Marc Marquez cruises to Austin victory 04.10.2021: Grand Prix of the Americas MotoGP 2021 Round 15 Marc Marquez was unstoppable in Texas as his incredible race pace saw him break away to take his second win of the 2021 season and take the Repsol Honda Team’s 450th premier class podium.

Grand Prix of the Americas
MotoGP 2021   Round 15




Marc Marquez was unstoppable in Texas as his incredible race pace saw him break away to take his second win of the 2021 season and take the Repsol Honda Team’s 450th premier class podium.



Long gone were the hints of rain that had hindered the start of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, the sun shining as the American national anthem echoed along the main straight before the 20-lap MotoGP race.



When the lights went out, Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda Team RC213V rocketed forward to lead the field out of Turn One. From here there was no looking back as the eight-time World Champion set an unmatchable pace over the following 20 laps.



From lap five to lap 15, Marquez never went slower than a 2’04.9 to open up a gap of over four seconds to Fabio Quartararo. There was simply no stopping Marquez on Sunday in Austin as he claimed his seventh win at the circuit.



Marquez’s second win of 2021 also brings with it the 450th podium for the Repsol Honda Team since 1995 in the premier class. With 98 podiums in the iconic Repsol Honda Team colours, Marquez is the second most successful rider in terms of podium finishes for the team behind Dani Pedrosa with 112 top three finishes. This brings the #93’s personal win tally to 58 in the premier class and moves him to seventh in the World Championship standings with 117 points.



From 12th on the grid, Pol Espargaro was able to gain a handful of positions off the line and move into the group battling for the top ten. Espargaro fought well in the early laps to find himself clear space on track and set a steady pace to avoid any problems around the bumpy COTA track. With falls around him, Espargaro earned tenth place for his efforts in the Americas GP and the additional six World Championship points move him level with Nakagami in the overall standings.



The entire Repsol Honda Team will now enjoy a brief moment of rest after three races, and a test, in the last four weekends. Action resumes back at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on October 22 for round 16 of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season.   
    
       
    
Marc Marquez  93
1ST  


“The plan was to do exactly what we did today: start well and fight into the first corner, take the first few laps a bit easy and then when the tyres start to drop a little bit – that’s when I would start to push. It’s exactly what I did and I saw the gap increasing with my lap times in in 2’04 highs, very consistent and comfortable.


In the last few laps I was very tired and it wasn’t easy to keep my concentration but Fabio was far behind and my instincts said he would not risk anything as he’s fighting for the championship. Today is a great day, I want to say thanks to the whole of HRC and the Repsol Honda Team who have worked so well all weekend.


It’s been a hard season to understand everything, I was really looking for this victory because we know we had a good chance here. It was nice to win here for Nicky Hayden and also for the Viñales family, I have known them since I was eight years old and it’s a hard year for them and for the world of racing.”         



    
       
    
Pol Espargaro  44
10TH  


“We went into the race knowing it would be difficult and from the start the feeling with the front was not so good, there was a lot of pushing. With the situation we had, I couldn’t do any more. It’s strange because in previous races the rear has been where we had our problems, but today it was the front.



It’s unfortunate because we started the weekend well. Now the next objective is Misano where we know we have a good setting from the test, so we get ready to go again. The year isn’t over, so we keep our head up and keep trying. Congratulations to Marc and the Repsol Honda Team.”         

    
       
    
Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas



1    MARQUEZ Marc     93    SPA    25    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    41'41.435
2    QUARTARARO Fabio     20    FRA    20    Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP    Yamaha    4.679
3    BAGNAIA Francesco     63    ITA    16    Ducati Lenovo Team    Ducati    8.547
4    RINS Alex     42    SPA    13    Team Suzuki Ecstar    Suzuki    11.098
5    MARTIN Jorge     89    SPA    11    Pramac Racing    Ducati    11.752
6    BASTIANINI Enea     23    ITA    10    Avintia Esponsorama    Ducati    13.269
7    MILLER Jack     43    AUS    9    Ducati Lenovo Team    Ducati    14.722
8    MIR Joan     36    SPA    8    Team Suzuki Ecstar    Suzuki    13.406
9    BINDER Brad     33    RSA    7    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM    15.832
10    ESPARGARO Pol     44    SPA    6    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    20.265
11    OLIVEIRA Miguel     88    POR    5    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM    23.055
12    MARQUEZ Alex     73    SPA    4    LCR Honda    Honda    24.743
13    DOVIZIOSO Andrea     4    ITA    3    Petronas Yamaha SRT    Yamaha    25.307
14    MARINI Luca     10    ITA    2    SKY VR46 Avintia    Ducati    26.853
15    ROSSI Valentino     46    ITA    1    Petronas Yamaha SRT    Yamaha    28.055
16    LECUONA Iker     27    SPA    0    Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing    KTM    30.989
17    NAKAGAMI Takaaki     30    JPN    0    LCR Honda    Honda    35.251
18    PETRUCCI Danilo     9    ITA    0    Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing    KTM    42.239
19    MORBIDELLI Franco     21    ITA    0    Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP    Yamaha    49.854
20    ESPARGARO Aleix     41    SPA    0    Aprilia Racing Team Gresini    Aprilia    DNF
21    ZARCO Johann     5    FRA    0    Pramac Racing    Ducati    DNF
    
    
    

 Repsol Honda Team - MotoGP, also photos