Marquez becomes youngest ever winner of a MotoGP 
Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo completed the podium, but it is Marquez who heads the standings after just two races in the top class. On Saturday, 20-year-old Marquez took over from former double title winner Freddie Spencer as the youngest ever pole-sitter in the premier class. He now becomes the youngest race winner, having seen off a challenge from Pedrosa on the other Repsol Honda Team machine. Although he is now level on points with Lorenzo in the championship, Marquez holds the lead as he is the most recent Grand Prix winner. As the red lights went out at the new Circuit of the Americas – located on the outskirts of Austin, Texas – it was Pedrosa who seized the lead, while Lorenzo headed backwards courtesy of a poor getaway. A lightning start for LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl allowed the German to go second but he was soon overhauled by Marquez, Lorenzo and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow. Following Pedrosa and waiting patiently for his moment, Marquez courageously dived up the inside of Turn 7 on the 13th of the 21 laps. Pedrosa would hang onto the back of his teammate, but lost ground courtesy of a small error six laps later. To the delight of his crew, Marquez would take the chequered flag by one and a half seconds, with Lorenzo just over the same margin behind Pedrosa. Having not tested at the venue a month ago, Crutchlow was more than pleased with fourth – having hoped for a top six result this weekend – as Bradl and Rossi completed that particular group, with the multiple title winner having overhauled GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista. The latter would also fall behind Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who progressed to seventh on the final lap and then avoided a last-corner lunge from his rival. Leading American rider Nicky Hayden and Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone rounded out the top ten. Extending his lead in the CRT ranks, Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro enjoyed a strong ride to 11th place ahead of two prototype riders - English rookie Bradley Smith (Tech 3) and American Ben Spies (Ignite Pramac Racing) - as well as French teammate Randy de Puniet. PBM enjoyed its strongest weekend to date, with Yonny Hernandez sealing the final point for 15th position while Michael Laverty recorded his first MotoGP finish in 16th with the team’s own-built bike. Avintia Blusens maintained the symmetry in 17th and 18th, with Hiroshi Aoyama having overtaken Hector Barbera, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Claudio Corti, Gresini CRT rider Bryan Staring and Attack Performance Racing’s Blake Young (the single wildcard rider in the race) completed the field. It was a hugely disappointing afternoon for Came IodaRacing Project. Danilo Petrucci was fortunate to stay upright when teammate Lucas Pesek crashed out of the race directly behind him, only to retire in the pits with mechanical gremlins only minutes later. Colin Edwards was also on the sidelines, as the local Texan hero racked up the unenviable fact of becoming the race’s first of three retirements. With 16 rounds to go in this highly dramatic MotoGP™ season, the story continues in Jerez with the Gran Premio bwin de España in two weeks’ time.
Release from the Repsol Honda Team: Following the Yamaha Factory Racing one-two finish of the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, Repsol Honda Team has now managed the feat in Texas. 
As Dani Pedrosa notched up his first podium of 2013, 20-year-old teammate Marc Marquez became the youngest ever race winner in MotoGP™ history. "If I’m honest…no,” Marquez admitted when asked whether he expected the victory so early in his MotoGP career. "To be third in my first race in Qatar was a dream and now, to take the victory in the second race…that’s even better! The race was quite hard, especially in terms of physical condition towards the end – with corners like Turn 1. I had some problems with the front that I hadn’t had in practice, but even with that I was able to push and keep up a constant rhythm – not so fast, but enough. "So I’m very happy with that and I want to say thanks to all of my team. Without them this would not have been possible.” As Marquez leads the MotoGP World Championship as the reigning Moto2™ title holder, 2012 runner-up Pedrosa is pleased with his first rostrum of the season. "No tactics, really: just to go out there and do the fastest possible laps all the time!” Pedrosa said after the race. "I know I wasn’t going super quick in the first section, so towards the end I was struggling there with some pain in my (left) arm; I couldn’t really flick the bike in the way I had been. I lost some ground there, but was making up in the second part of the track. Then I made a mistake and lost one and a half seconds, so that was it, but I’m really happy with the bike this time and I’m glad for the team. "Congratulations to Marc – it’s just a super start to the season – but I’m really happy with my second place and now I’m just trying to get better and better for the next round.” With 16 rounds remaining, the fraternity now returns to more familiar territory for the Gran Premio bwin de España in Jerez at the beginning of May. |