FIFTH WIN IN TEXAS TO BE BACK IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Taking his first win of this season today, Marc Marquez completed another perfect weekend at Circuit of the Americas, succeeding in Austin for the fifth-straight time after starting from pole position.

Marc Márquez completed the first lap in second position, behind his teammate. Although Pedrosa put up a strong defence, the reigning champ took over for good on lap 9 of 21 and extended his advantage during the latter part of the race.

Amazingly, Marc has won every Premier-class GP he has ever entered in the U.S., having also taken three MotoGP victories in Indianapolis and one in Laguna Seca; including his two Moto2 wins in the country, this is Marc’s 11th consecutive victory in the USA. That said, the last time the Repsol Honda man had stood atop the podium was when he clinched last year’s title in Suzuka, Japan, last October, so this victory marked a welcome return to the top.

With this result, Marc moves up the Championship standings to third place.

Marc Marquez: “This was a crucial race because after Argentina it was important to come back in the best way, so we are really happy with this result. Although I won, it was difficult, because the temperature was much higher than yesterday. Five minutes before the start, I said to my chief mechanic, ‘Okay, let’s use the hard tyre’ because I knew that I would push the medium front tyre a lot. In the beginning I was just trying to understand the limit because I hadn’t tried it a lot on Friday. I was behind Dani and when I saw that he was struggling a little bit and Valentino was challenging, I said, ‘Time to attack.’ I was able to win, and I’m happy to be back in the championship.”

MÁRQUEZ, LOOKING FOR THE FIRST PODIUM OF THE SEASON IN AUSTIN

After a complicated season start, Marc Márquez arrives to Austin willing to get his first podium of the year so he can get closer to the top championship positions.

Since the Circuit of the Americas was added to the MotoGP World Championshipcalendar, Marc Márquez has won every premier class race there and taken every pole position. Moreover, Austin was the scene of Marc Márquez’ first MotoGP victory, reason why this is a very special track for the Cervera rider.

Marc Márquez: “After the Argentina race, I’m happy to go to a track I love as much as Austin, although of course I would have preferred to arrive there in a better position. Anyway, another race weekend is about to start and we’ll give 100% to try to get our first podium this season. I have great memories of Austin, and for me it’s one of the best venues on the race calendar. I like the layout of the track, as it has many different types of sections and corners and lots of elevation changes. I also love the “American” style, with all the fans enjoying the sport and the fun at the track, so let’s get back in action and see how it goes there.”

MÁRQUEZ CRASHES OUT OF ARGENTINIAN GP WHEN HE WAS LEADING THE RACE

Reigning World Champion crashes out of the lead at Termas de Río Hondo. Marc Márquez started from pole position and opened a gap of more than two seconds in three laps. He crashed at Turn 2 due to a lack of front tyre grip.

Marc Márquez: “I was feeling really good on the bike. I was able to ride strong, as we made a great improvement to the setup in the warm-up, which made me feel pretty comfortable on my bike. The crash was unexpected; I must have made a small mistake, and it cost me a lot. Luckily I’m okay, but these kinds of mistakes disappoint me, as everything was going well. Anyway, we must put this behind us and think of the next race in Austin.”

BRILLIANT SECOND-PLACE FINISH FOR MÁRQUEZ IN JEREZ

Marc Marquez scored a brilliant second-place finish after chasing his teammate for 27 laps. The reigning World Champion is now third in the standings with 58 points,just four down on the leader. Tomorrow the Repsol Honda Team will take part in a one-day post-race test.

Marc Marquez: “I’m happy with today’s second place here at Jerez, a track that isn’t among my favourites, and having been able to be competitive and fight at a high level is very positive. Today Dani was really fast, as he has been over the whole weekend, in the wet and the dry. We got closer and closer session after session, but it was difficult to keep his pace. Today I tried to push, to put pressure on him, but even before the race I knew that Dani is very strong here. He’s also very good when conditions are really warm like today, because for me the front tyre is too soft; I mean, I chose the harder option today but even that was too soft for me. I tried to manage during the entire race, and I pushed. In the end I had a few risky moments, so I checked where Valentino and Vinales were and said to myself, Okay, second place is fine. I’m very happy with the result, to be just four points off the top and to be back in the battle for the Championship. The classification is very close and things are going to be very interesting. We must keep working as we’ve done so far. I dedicate this good result to my mom as today is Mother’s Day.”

MARC MARQUEZ LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ARGENTINA GP

Marc Marquez is traveling to South America this week for the second round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship, to be held at the Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit in the Province of Santiago del Estero, for the fourth year since MotoGP’s debut there in 2014.

While the track layout is quite different from that of Losail, the Repsol Honda riderwill have to deal with some similar challenges, such as the Argentinian track’s surface conditions, which are usually quite dusty and lacking in grip, at least on the first day of practice. Weather also is something to take into account as temperatures can sometimes be very hot, further testing tyre life.

Marc Marquez has won twice in Termas de Rio Honda (2014 & 2016), achieving also pole position in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Marc Marquez: “Qatar was a hard Grand Prix but we improved a lot over the weekend even if we couldn’t reach the podium on Sunday. Now we’ll see if the work we did there will be fruitful in Argentina. The track is nice; I’ve always felt good there, but the grip level is always pretty low. Tyre life is something to be aware of, as it’s normally very short, so we’ll work to reduce this issue and also to further improve the general bike setup. We look forward to fighting for the podium in front of our Argentinian fans, who are very passionate and supportive.”