Marc Marquez was unstoppable in Texas when his incredible racing pace enabled him to break away from his second win of the 2021 season and take the 450th podium in the Repsol Honda Team’s premier class.
Long gone were the signs of rain that had prevented the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas from starting, the sun was shining as the American national anthem echoed down the main straight ahead of the 20-lap MotoGP race.
When the lights went out, Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda Team RC213V shot forward to lead the field from the first corner. From here there was no turning back, because the eight-time world champion set an unbeatable pace in the following 20 laps. From lap five to lap 15, Marquez was never slower than 2’04.9 to open a gap of over four seconds on Fabio Quartararo. Marquez was unstoppable in Austin on Sunday as he clinched his seventh win on the track.
Marquez’s second win in 2021 also brings the Repsol Honda Team’s 450th podium in the premier class since 1995. With 98 podiums in the legendary Repsol Honda team colors, Marquez is the second most successful driver in terms of podiums for the team behind Dani Pedrosa with 112 top 3 finishes. This increases the number of victories for the # 93 to 58 in the premier class and brings him to seventh place in the World Cup with 117 points.
From starting position 12, Pol Espargaro was able to make up a handful of places and move into the group in the battle for the top ten. Espargaro fought well in the first few laps to find space on the track and set a constant pace to avoid problems on the bumpy COTA track. With falls around him, Espargaro finished tenth for his efforts at the Americas GP and the additional six championship points put him level with Nakagami in the overall standings.
The entire Repsol Honda team is now enjoying a brief moment of calm after three races and one test over the last four weekends. The action will resume on October 22nd at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship season in 2021.