Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez won today’s Indianapolis Grand Prix from pole position after an exciting battle with Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo. The result was the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion’s seventh successive premier-class victory on American soil.

Marquez started from pole position but found himself in second place on the opening lap as Lorenzo produced one of his trademark storming starts to take the early lead. The two riders held their own private dogfight at the front of the field for the whole race, with Marquez ultimately fighting his way into the lead with just two laps remaining. Once in the lead, Marquez increased his pace to take the chequered flag 0.688 seconds ahead of Lorenzo in second place. Finishing in third place was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi who came out on top of another intense battle with Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa for the final podium place. During his fierce battle with Lorenzo, Marquez was able to set a new Indianapolis Circuit Record Lap of 1’32.625 on the twenty-third lap of the race and his total finish time of 41'55.371 was twelve seconds quicker than the old overall race time record that he set last year.

After fine and hot weather all weekend, race day brought a change in conditions with intermittent rain falling throughout the day. The MotoGP race was declared dry, yet very light drizzle fell on parts of the track in the second half of the race, making the record pace set by the riders even more impressive. The peak track temperature of 38° C was eleven degrees cooler than yesterday’s highest reading. Despite the cooler track temperature and the threat of rain, tyre choice was a carbon copy of what riders used in race simulations yesterday. Twenty-one of the twenty-three riders selected the hard compound front slick, with only two riders selecting the medium compound front. Rear tyre choice saw all factory option Honda and Yamaha riders select the hard compound rear, all factory option Ducati and Suzuki riders on the medium rear, while the Aprilia and open class riders opted for the soft compound rear slick.

Marquez’s third victory of the year sees him jump into third place in the championship standings on 139 points. Rossi still leads the MotoGP points table on 195 points, although the lead over his teammate Lorenzo shrinks to nine points with eight rounds remaining.

Marc Marquez said: "The race went very well, but we were pretty much on the limit. The truth is that Jorge improved a lot during the race, and I didn’t think there would be so many laps in the 1’32s. Even towards the end of the race we did a 1’32.6, which is very fast! We used the strategy of attacking at the end, when there were three laps remaining, and I think it was ideal for taking victory at this circuit. I’m also very proud to have taken Honda’s 700th victory! This is a very special moment for all the team and I dedicate it to all of Honda."

Indianapolis MotoGP™ Top Ten Race Classification

Pos

Rider

Team

Race Time

Gap

Front spec

Rear spec

Tyres

1

Marc MARQUEZ

Repsol Honda Team

41'55.371

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

2

Jorge LORENZO

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

41'56.059

0.688

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

3

Valentino ROSSI

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP

42'01.337

5.966

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

4

Dani PEDROSA

Repsol Honda Team

42'01.518

6.147

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

5

Andrea IANNONE

Ducati Team

42'16.899

21.528

Hard

Medium

Bridgestone

6

Bradley SMITH

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

42'17.122

21.751

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

7

Pol ESPARGARO

Monster Yamaha Tech 3

42'25.749

30.378

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

8

Cal CRUTCHLOW

CWM LCR Honda

42'26.978

31.607

Hard

Hard

Bridgestone

9

Andrea DOVIZIOSO

Ducati Team

42'28.192

32.821

Hard

Medium

Bridgestone

10

Danilo PETRUCCI

Octo Pramac Racing

42'29.888

34.517

Hard

Medium

Bridgestone

ends/Bridgestone press release