For the first time in 15 years, MotoGP races in Argentina at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo. This is the Grand Prix of Argentina, in the northwestern part of the country. In qualifying, Jorge Lorenzo qualified scond. Stefan Bradl high sided his bike and got woosy, so he sat out the rest of the session. But, Marc Marquez starts on pole at 1:37.683. Tire management will be big, and the track layout will be a major factor, as it was redesigned last year, by track owner, and architect Jarno Zaffelli.
This track is flat, just under three miles, and has 14 turns. Michele Pirro sits in for Cal Crutchlow in this race, at Ducati. Pirro, is the Ducati test rider. Marc Marquez brings an unblemished record into this race, having won two in a row. This is the eleventh race for MotoGP in Argentina. Cal Crutchlow will return for the next race next weekend. Jorge Lorenzo says that his jumped start in Texas last time out, was because of mosquitoes in his helmet, bugging him. No pun intended. Watch the action through turns 9, 10, and 11 in this race. We're ready to race, now. The bikes are on their warmup lap. We're ready for a start.
Go! At the start, Jorge Lorenzo leads as Dani pedrosa passes Marc Marquez and here comes Andrea Ianonne as this 26 lap race gets underway, and the bikes fly down the 1.1 kilometer back straightaway. Ianonne runs wide and Alvaro Bautista and Danilo Petrucci, crash. Dani Pedrosa leads. But, poor old Alvaro Bautista. Three races... nil points. Valentino Rossi now leads but in a three wide battle, he loses out to Lorenzo and others. The two Yamaha's sandwiched out Pedrosa as Aleix Espargaro crashes!
Is this Moto 3 or MotoGP? Cool it, boys. Alexis Espargaro recovers. Ianonne is coming back as Lorenzo leads this one so far. Into turn five. Marquez is ahead of Pedrosa as Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro are up there for Tech 3 Yamaha. Loprenzo runs fast lap. Not sure of the time. Ianonne is second, behind Lorenzo, passing Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo ekes out a 7/10ths of a second gap. Stefan Bradl is also moving up.
Dovizioso has to sit up as Marc Marquez makes a pass and now, Marquez is back up in the top five after sinking at the start. Marquez is inside Bradl now, carving his way through the field like a knhife through butter. Valentino Rossi is now coming up to second. The factory Yamaha's are 1-2. Marquez is in Ianonne's slipstream. Stefan Bradl wants a piece of this. Rossi runs wide. Marc Marquez comes to second. Rossi fights back. Ianonne is trying to go through, too. But Marc Marquez is loving this, because he can pull away.
Jorge Lorenzo still leads. Everything we've seen is that Marquez is going to catch Lorenzo. Marquez runs fast lap. Three bikes are out of this race. Rossi and Marquez are using the harder compound tire as Rossi runs wide in turn five and loses spots! That's a rough ride for Rossi. Give him a rest. He's a veteran. This is superb racing. Alvaro Bautista is down the order. Marquez is into the 1:40 range. Scott Redding runs ahead of Nicky Hayden. Aleix Espargaro is still in this race, but is behind.
We're now working lap seven. Lorenzo still leads, but Marquez is coming. Lots of position shuffling right now. Pedrosa, Bradl, and Rossi battle each other. Lorenzo moves off the racing line slightly as Pedrosa passes Ianonne. Stefan Bradl is also in the top five. Lorenzo will have to go for it. What can he do to rough up Marc Marquez? Aleix Espargaro crashed out on lap two of course. He qualified well, so, it's disappointing.
Rossi and Marquez have hard front tires, while Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo are on medium tires while Stefan Bradl passes Andrea Ianonne. We've got a real fight on our hands, early on in this race. Lorenzo moves off the racing line, slightly. Pedrosa passes Ianonne. We are looking back down the order and Cal Crutchlow's super sub, Michele Pirro, is fifteenth. Rough up Marc Marquez. That's the only way he'll be beaten.
We watch a replay of Aleix Espargaro's crash. Giacomo Agostini was the last rider to win three races in a row, from pole. Agostini of course, is a 15 time MotoGP champion. Marquez is on a medium front tire, Lorenzo on hard. Both riders are using the harder rear tire from Bridgestone. 15 laps left. Rossi passes Ianonne and is looking fror Bradl and Pedrosa. Stefan Bradl and Dani Pedrosa are also putting in their best laps. Meanwhile, it's Lorenzo vs. Marquez for the lead between turns six and seven on the course.
Lorenzo knows Marquez is there. We're on lap 12 of 26. One lap to halfway. Andrea Dovizioso is challenged by Bradley Smith who has left team mate Pol Espargaro behind. Yonny Hernandez is hanging in there as Bradley Smith fends off Dovizioso's challenge. Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama also are behind as Valentino Rossi passes Stefan Bradl. Bradl crashed in qualifying of course. Down the long back straight, Rossi continues to hold his position over Bradl, but, he runs wide, again.
This is the halfway mark in the race. Marquez got a bad start as he was pushed out by Pedrosa and Lorenzo. Dovizioso had a big wobble and Colin Edwards didn't get the best start. Lorenzo leads. But, Marquez wants it. Lorenzo wants to force Marc Marquez into a mistake as we work lap 14. Aleix Espargaro has passed Broc Parkes. Parkes had a decent qualifying run, even though he's caboose on the field.
Pedrosa and Rossi are third and fourth, and Pedrosa is slightly quicker. Ten laps to go now. Marquez is pouring on the steam at the moment. Marquez closes on Lorenzo onto the back straight. Will Marquez outbrake Lorenzo into turn five? No. He ran too deep into turns three and four. Turn six is the second longest corner on this Rio Hondo track. This is the second fastest track for MotoGP, after only Philip Island in Victoria, Australia, where the bikes will race in the fall.
Anything can happen with tire degradation. Lorenzo, Marquez, and Pedrosa are 1-2-3. Pedrosa has shaken up Valentino Rossi, and he's trying to push his rivals (Marquez and Lorenzo). Here comes Marquez, and he shoves Lorenzo out of the way. Will Marc Marquez win three in a row? Eight laps remain in Argentina. This race will be decided in the next two laps. Can Pedrosa do anything about this battle? Not really. He wants to make it a Repsol Honda 1-2. But, there's now just six laps to go.
Michael Laverty passes Mike di Meglio. Aleix Espargaro has passed Colin Edwards, and di Meglio. Six laps remain now. Dani Pedrosa normally struggles with a medium tire towards the end of the race. He's also having trouble with a hard tire. We've got battles all over the speedway, with Nicky Hayden, Hiroshi Aoyama, Karel Abraham, and others. Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa are very close to each other right now. Three laps to go.
Pedrosa could be up with the leaders. But, that's not to be. Nicky Hayden moves into the top ten. Michele Pirro will pick up points for Cal Crutchlow with two laps left, with an advantage over Hector Barbera. Jorge Lorenzo does not want to be beaten by Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa closes up. Will he have a go? There's 3/10ths of a second between them over the line. Down the 1.1 kilometer back straight, here comes Pedrosa, who wants by Lorenzo.
Dani Pedrosa is still struggling to get by Lorenzo. Just a lap and a half to go now. Pedrosa goes up and passes Lorenzo in turn 13. Has Lorenzo got anything left in the locker? Not today. No lucky superhero outfit for Lorenzo here. Marc Marquez wins three in a row, just as the great Giacomo Agostini did to start the 1971 MotoGP season. As a footnote, Hiroshi Aoyama nabs Nicky Hayden for tenth. The team mates, might not be too happy with each other.
But, Repsol Honda gets three straight wins in a season. He's the first rider, in 43 years, to do that. He's rewriting Grand Prix motorcycle racing's history books, folks. This kid is going places. He's already got one championship, of course.
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Honda
The next race in MotoGP is in Spain at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Jerez, Spain. It happens, this weekend. Stay tuned, for a race report.
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