Marquez Dominates Indianapolis
Moto GP 2013
www.motorcycle-usa.com Sunday, August 18, 2013 By Bryan Harley
Marc Marquez concluded a dominant weekend by winning the 2013 Indianapolis MotoGP, winning all three USGP races this year.
Marc Marquez might think about buying real estate here in the US. He’s owned all three US Grand Prix, completing the clean sweep today by speeding to victory in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. Marquez methodically stalked the front runners, Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, before executing his moves to the front. After disposing of Lorenzo on Lap 13, Marquez pushed hard to create a gap to cross the finish line 3.5 seconds ahead of his competitors. “I didn’t make so good a start, but I know it before the race that the most important part was the end of the race. In the beginning, OK the beginning it starts, I thought It was not so good, but then on the first 10 laps I just tried to follow Dani, tried to follow Jorge. I tried to save the tires. And then when I feel ready, when I feel cooled down a little bit, I tried to attack,” said Marquez in a post-race interview.
It is Marquez’s third consecutive victory, and fourth on the year. He also won the Austin race at Circuit of the Americas and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to complete the US sweep.
Lorenzo would grab the lead from the front row, Pedrosa hot in tow with Marquez dropping to third after earning pole position. On Lap 9, he would make an outside pass on Pedrosa to move up to second, then swung under Lorenzo a few laps later and never looked back. Pedrosa and Lorenzo, both still not quite 100% after each broke their collarbones in recent races, would battle to the end for the other two spots on the podium. Pedrosa would slingshot by on the back straight with two laps to go to grab the second position, Lorenzo grabbing the last spot in third.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow would spend much of the afternoon jousting with Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista for the second-tier spots. Yamaha Factory’s Valentino Rossi meanwhile had been working his way up from the ninth position, setting his sights on a late-race move. Rossi would soon muscle by both Crutchlow and Bautista to grab fourth by .060 seconds. Crutchlow would hold off Bautista by .106 seconds to finish fifth, Bautista earning a hard-fought sixth.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith got off to a rocket start, but later fell off pace. He trailed the Ducati Factory duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso going into the last lap and would get some help in the last turn when Hayden pushed Dovizioso wide, allowing Smith to sneak by.
It was a difficult day for American wild card rider Blake Young, the Attack Performance Racing pilot crashing on the first lap. American Ben Spies fared even worse, missing the race altogether because of a big highside in yesterday’s third free practice session. Pramac PR said Spies is flying back to Dallas tomorrow for further evaluation of the injuries he sustained. Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham also missed today’s Indy GP because of foot and shoulder injuries sustained on the first day.
The MotoGP paddock heads to the Czech Republic next weekend for the Brno GP. Rookie Marquez now leads the championship by 21 points.
2013 MotoGP Indianapolis Results
1. Marc Marquez (Honda)
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
5. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha)
6. Alvaro Bautista (Honda)
7. Stefan Bradl (Honda)
8. Bradley Smith (Yamaha)
9. Nicky Hayden (Ducati)
10. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati)
11. Andrea Iannone (Ducati)
12. Aleix Espargaro (ART)\
13. Colin Edwards (FTR)
14. Claudio Corti (FTR)
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (FTR)
16. Hector Barbera (FTR)
17. Danilo Petrucci (Ioda-Suter)
18. Michaell Laverty (PBM)
19. Bryan Staring (FTR Honda)