Marc Marquez back to his best with Spanish GP Victory

GDN - Some 75,000 Spanish fans filled the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto to witness the 300th race of the modern-day MotoGP era. Marc Marquez becomes first repeat premier class winner of 2019 as he storms to victory in Jerez, Jorge Lorenzo returning to the points.

Fans flooded the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto from early in the morning, eager to see what would happen at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España. 21°C ambient temperatures and 42°C track temperature providing supreme racing conditions for fans and the Repsol Honda Team alike. Leaving the fall of Warm Up behind him, Marc Marquez stormed off the line to lead the 23-rider field through the opening corners. Lap eight saw Marquez open a gap and begin to break away at the front, steadily building an advantage with each corner. The dominant ride saw the reigning World Champion cross the line 1.654 seconds ahead of second place after celebrating across the line in the 300th MotoGP race. His 46th win in the premier class, and 72nd across all classes, moves Marquez to the top of the championship table with 70 points, a point clear of second placed Rins. His 1“™38.051 on Lap 15 of the race secured Marquez a new race lap record at the Jerez circuit along with his 25 World Championship points. He also becomes the third most successful Honda rider, overtaking Jim Redman who claimed 45 wins and overtakes Lawson to become the sixth most successful MotoGP rider in terms of premier class podium finishes with 80.

Alex Rins began fighting for the Top 6 by the end of the first lap, slotting in between the two factory Ducatis, and just three laps into the race he had already set a fastest lap. After a short battle with Dovizioso he began to close in on the Yamaha battle in front of him. Making swift work of passing both Viñales and Morbidelli, the young Spaniard suddenly found himself in second place following the retirement of Quartararo. Alex kept up a very strong and consistent pace, pulling away from those behind him and holding 2nd place until the finish line. This excellent result sees him move into 2nd in the championship, just 1 point from the title lead. A good start by Viñales and great pace in the final stages were key to him taking a well-deserved third place, which moves him up six places in the championship standings. Starting from the fifth row, Rossi had a tough race ahead of him, but he managed the busy mid-pack activity well, riding to sixth place for some crucial championship points.

Viñales had a strong start from P5, moving up to fourth through the first corner. He was pushing a 100 per cent right from the start to tack on to the back of the leading group of three riders, with Alex Rins on his tail. With 15 laps to go, the two Petronas Yamaha SRT riders in front of him started to battle each other. The Factory Yamaha rider seized the opportunity to close the gap, but then got involved in a fight himself for fourth place with Álex Rins. The Yamaha rider came under pressure from Andrea Dovizioso in the latter stages of the race but defended his position masterfully. He set various personal best sectors and ended on a high setting his best race lap, a 1“™38.157s. He finished the race in third place, 2.443s from first. The team will be back in action at the Jerez track tomorrow for the official one-day IRTA test, in preparation for the Grand Prix de France, held at the Le Mans circuit, in two weeks' time.

Marc Marquez 1st “This race was a mental race, more than a physical one. After the mistake in Austin it wasn“™t easy to lead the race like that from beginning to end, but I knew I had the pace to do it and the bike to do it. I wanted to do a race like in Argentina and at the start in Austin to prove it was a mistake there. I felt good all weekend, smooth, comfortable and able to ride how I want. Thanks to the Repsol Honda Team, they“™ve done an amazing job over the last few weeks and here this weekend. It“™s great to be leading the championship again.“

Alex Rins “It“™s incredible to get a win and then a 2nd place. I feel very happy; this race was really difficult and starting on the third row made it harder. I gave 100% and I knew that my race pace could be close to Marc“™s, so I planned to try and get a good start and go towards the front. The Spanish fans were amazing today, I could see Peluqui corner full of fans and it gives me a real boost every lap. I want to keep up this consistency and I hope for another good finish in Le Mans.“

Maverick Viñales “To be on the podium feels like a victory to me. I saw that Dovi and Petrucci were behind me, together, so I thought “Woah, Dovi is going to push, so it“™s going to be difficult“, so I just tried to do my best laps and ride the best sectors I could. Honestly, it was difficult because I had just a little bit of tyre left at the end. I don“™t know if I could have done more laps like that last lap, but I“™m happy because the bike was good at the end. It was very important to demonstrate that we could be there. We recovered a lot of confidence, especially with the front tyre. We“™ve done something different on the bike, that gives me more consistency at the start so I can be much more precise. I“™m really happy because we didn“™t lose any positions at the start, we even gained one, and then another during the race. We“™ve been working really good during the whole weekend. After FP3 we were out of Q2, which means that, since then, we“™ve improved the bike quite a lot. Today was a good test to see where we are. It“™s important that we weren“™t so far from the front in the end. The most important thing is to be on the podium consistently. If we give our best, I think I can arrive at the top, but honestly there“™s no time to relax. Especially tomorrow, we need to do a good test. It“™s very important tomorrow to get everything done and go to Le Mans with a good mindset.“

GP of Spain - Race Classification:

1. Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 41'08.685
2. Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +1.654
3. Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +2.443
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Mission Winnow Ducati +2.804
5. Danilo PETRUCCI Mission Winnow Ducati +4.748
6. Valentino ROSSI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +7.547
7. Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT +8.228
8. Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda CASTROL +10.052
9. Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU +10.274
10. Stefan BRADL Team HRC +13.402
11. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +15.431
12. Jorge LORENZO Repsol Honda Team +18.473

13. Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +20.156
14. Johann ZARCO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +26.706
15. Tito RABAT Reale Avintia Racing +28.513
16. Karel ABRAHAM Reale Avintia Racing +36.858
17. Bradley SMITH Aprilia Factory Racing +41.390
18. Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +41.570
19. Hafizh SYAHRIN Red Bull KTM Tech 3 +50.568
Not Classified
43 Jack MILLER Pramac Racing
36 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR
20 Fabio QUARTARARO Petronas Yamaha SRT
63 Francesco BAGNAIA Pramac Racing

MotoGP Championship Standings:

1. Marc MARQUEZ Honda 70
2. Alex RINS Suzuki 69
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati 67
4. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 61
5. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati 41
6. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 30
7. Jack MILLER Ducati 29
8. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 29
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda 27
10. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha 25
11. Pol ESPARGARO KTM 21
12. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia 18
13. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha 17
14. Jorge LORENZO Honda 11
15. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati 9
16. Joan MIR Suzuki 8
17. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM 7
18. Johann ZARCO KTM 7
19. Stefan BRADL Honda 6
20. Andrea IANNONE Aprilia 6
21. Tito RABAT Ducati 2
22. Karel ABRAHAM Ducati
23. Hafizh SYAHRIN KTM
24. Bradley SMITH Aprilia