2017 Americas MotoGP - High 5 For Marquez!

The Americas Grand Prix was the best opportunity for Marc Marquez to break Maverick Vinales’ blitzkrieg of 2017. The reigning world champion had won all the four races that he had competed in, on the American circuit. But Marquez knew that the fifth win wouldn’t be an easy one as Vinales will be strong and that’s exactly how the qualifying went. The Repsol Honda rider had to push to the limit to grab pole in the dying moments of qualifying while Valentino Rossi joined them on the front grid.

On race day, tyre strategy played a critical role with only Marquez opting for the hard tyres while the other front row riders selecting the hard-medium compound. As the race started, it was Dani Pedrosa who took the lead followed closely by his team-mate. Rossi was going strong in third and Jorge Lorenzo was up in fifth place for a brief moment before being passed by Vinales.

The pecking order remained unchanged and Vinales was pushing hard to close down on Rossi. But the aggressive riding on the bumpy circuit costed the Yamaha rider dearly as he lost his front while braking hard into turn 13 and crashed out of the race. This ended Vinales’s 19-race run of scoring points. Johan Zarco was on the charge and clocked the fastest lap of the race in 3rd  lap and was closing in on Rossi.

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The rookie rider brushed against the MotoGP legend which forced Rossi to go wide off the track but luckily he managed to rejoin the race in third place itself. Surprisingly MotoGP officials felt that Rossi shouldn’t have gone off the track and given up his position and imposed a penalty of 0.3 seconds to be added to his final race time. 

With 13 laps remaining in the race, Marquez grabbed the lead from Pedrosa, but the latter wasn’t giving away his lead easily as both the Honda riders were involved in an interesting scuffle. But with tyre wear coming into picture, Marquez’s decision of opting for the hard compound worked in his favour as he was going strong while Pedrosa struggled. Valentino Rossi, ever the opportunist, sensed that he could a rise a step on the podium and started pressurising the Spanish rider who buckled with two laps remaining. But the race wasn’t over for the Italian rider as he had to finish more than 0.3 seconds ahead of the Honda rider to finish second. 

Rossi was pushing to the limit and with Pedrosa struggling for grip, such was his pace, that he crossed the finish line with a lead of over 3 seconds. Marc Marquez wheelied his way past the chequered flag to make it 5 wins in a row at Austin and maintained his winning streak. Rossi now leads the championship standing as the season moves to Europe with 56 points, while Vinales is in second place with 50 points and Marquez stands 3rd with 38 points.