Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took his 5th Win in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) initially fought it out with teammate Dani Pedrosa for victory in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, before being able to break clear in the latter laps of the race to take his stunning fifth win in a row in Austin – his 11th straight win on US soil in an incredible statistic. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) then put on a late charge to take second, with Pedrosa completing the podium – and former Championship leader Maverick Viñales crashing out early on.

Off the line it was an absolutely stunning swoop around the outside for Pedrosa from the second row to lead – old habits die hard – as the Spaniard overtook teammate and polesitter Marc Marquez to lead through Turn 1, with Rossi tucked in behind the two Repsol Honda machines.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) got a great launch from P6 to overtake Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), and the two men dueled it out until Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) got into the action and followed Viñales past the Mallorcan – before the drama struck.

After two wins from two in the first races of the season, Viñales then suddenly slid out of contention at Turn 18 – lowsiding safely, but out of the fight for victory and taking home a 0 for the first time since Argentina 2016.

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) had moved up from his P9 on the grid to take the factory Ducati duo for fifth behind rookie sensation Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), with Andrea Dovizioso getting the best of Lorenzo to move into sixth.

A moment between Zarco and Rossi then saw the ‘Doctor’ taking to the run off as the rookie attempted a move, rejoining a little further ahead and subsequently receiving a 0.3 second penalty for time gained, to be applied at the end of the race.

It was then the Repsol Hondas’ time to duel, as Marquez and Pedrosa diced for the lead and the number 93 was able to begin pulling away with 13 laps to go.

As the last laps approached, Crutchlow dueled Zarco for fourth to come home top Independent Team rider eahead of the rookie, as Rossi struck against Pedrosa to take third. Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) also got in some late action, making it past Lorenzo and the Italian crossing the line for his first points haul of the season in P7.

Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) also made it past a Lorenzo struggling with grip to take eighth, with the five-time World Champion crossing the line in P9, as Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller just beat rookie Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha tech 3) to complete the top ten – fulfilling his goal for 2017 in the first three races of the season.

Second Octo Pramac Racing rider Scott Redding came home in P12, with Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) scoring points once again ahead of Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing) and Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team).

Bautista had crashed at around half distance but rejoined to score the point, with teammate Karel Abraham leaving Texas with a DNF alongside Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro after a mechanical problem. Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Sam Lowes and Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing) also crashed out, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) pulling into the pits before rejoining to get more track time – crossing the line in P17 behind Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Next stop: Jerez. Last year, Valentino Rossi took a scorching win on ‘enemy’ soil in Spain, and the paddock now makes the journey to the classic venue as we return to Europe. And who leads the Championship?

RED BULL GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS

MotoGP Race Classification 2017

Austin, Sunday, April 23, 2017

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap
1 25 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 157.9 43’58.770
2 20 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 157.7 +3.069
3 16 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 157.6 +5.112
4 13 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda Honda 157.4 +7.638
5 11 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.4 +7.957
6 10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 157.1 +14.058
7 9 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 157.0 +15.491
8 8 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA OCTO Pramac Racing Ducati 156.9 +16.772
9 7 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Ducati Team Ducati 156.8 +17.979
10 6 43 Jack MILLER AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 156.8 +18.494
11 5 94 Jonas FOLGER GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 156.8 +18.903
12 4 45 Scott REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Racing Ducati 156.2 +28.735
13 3 53 Tito RABAT SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 156.1 +30.041
14 2 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 156.0 +31.364
15 1 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Pull&Bear Aspar Team Ducati 154.0 +1’06.547
16 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 153.1 +1’22.090
17 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 137.4 2 Laps
Not Classified
22 Sam LOWES GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 153.9 10 Laps
44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 150.1 12 Laps
76 Loris BAZ FRA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 155.8 13 Laps
25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 155.7 20 Laps
17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team Ducati 150.6 20 Laps

MotoGP World Standing 2017

Pos. Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 56
2 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 50
3 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 38
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 30
5 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 29
6 Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 27
7 Johann ZARCO Yamaha FRA 22
8 Jonas FOLGER Yamaha GER 21
9 Scott REDDING Ducati GBR 21
10 Jack MILLER Honda AUS 21
11 Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 17
12 Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati SPA 14
13 Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA 12
14 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 10
15 Andrea IANNONE Suzuki ITA 9
16 Loris BAZ Ducati FRA 9
17 Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE 8
18 Tito RABAT Honda SPA 8
19 Hector BARBERA Ducati SPA 8
20 Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 7
21 Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA 2
22 Bradley SMITH KTM GBR 1
23 Sam LOWES Aprilia GBR

Content & Photos courtesy of motogp.com