Repsol Honda’s Marquez become the first rider since Mick Doohan in 1997 to win ten successive premier class races. It was also the 100th win for a Spanish rider in the premier class and the 500th win for Spain across all categories.
On Lap 11 of the first MotoGP contest at the modified Indianapolis track, Marquez took advantage as Lorenzo joined the battle with Rossi for the lead, the World Champion squeezing through to take over at the front and not looking back – eventually finishing just under two seconds clear at the front.
Lorenzo got the better of his teammate Rossi for second, after the Italian had held the lead in the early stages fending off a challenge from Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who started well but faded to seventh. In finishing third Rossi becomes the first rider to score 4,000 premier class points.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) finished fourth as he came through from eighth on the grid, gambling on a harder front tyre.
Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) rode well to finish fifth with his teammate Bradley Smith crossing the line sixth after suffering a heavy crash on Saturday in which he aggravated an old finger injury.
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) was 20 seconds behind his seventh placed teammate Dovizioso in eighth, with Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) just behind Crutchlow at the finish in ninth. Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar) completed the top ten but there was bad luck for his substitute colleague Leon Camier who retired with six laps to go.
There were also retirements for Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project) due to technical issues. In addition, at Turn 4 of lap one Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) crashed out with Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing).
On lap 13 Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) and Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) clashed as Bradl crashed out and Espargaro’s bike was badly damaged forcing him to pull off track, having initially tried to continue.
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) stopped with a problem on lap 17, having been well placed in eighth.
MotoGP™ Race Classification – Indianapolis MotoGP
Moto2™: Kallio cruises to victory in restarted Indy contest
Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) held his nerve to charge to victory around the modified Indianapolis Motor Speedway track in a shortened 16-lap contest, with the initial race cut short by a red flag due to a crash involving Azlan Shah (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team), Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing) and Randy Krummenacher (IodaRacing Project).
The incident took place at Turn 10 on lap 4 of the first race with the red flag coming out as Pasini was initially unconscious after the crash as medics quickly arrived. Pasini walked away and was taken to hospital for precautionary scans, whilst Krummenacher’s machine was damaged and he was unable to participate in the restarted race despite the best efforts of the Octo IodaRacing Team.
The race was restarted for 16 laps with the riders in their original grid positions and Kallio repeated the great start that had seen him build up a lead of over two seconds in the original race.
He would eventually cross the finish line 1.38s ahead of impressive rookie Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40), whilst Technomag carXpert rider Aegerter’s good form continued in third
A mistake from Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) with two laps to go under pressure from Viñales dropped him from second to fourth, allowing Kallio to close to within seven points of the championship leading Spaniard in the standings.
Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) and Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) both finished in the top six. Meanwhile, Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia), Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2), West and Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) completed the top ten.
In the restarted race there were crashes on the first lap for Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Josh Herrin (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) at Turn 1. All riders were ok but Jonas Folger (AGR Team), Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) were also caught up in the accident.
Simeon subsequently crashed out four laps later, and Salom and Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team) would then collide on lap 6 of the restarted contest. Salom finished 26th whilst Morbidelli was unable to continue.
Thitipong Warokorn (APH PTT The Pizza SAG) crashed in the final stages but remounted to finish 27th.
Moto2™ Race Classification
Moto3™: Vazquez takes first career victory at Indianapolis
Italian rider Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) had held the lead in the final stages but missed out by 0.065s on the finish line in second place, whilst Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took third to keep his title challenge going.
A remarkable ride saw Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) just miss the podium after he started 11th and dropped to 30th on the first lap, incredibly fighting back to contest the lead – eventually finishing fourth.
Spanish teammates from the Estrella Galicia 0,0 outfit Alex Rins and Alex Marquez finished fifth and sixth respectively, with Rins holding the lead at the half way stage after coming from 12th on the grid.
Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing), Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3), Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) and Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) completed the top ten.
John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) crashed out at Turn 4 on lap one, pushing Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) and Masbou off, though Masbou was able to recover whilst Ajo would later crash out himself.
There were crashes too for Gabriel Ramos (Kiefer Racing), Alessandro Tonucci (CIP Mahindra) and Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia), though none of them were seriously hurt. Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) retired due to a technical issue.
Moto3™ Race Classification
Repsol HRC Report
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has continued his perfect season and has become the first rider since Mick Doohan in 1997, also aboard a Repsol Honda machine, to win ten successive premier class GP races. Teammate Dani Pedrosa recovered from his eighth place position on the grid to take fourth place.
It was a frantic start to the race with Marc losing out from his pole position dropping positions and Dani making a strong start passing three riders. By the end of the first lap Marc was fourth and Dani fifth, then on lap two, Marc passed Iannone into third and Dani was passed by Lorenzo, demoting him to sixth. The top eight riders stuck together in a pack for the opening laps, with just tenths of seconds separating them. Then on lap six Marc took advantage of Rossi and Dovizioso sparring for position and running wide, and slipped into first position. Rossi re-passed Marc on the same lap but Marc remained in second place ahead of Dovizioso.
By lap ten Lorenzo had passed Dovizioso into third and at the start of lap eleven he passed Marc into turn one to claim second place. However, after immediately attacking Rossi into turn two, both riders left a gap for Marc to pass and the championship leader never looked back, recording the fastest race lap on lap seventeen (1’32.831). Dani passed Dovizioso on lap thirteen and sealed fourth position.
With his victory in Indianapolis Marc has made it a perfect ten from ten, and also earns Honda’s tenth consecutive win on American soil (since Indianapoils 2010). He’s also won in all his MotoGP appearances in the USA and for the second year in a row, he’s completed a perfect weekend in Indianapolis after qualifying on pole and also setting a new lap record on his way to winning. This 16th MotoGP win for Marc also celebrates the 100th win for Spain in the premier class (Lorenzo 31, Pedrosa 25, Marquez 16, Criville 15, Gibernau 9, Checa 2, Elias 1, Puig 1).
Marc increases his lead in the Rider Championship with 250 points. Dani remains in second on 161 with Rossi in third on 157. Honda also lead the Constructor Championship by 76 points, and the Repsol Honda Team lead the Team Championship by 137 points.
There will be no break now for the MotoGP paddock as they pack up tonight in Indianapolis and head back across the Atlantic to the Czech Republic for Round 11 in Brno next weekend.
Marc Marquez – 1st – Championship Standing: 1st – 250 points – “I am really happy to have taken this win! After the summer break it was important to start with another victory. Yesterday it seemed like it may be a straight forward race, but it ended up being quite the opposite. We suffered a lot and physically it was hard, there was a lot of humidity and I was sweating a lot. The track temperature rose by 10 degrees today and this made the tyres behave differently. It was hard for me to have the same level of confidence. I was patient at the beginning and when I regained the good feeling I had in practice I decided to push, opening that two-second gap which in the end was enough for the win”
Dani Pedrosa – 4th – Championship Standing: 2nd – 161 points – “Overall it has been a difficult weekend in which at no point did I feel good on the bike. We couldn’t find a good setup in practice. Then in the race, although I was able to move up a few places, I was always off the pace if I was going to fight for the podium”
Drive M7 Aspar Team Report
Today Marc Márquez gave Spain its 500th podium –the country’s 100th in the premier class. He did so with a win at Indianapolis. It was his tenth consecutive triumph of the season, giving him a perfect record so far in 2014. Valentino Rossi started the Indianapolis round by taking the lead. Rising temperatures led to riders focusing on tyre wear, and the pace was slower than in practice. Jorge Lorenzo pushed up the field as Márquez chased Rossi and Dovizioso, and when he passed the former the two Spaniards hunted down Rossi. Shortly before the halfway mark, Márquez decided to break away, taking the lead and pulling clear for his latest triumph. Lorenzo and Rossi joined him on the podium at the Brickyard.
Setbacks had plagued DRIVE M7 Aspar rider Hiroshi Aoyama this weekend in Indianapolis. The Japanese rider was never fully comfortable with the new asphalt at the American track and was unsure of his tyre choice. His difficulties in qualifying had relegated him to eighteenth on the grid. Today, following a final run in the warmup session, he went for the hardest compound for the race, feeling more at ease onboard his Honda as a result. On the first lap he gained five positions, moving up a further three before crossing the line tenth –his second Top Ten of the season.
Leon Camier, on the other hand, was not so fortunate despite his hard work. The Brit came to Indianapolis without having ridden the MotoGP bike before, but showed that he was dedicated to learning. Yesterday he put in a fantastic showing to qualify sixteenth on the grid, but today an electronic problem cut his race short and he failed to finish at Indianapolis.
10th Hiroshi Aoyama: “This weekend we were at a circuit with a new surface, which gave us many problems in terms of tyre choice. We left it until the last moment before the race to make a decision, and in the end we opted for the harder compounds -and I think we made completely the right choice. Our qualifying session was quite difficult, and we started from far back on the grid, but I felt comfortable for the first time and was able to keep up a very consistent pace. However, eventually the tyre performance dropped a lot and I made a couple of mistakes. Fortunately I was able to finish the race in tenth position. To start from eighteenth and place tenth is positive. I would have liked to have finished as the best rider in the Open class, but today Scott was very fast.”
Leon Camier (DNF): “Today we were unable to finish the race due to an electronic problem. Right at the start of the race I noticed that something was wrong, but I continued pushing hard; I just wanted to ride, have fun and try to finish as best I could. As the laps went by the problem Increased and I was forced to return to the garage. It was a shame to conclude the weekend like this, because we had done a great job. In any case I am satisfied, because this experience has been terrific and I have learned many new things. Above all I learned during the race, and found what we need to do to improve. I like the chassis and this bike suits my ridng style, so I am sure I can go faster with it; hopefully at Brno we have the chance. I want to thank the team for giving me so much to learn from this weekend. I am pleased that we have continued to progress throughout the weekend and, despite the setbacks, our race pace was quite positive.”
Gresini Honda Report
Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Scott Redding rode to an impressive ninth place finish in today’s Indianapolis Grand Prix, in the United States, and he crossed the finish line as the highest placed Open Class rider for the first time this year. His teammate, Alvaro Bautista, was unfortunately forced to retire when he was hit by Yonny Hernandez on Turn 4 during the very first lap of the race.
Redding was easily able to streak away from Aoyama and was involved in a fierce battle for almost all the race with compatriot Cal Crutchlow, who finished the race just in front of him. Thanks to this result – the ninth points scoring finish out of 10 races – the English rookie is now 12th in the standings with 40 points.
Alvaro Bautista – DNF – “There’s not much to say, it’s been a very difficult weekend for us, with many rear grip issues, and today I knew that it would be more risky than usual starting from the back of the grid. When I was entering Turn 4, I was keeping my line when suddenly Hernandez hit me from the outside and I couldn’t save the crash. Obviously it’s been a bad weekend, but we have to stay positive because it could have been worse: in fact, luckily I’m fine despite the big crash I had Saturday morning. Now we need to forget soon this race and try to head to Brno full of motivation”.
Scott Redding – 9th – “I’ve been strong all weekend and I’m happy to be in the parc fermé for the first time: obviously Aleix Espargaro was forced to retire, so it’s not the best way to do it, but for me the important thing was to be the leading Production Racer Honda and we made it again. At the beginning of the race Aoyama was able to stay just one second behind, because I was fighting with Crutchlow so it was not easy to make a gap, but suddenly I was able to streak away from Hiroshi and then it was nice to fight with Cal, even if he could pass me bak everytime on the straight. I think we made a good job and I would like to thank all the guys of the team for that. It’s a great way to come back from the summer break: we came back stronger and also more comfortable with the bike and now we look forward to the next races”.
Fausto Gresini – “It’s a big satisfaction for us to get into the parc fermé as the highest placed Open Class bike on the finish line, and we are also pleased to give this particular result to Honda. Redding has been fast over the all weekend, during which he’s always been able to make a difference compared to the other riders aboard the other RCV1000R machines. This means that Scott has actually grown and now can count on a better knowledge of the bike: this is very important for the future. On the other hand, Bautista’s weekend couldn’t have been worse… Alvaro crashed yesterday and today his race ended after just a few corners. We try to forget and look forward, luckily the next race in Brno is scheduled in only a week”.
Yamaha Report
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi put up a fierce fight today to score a double podium finish in the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Lorenzo marked his return to fitness in style, taking a stunning second at the legendary ‘Brickyard’. Starting from third on the grid, the Spaniard initially dropped back to sixth place in the bunch up of riders on turn two before cutting back through the pack to take his place as a key protagonist of the race.
Teammate Rossi also made a stunning return to form after the summer break. The Doctor had an electrifying start, climbing four places from the second row of the grid to take the lead in the second corner from Andrea Dovizioso. On lap three his teammate Lorenzo arrived at the back of Marc Marquez and together they closed down the gap to the leaders. Within a few laps the tension reached fever pitch as the four rivals came within touching distance as they exchanged places numerous times.
On the tenth lap Rossi led from Marquez, closely followed by Lorenzo and Dovizioso. The order soon changed again when Lorenzo and Marquez both passed Rossi in turn two, the two Yamaha riders almost colliding in the process. Marquez took the lead with Rossi in second while Lorenzo followed in third. He was back on his way to the front when he experienced a big moment in the last corner as his knee clipped the curbstones, causing him to lose vital seconds.
Lorenzo then started to close the gap of 0.4 seconds to his teammate again and overtook him on lap 15. The Mallorcan, closely followed by Rossi, now had his eyes on the win, but by then the gap to Marquez had become too big for him to close. He finished the race in second, 1.803 seconds behind Marquez, whilst Rossi finished in third place with a gap of +6.558 seconds to his teammate.
Lorenzo’s sixth premier class podium finish at the US track moves him up to the fourth position in the standings with 117 points, whist the third place finish keeps Rossi in third on 157 points.
Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd / +1.803 / 27 laps – “The beginning of the championship was a little bit of a disaster for me. I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike and made many mistakes. Now I feel a lot better on the bike and I improved my physical condition. I rode well and consistently and I feel very fit on the bike. I ride against very strong riders now; Valentino improved his form this year. He is faster so it is not easy to overtake him and Marc is no longer the rookie rider he was last year. He has a very strong bike and he has more experience and is really fit and riding well. Despite this we are very focused on improving the bike. Yamaha is working very hard, so I am confident that we will get a better bike hopefully for this year, but if not for next season. Maybe on one of the next tracks that suits my riding style we can challenge Marc, but if we want to be a consistent threat to him in every race, we have to improve a bit more and that’s what we are trying to do.”
Valentino Rossi – 3rd / +6.558 / 27 laps – “I am satisfied because this is a good third place after a good battle with Jorge and Marc. I led the race, stayed in front and rode well. I’m happy because usually this is a difficult track for me. We worked well with the team and the bike was good for the race. We were able to achieve a good pace, but now we have to make another step to arrive in front of Jorge and Marc.”
Massimo Meregalli – “It is a great result to have both riders on the podium, especially after such an exciting race to watch. The beginning where four or five riders were really fighting was good for the fans! The work they have done to improve the circuit has helped and the track definitely suits our bike a little more. Vale was able to score some valuable points and was consistently there fighting and Jorge is definitely back on form too. We leave here satisfied with our efforts and looking forward to keeping the momentum as we head to Brno.”
Tech3 riders snap at the heels of the factory bikes in Indianapolis
Pol Espargaro completed the beginning of the second half of his debut season in the premier class by riding to a brilliantly undertaken fifth place in Indianapolis. The 23 year old began the race from sixth on the grid after a successful qualifying campaign and rocketed forwards to be close to the leading MotoGP bikes on the opening lap. On the seventh lap, Espargaro set into a confident rhythm matching the times of the leading five, with the reigning Moto2 World Champion rapidly closing down the sixth place of Andrea Iannone and passing him on lap 12 to clinch the position. Espargaro then firmly set about, taking time out of the Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso before dispatching him on lap 20 and meeting the chequered flag in a well deserved fifth place. His efforts today saw Espargaro achieve the highest speed on a Yamaha with 341.8 kmh, as well as aiding his advance to sixth in the World Championship standings.
Bradley Smith bounced back from a fall yesterday where he damaged his finger to show resilience and scoop a top points scoring finish in sixth. The 23 year old began the 27 lap sprint around the 4170 meter Indianapolis circuit from ninth position on the grid before launching himself up to eighth at the first corner and into the mix with the factory bikes on the first lap. Smith was shuffled down into tenth place by the end of the opening lap, but his determination prevailed as he set into a forceful rhythm moving up to seventh with twelve laps remaining. His formidable race pace saw him running 1’33 laps at the midpoint of the race and, as Smith powered onwards, he closed in on Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso on the penultimate lap. The British star successfully overtook him to bring his Monster Yamaha Tech3 YZR-M1 across the line in sixth place, concluding an impressive ride and lifting him to ninth in the championship.
Pol Espargaro – 5th, +17.807 – “I’m reasonably happy, as it has been a good race but not an incredible one. We collected important points for the championship. I learned a lot as well today and we definitely gave our best so I have to be satisfied with the result. In addition, having just the four factory bikes in front of me I can’t complain too much. My start was ok and at the beginning I tried everything to stay with Dani, but during the opening laps he was really strong and escaped quite quickly. Afterwards my race was a very lonely one until I caught Dovizioso. I then tried to push a bit harder to open a gap to him and later on I just tried not to make any mistakes. Indy has been a good start to the second part of the championship but I’m already looking forward to Brno next week where I aim to improve further.”
Bradley Smith – 6th, +19.604 – “Overall, I am really pleased to get a strong result and finish in the top six, although I was maybe a bit too cautious at the beginning with the hot conditions here, causing the front wheel to tuck an awful lot. However, I remained calm and remembered how long the 27 laps are, so I aimed to preserve my rear tyre as much as possible and then came back strongly during the second half of the race. In fact, around the mid section of the sprint, I put my head down and lapped mid 1’33’s as I was chasing after Pol and Andrea Dovizioso, who I overtook with just two laps to go. Obviously, it was a big confidence boost to see the finish flag finally in such a good position which is where I want and need to be. Now I’m looking forward to the next race in Brno where I will try to continue to climb up the rankings.
Edwards waved goodbye to the US crowd as Espargaro was obliged to retire
It was an emotional race for the NGM Forward Racing Team with two-time World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards waving goodbye to the American crowd at legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his last US round at the end of a long and successful career in MotoGP as well as Superbike World Championships. The Texas Tornado had a good start and was able to manage the race, finishing in 13th position.
The race didn’t go as expected for teammate Aleix Espargaro, who started from the fourth position. Aleix had a good start but lost some positions in the first laps. He was fighting hard to recover and he was in eighth position when he was hit by Stefan Bradl. In the incident his bike was damaged and the Spaniard was obliged to retire. Espargaro leaves Indianapolis seventh in the championship with 77 points and he looks forward to race in Brno next week.
Colin Edwards – 13th, +1’08.919 – “It was an emotional weekend thanks to the amazing support I have received here at Indy and from all over the world. The race was hard. I was counting the laps and on the slow down lap I waved goodbye to the crowd with the American flag that one guy of the troops gave me. It was great, but now it’s time to move on.”
Aleix Espargaro – DNF, 15 laps – “I had a good start but I was passed on the straight. I was doing my race with Smith and Dovizioso and I was able to keep my rhythm. It’s a pity that I was involved in this incident with Bradl. He hit me and my bike was damaged so I had to retire. It’s racing but we lost important points. We will be back stronger in Brno.”
Ducati Report
The two Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, concluded the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship, in seventh and eighth place respectively.
The Italian rider, who started from second place on the grid, powered into the lead at the first turn, and at the end of lap 1 was holding down the second position. Until lap 15 Dovizioso then formed part of a terrific scrap with Marquez, Rossi, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, always remaining in the leading group. In the second half of the race Andrea had to slow his pace and gradually lost ground, dropping two places to Pol Espargarò and Smith in the final laps and finishing seventh.
Crutchlow, twelfth on the grid, struggled to find the right pace in the early stages, but thanks also to the retirement of several riders, he then moved up four places. After scrapping with Redding in the final laps he managed to get the better of his fellow Brit to finish eighth overall.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 7th – “Today we really have to be happy in any case. Even though the final gap was twenty seconds and we were unable to fight until the very end, we can leave Indianapolis quite satisfied because we were simply much quicker. Unfortunately the rear tyre dropped off a lot and I was forced to use a lot of energy, but in the early laps it was great fun to fight at the front of the leading group: there were also some aggressive contact moves but they were OK, because I was the fifth ‘intruder’ and no one wanted to lose touch with Marquez! We are continuing to work in the right direction, and I think that our performance today also shows that.”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 8th – “We tried our best to improve the whole weekend and the team did a great job to be able to make a bike that was capable of being competitive. So I’m pleased with the result to finish eighth but not with the distance from the winner, which is still too far. After the arm operation I felt I was trying to recover a lot over the weekend but in the race I felt quite strong, it’s just that my GP14 was quite difficult to ride. Unfortunately I was just too slow in the first ten laps of the race, but after that my laps were quite fast and consistent.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager) – “Even though the final positions of Andrea and Cal can’t give us a lot of satisfaction, we leave Indianapolis with the confirmation that our work, and the latest developments on the engine and the aerodynamics, are giving positive results. For sure it gave us a lot of pleasure to see Dovizioso’s excellent qualifying performance and his competitiveness and tenacity in the early stages of the race, but we are also aware that we have to continue to work hard to make further improvements to our bike.”
Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 29-29°C; Track 40-48°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez made it ten wins from ten starts in the 2014 MotoGP™ season as the reigning world champion stormed to victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Starting from pole position, Marquez had a poor start off the line and as the field completed the first lap he found himself in fourth place before he began his fight-back. Following an exciting battle for the lead, Marquez made the race-winning pass on the eleventh lap and was able to increase his pace to ultimately take the chequered flag by 1.803 seconds ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo who finished in second place. Third place went to Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi who led the first ten laps of the race after a brilliant start.
Conditions were dry today, with ambient and track temperatures reaching their highest level of the race weekend, with a peak track temperature of 48°C recorded at the start of the race. The higher track temperatures didn’t have an effect on race tyre choice, with riders selecting the same tyre combinations they used in yesterday’s practice sessions. All except two riders selected the medium compound front slick, with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Octo IodaRacing Team’s Danilo Petrucci opting instead for the hard compound front slick. Rear tyre choice saw almost every rider select their harder rear slick option; hard compound for the Factory Honda and Yamaha, and medium compound for the Ducati and open-class riders, with only GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista breaking the trend by selecting his softer, medium compound rear slick for the race. Tyre performance at this year’s Indianapolis Grand Prix which featured a revised track layout and new tarmac was exemplary, with ten of the fifteen riders that finished the race setting their fastest lap in the second half of the race.
Marquez’s perfect win record means he has amassed 250 championship points to lead teammate Dani Pedrosa by 89 points, while Rossi remains four points behind Pedrosa and in third place in the standings.
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department – “The new layout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a welcome change and resulted in some great racing today, but once again Marc was too strong so congratulations to him and Repsol Honda on another emphatic victory. The early stages of the race were particularly exciting with many riders on different makes of machine challenging for the race lead, and this bodes well for the rest of the season. I am pleased with how our tyres performed at the revised Indianapolis circuit with excellent levels of safety, performance and durability, and I am now looking forward to next week’s Czech Grand Prix as in the past few years we have had some very close races there.”
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department – “Although track temperatures were warmer today there were no surprises with the riders’ race tyre choice, with every rider selecting the tyre combination that they preferred during the practice sessions. The medium compound front slick was the popular choice all weekend and this was chosen by almost every rider today, while the harder rear slick options were used by all except one rider for the race. The majority of the riders managed to set their best lap times in the closing stages and tyre performance was very consistent throughout the twenty-seven laps, so I am happy that our tyre allocation proved to be ideally suited to the new Indianapolis MotoGP circuit.”
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda – Race Winner – “The race was so hard especially as the track temperature was higher than yesterday so I struggled a bit in the beginning and so I stayed behind Valentino until I felt comfortable with the tyres. When I felt the front tyre was working well I could improve my pace and take the lead and although it was difficult to build a gap, in the end I could take the twenty-five points.”
