Unstoppable Marquez makes it five-in-a-row for Repsol Honda
Le Mans (France), 18 May 2014:
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) continued his astonishing run of historic MotoGP victories with a stunning win at sunny Le Mans this afternoon. The 21-year-old reigning MotoGP World Champion won the French Grand Prix with a comfortable margin ahead of former champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), despite running off the track on the first lap, which forced him to fight back from tenth place.
Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) made it two Hondas on the podium with a storming ride to third that helped erase memories of a difficult start to his season. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) – both recovering from post-Jerez surgery to fix arm-pump problems – finished in fifth and sixth positions
Marquez started from pole position – as he has done at every race so far this year – but he lost out in the long drag to Le Mans’ high-speed turn one. This was no real worry for the youngster who knew that he and his RC213V had the pace to run at the front. But at the tight Garage Vert double right-hander he ran right off the track when Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) ran slightly wide just ahead of him. That dropped Marquez a further four places.
His comeback was spectacular. Showing remarkable cool, he was soon the fastest man on track, passing Pedrosa, Bautista and Bradley Smith (Yamaha) in short order. On lap seven he rode right round the outside of early leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and established a new lap record as he set off in pursuit of the top three: Bradl, Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) and Rossi.
He took Bradl and Espargaro on consecutive laps at Turn Two, then rapidly closed the gap on leader Rossi, who made things easy for his young rival by running wide at the Esses Bleu just before half-distance, allowing Marquez into the lead for the first time. From there he fully controlled the race, stretching his lead to 3.4 seconds at the start of the last lap, which he ended by cruising across the finish line, 1.4 seconds in front of his childhood hero.
Marquez now has a perfect score of 125 points from the opening five races, the first time any rider has managed this since Giacomo Agostini in 1971, a different era of racing when Ago enjoyed a huge machinery advantage over his mostly privateer rivals. And he broke another record today, becoming the youngest rider to score five premier-class victories.
Bautista, who scored his first points of the year at Jerez after crashing out of the first three races, was delighted with third place, which he grabbed from Espargaro with ten laps to go.
Pedrosa fought a long duel with old rival Lorenzo, eventually leaving his compatriot behind and then closing right up on Espargaro in the final laps, despite issues with front-end grip. Without that concern he would undoubtedly have been closer to the front.
Bradl wasn’t happy with his seventh-place finish. The former Moto2 World Champion ran second for the first two laps and was confident of a strong ride following pre-race changes to his rear suspension, aimed at improving edge grip. In fact the modification had the opposite effect, robbing the German of grip and allowing several riders to pass him.
Scott Redding (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RCV1000R) was the top finisher aboard Honda’s new production racer, the RCV1000R. It was another impressive display from the young rookie, who won last year’s Moto2 race at Le Mans, after a set-up change that allowed him to push deeper into the corners.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was happy enough with his weekend, but like many riders his performance suffered slightly in today’s warmer temperatures. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was happy to score the last point.
Nicky Hayden (Drive 7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) was the fastest RCV1000R rider in yesterday’s qualifying sessions but his race lasted only a few seconds before he crashed out when Andrea Iannone (Ducati) collided with him on the exit of the third corner.
The MotoGP circus now travels south to Italy, where the championship will reach one-third distance with the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on June 1
Honda MotoGP rider quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: race winner
“I am really happy with this win, which was different to the other victories. I made a mistake at the start; maybe I was too relaxed off the line, then when Jorge passed me I had to take a wide line otherwise we would have touched and as a result, many riders overtook me. However, from that moment on I began a really good comeback and it was a lot of fun, ending in my fifth consecutive victory. Although it might look easy to people, we are working extremely hard and this is the reward for the whole team!”
Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 3rd
“I’m so happy to be on the podium, especially since it’s more than one year since I’ve had this feeling. After the three crashes we had in the first three races and the practice troubles we had at Austin and in Argentina, we began to work well again at Jerez. Here I felt so good on the bike from FP1, so we’ve been competitive all weekend. Marc was on another level today, but I could stay with others, always trying to keep my rhythm. My thanks to the team – this result gives us a lot of confidence.”
eom/Courtesy Repsol Honda release
