Alex Rins & Alex Marquez celebrate new contracts with Misano win and podium

Celebrating the confirmation of their continuation together for 2014, under the guidance of Emilio Alzamora, Alex Rins and Alex Marquez placed on the podium today at the San Marino GP. Rins won the race, whilst Marquez finished third.

The win for Rins allows him to close the gap to World Championship leader Luis Salom by twelve points. Marquez had suffered a heavy crash on Friday, injuring his right thumb, but had a perfect race today to claim 16 points. He improved his position in the overall standings to go fourth, thanks in part to a DNF for Jonas Folger.

The race began with Folger at the front, pushing hard with Rins and Maverick Viñales just behind. The trio quickly escaped from the rest of the field. Marquez, who had started from ninth, broke away from the rivals around him to pursue the top three.

As he did so, Folger suffered a big crash and left Rins and Viñales by themselves. Marquez found himself in third place at the halfway mark of the race, and maintained the position to the end. Rins made one failed attempt to pass Viñales, then was successful second time around to take an important win.

Rins remains third in the overall standings, 21 points behind Salom and 2 behind Viñales. The next round of the series takes place in a fortnight’s time, at Aragon.

Alex Rins
“It was a very clean, enjoyable race. On the opening laps, Jonas (Folger) pushed to the limit and I slotted into second behind him. From the halfway point of the race onwards, myself and Maverick (Viñales) set a very fast pace. In the battle for the win, on the final lap, I knew where I was going to need to pass. I knew that if I did it anywhere else, then he could pass me back on the exit of the corner, but everything worked out well. I am very happy with today’s result; now we have to focus on Aragon.”

Alex Marquez
“It was a very difficult weekend for me. The crash on Friday halted our work a little then and in qualifying. I knew that it would be a tough race for us, but I felt comfortable right from the start. On the opening laps I had a problem overtaking and, when I passed those ahead of me, I tried to set my own pace. Even I was surprised at how I broke away from them. I think that the podium today is a positive result and now we have to go to Aragon, where we will need to be calm in practice and avoid any unhelpful crashes.”

Source: Repsol Media