MotoGP Austin: Marc Marquez keeps Americas winning streak going – MotoGP

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Marc Marquez overcame a grid penalty to score his sixth straight MotoGP victory at Austin in typically dominant fashion.

Having been demoted to fourth place on the grid from pole for blocking Maverick Vinales in qualifying, Marquez leapt to second into Turn 1 as Andrea Iannone took the lead.

The Suzuki man’s time in front proved short-lived however, as Marquez got by at Turn 12 on the opening lap.

Iannone was able to stick close enough to Marquez to have a go at the Honda rider at Turn 11 on lap three, but he ran wide and was repassed by the reigning champion on the exit of the corner.

Marquez proved unstoppable from that point on, opening a two-second advantage by the end of the fifth lap and doubling that margin in the following two tours.

His lead peaked at around seven seconds, and he controlled the gap to take his first win of the 2018 season and his 12th straight triumph on American soil by 3.5 seconds.

After losing touch with Marquez, Iannone soon came under pressure from Vinales, who passed for second at Turn 1 on lap seven and enjoyed an untroubled run to the runner-up spot after that.

Iannone managed to hang on to third place for his first podium as a Suzuki rider, ahead of Valentino Rossi, who pressured Yamaha team-mate Vinales in the early laps but couldn’t find a way through.

Pre-race points leader Cal Crutchlow crashed at mid-distance during a tense scrap for fifth place, which was eventually won by Andrea Dovizioso over Tech3 Yamaha’s Johann Zarco.

It means Dovizioso retakes the lead of the championship by a single point from Marquez, with Vinales just five behind in third.

Marquez’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa salvaged seventh in a race he was unsure he would complete owing to the pain from his broken wrist.

Completing the top 10 were privateer Ducati pair Tito Rabat (Avintia) and Jack Miller (Pramac) and the leading Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro, who all crowded past a struggling Jorge Lorenzo late on.

Lorenzo had to be content with 11th, one place clear of the second Pramac machine of Danilo Petrucci.

Pol Espargaro, top rookie Takaaki Nakagami and Alvaro Bautista completed the scorers. Crutchlow remounted to finish out of the points in 19th.

Alex Rins and Hafizh Syahrin both crashed out, while Karel Abraham was forced to pull into the pits with wrist pain from his crash on Saturday.

Race result

Pos Rider Team Laps Gap
1 Marc Marquez Honda 20 41m52.002s
2 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 20 3.560s
3 Andrea Iannone Suzuki 20 6.704s
4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 20 9.587s
5 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 20 13.570s
6 Johann Zarco Tech3 Yamaha 20 14.231s
7 Dani Pedrosa Honda 20 18.201s
8 Tito Rabat Avintia Ducati 20 28.537s
9 Jack Miller Pramac Ducati 20 28.671s
10 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 20 28.875s
11 Jorge Lorenzo Ducati 20 31.355s
12 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Ducati 20 34.993s
13 Pol Espargaro KTM 20 37.264s
14 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda 20 39.335s
15 Alvaro Bautista Aspar Ducati 20 40.887s
16 Bradley Smith KTM 20 48.475s
17 Scott Redding Aprilia 20 49.995s
18 Thomas Luthi MVDS Honda 20 51.115s
19 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 20 59.055s
20 Xavier Simeon Avintia Ducati 20 59.747s
21 Franco Morbidelli MVDS Honda 20 1m00.513s
Alex Rins Suzuki 10 Retirement
Hafizh Syahrin Tech3 Yamaha 8 Retirement
Karel Abraham Aspar Ducati 8 Retirement

Riders’ standings

Pos Rider Points
1 Andrea Dovizioso 46
2 Marc Marquez 45
3 Maverick Vinales 41
4 Cal Crutchlow 38
5 Johann Zarco 38
6 Andrea Iannone 31
7 Valentino Rossi 29
8 Jack Miller 26
9 Tito Rabat 22
10 Danilo Petrucci 21
11 Dani Pedrosa 18
12 Alex Rins 16
13 Hafizh Syahrin 9
14 Pol Espargaro 8
15 Aleix Espargaro 6
16 Jorge Lorenzo 6
17 Franco Morbidelli 6
18 Takaaki Nakagami 5
19 Scott Redding 4
20 Alvaro Bautista 4
21 Karel Abraham 1
22 Thomas Luthi 0
23 Bradley Smith 0
24 Xavier Simeon 0



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