Resurgent defending World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) stalked and finally pounced to take his second successive Grand Prix victory and his third of the season at Indianapolis today, also achieving another historic landmark for Honda, with the company’s 700th GP victory since its World Championship debut 56 years ago.
Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez
His rival was Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), who seized the lead off the line. But Marquez was equal to his rival’s pace and broke the lap record twice in the closing stages as he moved ahead for the first time, then stretched an advantage of 0.688 seconds at the flag.
Livio Loi (RW Racing GP Honda NSF250RW) had earlier won the damp-to-dry Moto3 race to bring the marque’s total to 699. Honda’s first world championship race was the Isle of Man TT in 1959; with the first win coming in the 125 class two years later.
While the leading MotoGP pair dueled, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) and title leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) were also engaged in an increasingly fierce battle some five seconds behind. They changed places several times as the laps wore down, and Pedrosa led into the last lap. But Rossi made a successful block-pass into Turn Two and managed to deny a podium finish to the Honda man by less than two tenths.
It was Marquez’s ninth straight win in the USA, and a fillip to his hopes of clawing his way back in the championship after a difficult start to the season, including three zero-points race crashes. He is now 56 points adrift of leader Rossi, having reclaimed nine points at the last race, and nine more today. With eight races remaining, he needs to regain an average of seven points at each race to claim a third World Championship in a row.
It was also a fruitful race for Pedrosa, who missed three races earlier in the year for arm-pump surgery. He is steadily gaining ground as he closes on the championship top five.
Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda RC213V) was the next Honda finisher in eighth, two-tenths behind Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) after a long battle. The former World 600 Supersport champion had started from the second row, but a near collision on only the second corner dropped him out of the top ten on the first lap.
Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) is the second satellite-team rider on a Factory Option Honda, and added to his points tally with 13th.
Nicky Hayden (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) was the best of four Honda riders on the Open category machine. But Honda’s 2006 World Champion was to be disappointed at the circuit closest to his Kentucky home, finishing 16th, less than one second away from the points.
Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) was 19th, and one-race substitute Toni Elias (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS) 22nd, riding in place of injured regular Karel Abraham. Class rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda RC213V-RS) had been the best qualifier of the quartet, but crashed out early in the race.
The Honda-powered Moto2 race started on a rapidly drying track with all riders on slick tires, and turned into a close and fierce contest. For most of the 25 laps a lead group of five or more traded blows and changed places, the issue only resolved at the last gasp in favor of rookie Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex), his first win in his first Moto2 season.
Rins had started from pole position, but it was Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia Kalex) who led the first lap, disputing the position with Austin GP winner Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing Speed Up) as the field cautiously explored the levels of grip.
World Championship leader Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex) took over, and then Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten Kalex) led for a long spell, with a close contest behind. Defending champion Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) dropped away but came back into contention as Lowes and Syahrin dropped to the back of the group. Then Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex) closed up to join the battle.
In the closing laps Rins managed to edge away, finally defeating Zarco by less than half a second. Morbidelli claimed his first podium, a similar distance behind, with Aegerter fourth, and Rabat and Luthi finally out of touch in fifth and sixth. Lowes, Syahrin and pole qualifier Mika Kallio (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) all crashed out.
Axel Pons (AGR Team Kalex) was seventh, a career best, closing on Luthi at the end after breaking free from the next group, with German GP winner Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Kalex), Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex) and Moto3 champion Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) completing the top ten.
Second was enough for Zarco to further extend his championship lead, now at 71 points ahead of Rins.
Unpredictable weather led to a bizarre Moto3 race, with the podium positions going to three first-timers, who took a tire gamble that played in their favor.
It was raining as the start of the first race of the day drew nigh, and riders were given extra sighting laps to assess the conditions. As they waited on the grid, it started to dry rapidly.
Loi changed from wet to dry tires on the grid; a handful of other riders, including John McPhee (SaxoPrint RTG Honda NSF250RW) and Philipp Oettl (KTM), elected to call in for a tire change, to start from pit lane.
Loi took charge as other riders started to pit for slick tires in the first laps; McPhee and Oettl moving into second and third.
Confusion reigned for the rest; illustrated by the fate of pole qualifier and runaway title leader Danny Kent (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW), who also pitted, and finished 21st. This meant that his closest title rival, Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW), closed up slightly to within 56 points, after a storming ride through to sixth, the second-best Honda finisher.
He crossed the line less than a second ahead of Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW). Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) was a close ninth and Fabio Quartararo (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) fought through to 11th.
Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Repsol Honda TeamzoomRepsol Honda Team
Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team: race winner“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.”Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team: 4th“It was a very physical race. We had to fight a lot with the bike because the grip was difficult. The surprise was Valentino. I knew my pace was a little slower than Marc and Jorge’s, but after practice I thought I might be a little closer. However, Valentino made a big step forward as usual and we had to fight for the podium; on the last lap he overtook me on the second corner and I couldn’t return the pass. I’m happy for Honda to have achieved the 700th victory, it’s an honor to have played a part in this impressive statistic!”Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR: 8th“That was difficult. I made a not too bad start into the first corner. Into turn two I had no heat in the brakes and I nearly went into the side of Bradley [Smith]. Sorry to him for that because it would have been a British pile-up at the second corner. I dropped to 13th and it was difficult to make my way back through. I did some good lap times but made two mistakes around the track. I lost two to three seconds on two of the laps and that was enough to not be in that group with Bradley and Iannone. We always knew it was going to be a difficult weekend. Now we go to Brno and look forward to it.”Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: 13th“At the start I took a lot of risks to get into the top ten and it paid off. But when the pace went up I just couldn’t go with the group in front. Each time I tried to push I kept having a big moment and nearly crashing. I was closing the front or losing the rear. I am quite disappointed because it turned out to be another tough race and I don’t know where to go with the setting. The set-up was quite similar to Sachsenring where I felt strong. But here the bike felt heavy and it was physically demanding for 27 laps in that heat.”Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team: 16th“Well, I can’t celebrate 16th position at all. We knew it was going to be a tough race today. I got a decent start but nothing spectacular. In the early laps there were a lot of guys going in everywhere and I wasn’t able to make up the time I wanted. But I’m somewhat satisfied with the pace we ran. I was able late in the race to pull away from a lot of the guys that were quicker than me this weekend. I’m not happy with the result but I’m happy that we didn’t give up in the race, being so far back.”Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team: 19th“After a few laps I knew I had a problem with my left shoulder. I was already nursing it, but once I started fighting with Barbera and the guys it got to the point where I was riding with one arm. My left arm was useless. We really need to get to the bottom of it. I worked with the Clinica Mobile to try and resolve it. Speaking with them it’s because I’ve been having so many big crashes lately. I had a good bike under me today and the top ‘Open’ bike result was dangling in front of me … but it was taken away.”Toni Elias, AB Motoracing: 22nd“At the beginning it was difficult because I couldn’t be as fast as the riders in front of me. I never gave up. All the time I was trying to have the same pace. Finally I could see the gap was very stable. After some laps we started to reduce that gap and I got a lot of motivation. Finally I could catch Laverty and Bradl. I tried to overtake Bradl but I did a mistake and he passed me again. I finished the race only one second behind Laverty. I’m a little bit angry about the last two laps because I arrived too late. Maybe if the race was two laps longer it would’ve been possible to overtake the next three riders.”Jack Miller, CWM LCR: DNF“That was rubbish. We had a great start. The bike felt like it was working awesome. After a while I seemed to be sliding all over the place. A real shame because I was really happy how the bike was working all weekend. I was feeling comfortable on it so I’m a bit ticked off. The left hand side of the tire started going and I was having moment after moment. I was coming in to turn six and backing it in. The thing just folded the front.”
Honda Moto2 Rider Quotes
Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40: race winner“We did a really good job this weekend. We improved a lot from Friday. I just went to the track and gave my maximum. Step by step it was better. During the race it was really difficult because at the beginning the asphalt was wet, but when I saw Zarco, Tito and Morbidelli pass me they started to go strong. I changed my mentality and I went to the front and held it for the victory.”Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport: 2nd“The hardest thing was the choice of tires before the race. In the end we chose slicks and it was curious that everyone else also opted for them. At first I went carefully, but seeing it was dry I felt comfortable and I pushed to the fullest. I was afraid that Rins was going to escape, but in the end it didn’t happen. We also knew that Aegerter is very strong and is difficult to overtake. I think in the end, the difference with Rins was on the straight. I tried to catch him but it was not possible. In any case, we have more points for the title fight so it was like a victory, as I started eighth and finished second.”Franco Morbidelli, Italtrans Racing Team: 3rd“A good result for us. The crash at the Sachsenring didn’t disappoint me because I saw that my level was good. I just had to keep pushing here. Here the practice wasn’t as good as the Sachsenring but we were able to make this good podium so I’m pretty happy about this.”
Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes
Livio Loi, RW Racing GP: race winner“It was a perfect decision. My team manager said to me, ‘Hey, you are the only one on the grid with slicks.’ Maybe the first laps were difficult but after that I could win the race. I started pushing from the start. I just went for it. It was a hard race because I need to keep the speed up all the time. There was a group in front of me and I wanted to get them and I was in a fight with them. In the end I let them go and thought about my win, so it was perfect.”John McPhee, SaxoPrint RTG: 2nd“It was definitely a gamble on the grid. We decided at the last moment that we needed to use slick tires. We know the track dries very fast here, and the weather wasn’t looking like it was going to continue to rain. We made the decision to change and were a little late. We had to start from pit lane and we knew we had to go easy in the beginning. It was really difficult because leaving the pit lane I had nobody in front or behind to judge how good the grip was. Lap by lap I became a little faster and started to feel the grip and the limit. My position was getting better and better, but it was the longest race of my career. The last ten laps I just wanted the checkered flag to come out, but it was a really good race and I’m really happy for the result.”Enea Bastianini, Junior Team Gresini Moto3: 6th“At the beginning of the race with a damp track maybe I was a little disheartened: I know that I still struggle in the wet, because I’ve never had great opportunities to race in rain conditions. But then the rain stopped and the track dried out very quickly: therefore at the end of the second lap I entered the pits to put on slick tires, also because I saw Kent doing the same thing. In the dry we were able to make a good comeback: I had a good feeling with the bike and also with the asphalt and I was able to keep a good pace recovering several positions, so I can be satisfied. The ten points recovered on Kent are not many, but they are very important, because you can win a championship by only one point. This definitely gives us a great motivation to push harder and not give up.”
Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa
MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2015
Round 10: Indianapolis Race
MotoGP Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
F/O
1 Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team) F
2 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
3 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
4 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) F
5 Andrea IANNONE (Ducati Team) F
6 Bradley SMITH (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
7 Pol ESPARGARO (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW (CWM LCR Honda) F
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team) F
10 Danilo PETRUCCI (Pramac Racing) F
11 Maverick VIÑALES (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
12 Yonny HERNANDEZ (Pramac Racing) F
13 Scott REDDING (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) F
14 Aleix ESPARGARO (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
15 Hector BARBERA (Avintia Racing) O
* F=Factory option, O=Open category
Moto2 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Alex RINS (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
2 Johann ZARCO (Ajo Motorsport)
3 Franco MORBIDELLI (Italtrans Racing Team)
4 Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
5 Tito RABAT (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
6 Thomas LUTHI (Derendinger Racing Interwetten)
7 Axel PONS (AGR Team)
8 Xavier SIMEON (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2)
9 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
10 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
11 Azlan SHAH (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
12 Jonas FOLGER (AGR Team)
13 Anthony WEST (QMMF Racing Team)
14 Marcel SCHROTTER (Tech 3)
15 Robin MULHAUSER (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
Moto3 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Livio LOI (RW Racing GP)
2 John MCPHEE (SaxoPrint RTG)
3 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
4 Romano FENATI (SKY Racing Team VR46)
5 Isaac VIÑALES (RBA Racing Team)
6 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
7 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
8 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
9 Jorge NAVARRO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
10 Jorge MARTIN (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
11 Fabio QUARTARARO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
12 Karel HANIKA (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
13 Andrea LOCATELLI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
14 Jules DANILO (Ongetta-Rivacold)
15 Miguel OLIVEIRA (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
