Marquez feels at home
LUCKY TRACK: WORLD CHAMP HAS FOUR CONSECUTIVE WINS IN TEXAS
Points leader Vinales will provide a searching test.
Marc Marquez races for his fifth consecutive Moto Grand Prix of the Americas title this weekend after crashing out earlier this month at Argentina, where Maverick Vinales padded his points lead.
The Spanish stars and Italy’s Valentino Rossi, who has a checquered history at the Austin, Texas layout, lead the field into the third race of the season, Yamaha rider Vinales having won the openers at Qatar and Argentina.
Honda rider Marquez, the reigning world champion, has won all four MotoGP events contested at the 5.5km, 20-turn circuit, each time doing so from the pole. He was also on pole in Argentina but crashed out in the fourth lap and sits eighth in the points chase.
“After the Argentina race, I’m happy to go to a track I love as much as Austin, although of course I would have preferred to arrive there in a better position,” Marquez said.
“We will give 100 percent to try to get our first podium this season. I have great memories of Austin, and for me it’s one of the best venues on the race calendar. I like the layout of the track, as it has many different types of sections and corners and lots of elevation changes.”
But Vinales has a victory of his own in Texas in the 2014 Moto2 race and just missed the podium last year riding for Suzuki.
“I won my first race here in Moto2. I’ve always been very strong here,” Vinales said. “I also did one of my best results in America the last year, so I think it’s a good track for my riding style.”
Vinales has 50 points in the standings to 36 for Rossi, who has a hard-luck history in Texas. The worst was last year when he started third on the grid but crashed on the second lap.
“I have an account to settle with this track because last year in the warm-up I made a big step for a strong race but unfortunately I made a mistake,” Rossi said.
Rossi was third behind his Yamaha team-mate in Qatar, second in Argentina and is hopeful for a breakthrough in Austin.
“We have much work to do, but I’m confident in my bike and in my team,” Rossi said. –