Márquez climbs eighteen places for sixth in Austin

Marc Márquez, who started the Grand Prix of the Americas from ninth on the grid, had a problem at the start that dropped him to last place. Once he overcame the incident, the Repsol Honda Team rider was able to maintain his concentration and set a consistent pace to begin a great fightback, at a track where he has won seven times. Lap after lap he closed the distance to the frontrunners, eventually taking the chequered flag sixth. He scored ten points in a race in which he once again showed his level in the premier class.

Pol Espargaró also finished the Grand Prix of the Americas in the points. Recovering over the weekend from the stomach problems he suffered on Friday, the Repsol Honda Team rider tried to maintain his pace throughout the 20-lap race distance, but finally crossed the finish line in 13th.

Espargaró is in 11th position in the overall standings with 23 points, whilst Márquez is 13th with 21.

Rider Statements

#MM93

“On one hand I am disappointed because it is clear we had the speed today and I was able to enjoy the race a lot, coming though from the back, but 25 points were possible today. We had a technical problem at the start, but it resolved itself and the bike was working well after that – even if I was last. I recovered many positions and had a great race despite some mistakes, which is normal when you are recovering like this. We can see the speed is there and we can walk away from here with a lot of confidence which is important. At the end we had a really nice battle with Fabio but when the race finished, I was destroyed, from that first lap I was giving everything I had on track to recover and finally finish in sixth. Another exciting race in Texas.”

#POL44

“Physically, this was maybe the hardest MotoGP race of my life. With about ten laps remaining I was honestly thinking about retiring from the race because I was feeling so weak. But I saw that we were in the points and I wanted to do it for the team. I was slow and the fast changes of direction were almost impossible. I am finished, I am exhausted. Now we can go home and recover and prepare for the races in Europe. The bike’s potential is much higher than what we have shown and where we are in the standings.”