Marc Marquez is the strong man of this third meeting of the season in Austin. The Spaniard dominated the weekend with pole position and victory today. This is Marquez's 52nd Grand Prix victory, « It was not a simple race,” nevertheless confides Marquez. “ I tried the medium in the warm up, but it didn't suit me. Thanks to Michelin and my team, I opted to tighten it during the race. I took advantage of this choice at the start of the race to take off, not knowing that it was going to start to wear out.."
Marquez was not kept informed of his rivals' crashes, " My team did not tell me that Rossi had fallen, I only asked to be told my gap on the second. I learned about the falls at Parc Fermé. » For Marquez and the Repsol Honda team, this victory marks the first regular season victory, “ This is big news for the team, we were away during the off-season and again in Qatar. The race in Argentina was special with the flag-to-flag, but today we showed that we can win. Step by step, we improve. We always find something new. I think we will be even better next.«
Asked about the falls and the behavior of the Michelins, the Honda driver reassures, “ We have to learn how the tires behave on each track. Michelin works hard. They brought a new tire here to deal with the problem from the Argentine Grand Prix. We just have to find the limit. »
After his fall in Argentina, Jorge Lorenzo is delighted with this second place, « I'm happy to finish the race, » he said. “ The conditions were tricky today, especially after my crash in warm up. In the race, I couldn't stop the bike, and I made a few mistakes. From the 7th or 8th lap, I knew I wasn't going to win the race. The goal was to finish it. "For the next races, Lorenzo will try to reduce the gap on Marquez, " In Qatar I was the fastest, today it was the opposite. I came out wide especially with the full tank. With the falls of Dani, Andrea and Valentino, the goal is now to focus on Marc."
Regarding the Michelins, Lorenzo explains, “ We weren't reassured with the Michelins when we arrived here, but if they think it's the right choice to offer a harder tire, we have to accept it. The point that provides the best performance at the front is really minimal. We need to find this point, especially with full fuel.«
It's here first time this season that Andrea Iannone reaches the finish line. Victim of a fall in Qatar and Argentina, Iannone climbed to the third step of the podium in Austin, “ I am really happy,” he emphasizes. “ I needed this podium after the first two races. I had a lot of pressure and a lot of people were looking at me. I concentrated, we improved the bike, session after session. I had a good feeling, but the race was difficult.«
Iannone, however, was one of the only ones to approach Marquez's pace during testing, “ Marc is always fast here. We tried to close the gap, but he was always able to do it. The goal will be to close the gap on the top drivers like Marc or Jorge to try to win.«
The MotoGP paddock gives itself meet for the first event of the European tour in Jerez, for the Spanish Grand Prix, in two weeks.
Photo credit : Michelle Turco, journalist at Moto Revue and GP Racing
