COTA MotoGP: Marquez cruises to victory

It was business as usual as reigning world champion Marc Marquez took victory at Circuit of the Americas after starting from pole position.

It looked as though it could be a repeat of the Qatar race, with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso taking the lead into the first corner, but the Italian was powerless to stop Marquez as he moved into the lead on lap five.

Nobody had an answer for Marquez who eased away into the distance, eventually crossing the line 2.354secs ahead after slowing the pace later in the race.

Dovizioso crossed the line in second place after another race long battle with Valentino Rossi, who managed to hold onto second for the middle portion of the race, before Dovizoso retook second and pulled away slightly from his compatriot.

Despite suffering from an illness all weekend Jorge Lorenzo was able to pass Ducati rider Andrea Iannone with three laps remaining to finish in fourth.

Tech 3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith was riding with the lead group in the early stages of the race, but as the laps ticked down he was unable to keep pace, eventually finishing in sixth position.

Fellow Brit Cal Crutchlow was hoping to capitalise on his strong qualifying, starting from fifth on the grid, but he was pushed back to 10th on the first lap and spent the early portion of the race working his way through the field, crossing the line in seventh.

Another rider looking to build on a strong qualifying performance was Scott Redding, starting from sixth on the grid. Redding was aggressive into the first corner, but was pushed slightly wide by Lorenzo in the esses.

Keen to get back upto the lead group, Redding outbraked Pol Espargaro in the corner preceeding the back straight, losing the front and taking out Espargaro. Neither rider was able to remount.

It was a successful weekend for the Suzuki team – who everybody expected to struggle due to the long straight – with both riders finishing inside the top 10.

1.    Marc Marquez    ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 43m 47.150s
2.    Andrea Dovizioso    ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 43m 49.504s
3.    Valentino Rossi    ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 43m 50.270s
4.    Jorge Lorenzo    ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 43m 53.832s
5.    Andrea Iannone    ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 43m 54.734s
6.    Bradley Smith    GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 43m 57.707s
7.    Cal Crutchlow    GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 44m 4.117s
8.    Aleix Espargaro    ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 44m 6.175s
9.    Maverick Viñales    ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 44m 25.720s
10.    Danilo Petrucci    ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 44m 28.946s
11.    Hiroshi Aoyama    JPN Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 44m 34.349s
12.    Hector Barbera    ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 44m 34.489s
13.    Nicky Hayden    USA Aspar (RC213V-RS) 44m 43.634s
14.    Jack Miller    AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 44m 43.881s
15.    Alvaro Bautista    ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 44m 44.522s
16.    Eugene Laverty    IRL Aspar (RC213V-RS)* 44m 46.048s
17.    Loris Baz    FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 44m 55.937s
18.    Alex De Angelis    RSM Octo IodaRacing (ART) 45m 9.386s

Karel Abraham    CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RC213V-RS) DNF
Marco Melandri    ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF
Yonny Hernandez    COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) DNF
Mike Di Meglio    FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) DNF
Scott Redding    GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) DNF
Stefan Bradl    GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) DNF
Pol Espargaro    ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) DNF