Marquez takes the bull by the horns
HONDA’S MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez ran away with the Grand Prix of the Americas for the sixth year in a row to take his first victory of the season in dominant fashion.
The 25- year- old Spaniard was handed a three- place grid penalty in qualifying and started fourth but seized the lead on the opening lap before disappearing into the distance at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
It was the four- times MotoGP champion’s 10th successive win in the United States in the top category, with the others coming at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis.
“My strategy was just start, push and that’s it,” said Marquez, who shrugged off boos from the crowd reacting to a champion whose on- track clashes with rivals have been a talking point of the season.
“I didn’t have confidence to battle so I was pushing from the beginning and just go away, open the gap... in Spain they will be happy.”
Maverick Vinales, who started on pole for Yamaha, finished second behind his compatriot while Italian Andrea Iannone was third in his first podium with Suzuki.
Townsville’s Jack Miller overcame a crash during practice and a bad qualifying run, where he finished 18th, to sneak into the top 10 with a 9th placing on Sunday.
“Another top 10 finish? Yeah, I’ll take that,” Miller wrote on the team Red Bull website.
“That’s six in a row for me now. It was a tough old weekend for us in Texas and definitely a bit of a letdown after how good Argentina was.
“But sometimes you have to make the best of a s.... y situation and get what you can out of it, so ninth place is a pretty positive end to what wasn’t the most positive of weekends.
“I was struggling with a shoulder injury that I carried into the weekend as well. Not ideal.”