Marquez makes it 9 wins from 9 races with Pedrosa completing Repsol Honda domination
| Sachsenring (Germany), 13 July 2014: Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has made it an unbelievable nine wins from nine races this season with a perfect weekend in Germany, clinching pole position, fastest race lap (lap 21/30 1’22.037) and the race victory. Teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished in second place – just 1.4s behind Marc – to earn Honda’s third 1-2 finish of this incredible season.It was a complicated race due to a brief rain shower at 13h30 – just half an hour before the race start – which left the track slightly wet. The riders exited the pits on wet tyres to test the conditions and asses how wet the track was. As they sat on the grid for fifteen minutes, the track began to dry rapidly and on the warm up lap fourteen riders including all the front runners – except Stefan Bradl (who already changed onto slicks on the grid) – entered the pits to swap bikes for the slick tyres and therefore start from the pit lane.
The riders jostled for position in the pit lane, creating a make-shift grid, and Marc and Dani – who were first and second in the initial starting grid – emerged into 10th and 13th respectively. Dani immediately began to pass and was up to 11th by the end of the first lap. Both riders found their rhythm quickly passing many riders and by lap five they were already on the back of Stefan Bradl. On lap six Marc took the lead and on lap seven Dani passed Stefan and was on Marc’s rear wheel. The Repsol Honda duo then rode a perfect race as they not only controlled the gap to the rest of the field but gradually extended it, finishing a full ten seconds in front of third place Jorge Lorenzo. Marc has now won for the past five years in Sachsenring – all from pole position – and has become the first rider to win the opening nine races of the year since Giacomo Agostini won the first ten races of the 1970 season. He continues to extend his lead in the Championship, now on 225 points and Dani reclaims second place with 148, ahead of Valentino Rossi on 141. Honda extend their lead in the Constructors Championship – now 71 points ahead – and continue to be the most successful manufacturer at the Sachsenring with nine wins since the introduction of the four-stroke MotoGP class in 2002. The Repsol Honda Team are now 135 points ahead in the Team’s Championship. The team will now pack up in Germany and drive 660km to Brno, Czech Republic, for a three-day test starting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Movistar Yamaha adds: Jorge Lorenzo returned to form today, scoring an impressive third place in difficult conditions at the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Teammate Valentino Rossi also rode a strong race, pushing up the leader board from twelfth to fourth.
 it was declared to be a wet race, but after the sighting lap the majority of the grid returned to the pit lane to swap wet tyres for slicks. Unlike in Assen where the race had been declared ‘delayed’ and two sighting laps given, the ‘wet race’ declaration meant only one sighting lap, resulting in the pit lane exit being closed. This left an almost empty grid with just eight riders present led by Stefan Bradl whilst the rest of the pack jostled in the tight pit lane exit, waiting for the flag to drop. Due to the cramped pit lane exit and cold brakes Lorenzo was forced over to the curb and had to let himself fall back to 16th position to avoid colliding with other riders or getting a penalty. The Spaniard took a few laps to get a feel for the situation, but then ploughed through the order on his way to the front of the field. He fought and passed numerous riders before dispatching Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso to arrive in seventh place behind Rossi. Lorenzo then took over from his teammate as they passed local rider Stefan Bradl to move in to third and fourth place respectively. With 20 laps to go Lorenzo tried to close down the gap of 5.733 seconds to Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez in front of him, but he was unable to do so, eventually finishing in third place, 10.317 seconds off the front. Rossi also rode an impressive race. As soon as the lights in the pit lane went off the Italian rider confidently took off, overtaking multiple riders as he found his pace. The Doctor shot up the order and arrived at the back of Bradl’s bike on lap nine. The German pole sitter had started well from pole on slicks but with a wet setting on his bike was no match for the Rossi’s full dry set up. He was soon passed and continued his charge with his teammate first behind and then ahead. Unable to match Lorenzo’s pace, Rossi kept his head and finished in a deserved fourth place, 19.194 behind the front man Marquez. With third place Lorenzo gains 16 championship points, leaving him fifth in the standings, just two points behind Andrea Dovizioso in fourth. Rossi scores another 13 points, increasing his total to 141 in third place. The gap to Pedrosa in second is now seven points. MotoGP will be taking a four weeks summer break before continuing the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 10th of August. ends |
