MARQUEZ TAKES HONDA’S 100TH MOTOGP WIN AFTER THRILLER IN CATALUNYA

It was an incredible race which started at a very high tempo in front of 92,845 spectators. Marc, third on the grid, fell to fourth on the first lap before Marc passed Dani into third on lap two, setting a new record race lap of 1’42.182 (beating Dani’s time of 1’42.358 from 2008). Valentino took the lead from Jorge Lorenzo on lap four and on lap six Marc and Jorge had a nice battle passing each other a few times, before Marc made it stick. Coming into turn one on lap seven Dani passed Jorge for third place and began to chase down his teammate Marc and on lap nine the two Repsol Honda riders passed each other twice, but Marc was able to hold onto second place.

Marc caught up with race leader Valentino and ran wide attempting a pass, briefly dropping down to third but the regaining second place immediately. Five laps later, on lap nineteen, Marc passed Valentino but saw a yellow flag, so he wanted to give back the position immediately. Dani also passed but realised something was strange so he followed Marc’s actions and conceded the position back, he kept close to the two riders battling and on lap twenty two he passed Valentino and chased down Marc.

On the final lap, both Repsol Honda riders displayed a masterpiece of riding as they passed each other four times before Dani made a small mistake and slightly touched Marc. He was forced to sit the bike up and ran slightly wide, allowing Valentino to pass him and claim second place as Marc won the race setting a new fastest race time with 42’56.914.

With his victory here in Catalunya, Marc has also become the youngest ever rider (21 years and 118 days) to win seven successive races in the premier class, taking the record from Valentino Rossi (23 years and 155 days) also riding a Honda. This victory marks the first time two brothers have won on the same day in the World Championship after Alex Marquez rode his Honda to victory in the Moto3 race earlier this morning.

Marc continues to extend his lead in the Rider’s Championship with 175 points. The next race will take place in Assen on the 28th June.