Second consecutive victory for Marquez after breathtaking battle
Having won his first Grand Prix two weeks ago at the difficult Italian circuit of Mugello, this weekend Marc Márquez again put in an excellent performance at the unknown Silverstone Circuit. The dominating force throughout the weekend test sessions – first on Friday, third in Saturday´s morning free practices and first yesterday in qualifying -, Márquez scored the 25 winner´s points, having perfectly defeated a strong opponent, Pol Espargaró.
The race was defined quickly. Márquez, starting from pole position, set a fast pace which only Espargaró was able to keep up with, also placing himself out in front for a couple of laps. Both only needed a few laps to put some ground between themselves and the rest of the pack and set a lonely course for the battle for victory. Behind, a second group with Vázquez, Smith and Terol could only fight for the third step on the podium.
Out in front, the race did not hold much interest during the intermediate laps, while the two riders waited patiently for the last laps to show their cards. The Repsol rider was the one who set the pace and stayed up front while Espargaró rode comfortably behind waiting for the end of the race. And this came after lap 16. On the 17th and last lap, Márquez and Espargaró touched on more than four occasions and passed each other just as many. With riding skills to the limit, both fought for victory to the last turn, a victory which finally went to the brave Marc Márquez.
With this result, the Repsol rider remains in his third position in the overall standings and reduces the distance to the leaders. Espargaró, the new leader, is 17 points ahead and Terol, second, is 16.
Marc Márquez, 1st, 38’12.837 sec.
“I feel very proud to have won for the second time in a row, both for the team and for those around me. Now I can hardly believe it and I want to enjoy this moment because we have done an incredible job with the team all weekend. Due to it being a new circuit, it caused us some extra problems in the beginning, but after trying some different adjustments, we found a good set-up for the race. The last lap was incredible, a bit risky, but I had to be strong to try to take the win having lead for almost all the race. I knew that I had a good pace and I felt very comfortable, so I tried to ride a few laps to the maximum, without taking any unnecessary risks. Pol [Espargaró] also had a good pace and was the most consistent rider alongside me and I saw him break away with me. At the end, I couldn’t shake him and I knew that we would play it out in the last lap. We overtook each other four times, we touched, but the important thing is that neither of us fell and I took the victory. I’m very happy about my second win and we’ll try to keep up this pace for Holland.”
Source: Repsol Media Service
