HONDA More points for fast-starting

 More points for fast-starting Alex Marquez

 MotoGP 2020 Round 9, Gran Premi de Catalunya

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 The Repsol Honda Team gather more important data as the triple-header comes to a close in Barcelona with more points for rookie Marquez and mid-race improvements for Bradl.

 Temperatures were again some of the coldest of the 2020 MotoGP season for both Warm Up and the race itself. With conditions as they were, a good start and a smart race would be vital for Alex and Stefan as they looked to fight forward.

 The long run to Turn 1 was a dream for Alex Marquez who raced forward up to 11th aboard his Repsol Honda Team RC213V. His strong start from 18th on the grid put Alex in prime position to fight with the likes of Crutchlow and Viñales, battling with them in the early stages of the race. As in previous races, Alex was able to set consistent times throughout the race and made the most of mistakes from others. Crossing the line in 13th, the Moto2 World Champion claims points for the sixth time in 2020. Alex becomes one of just three riders to finish every MotoGP race this season, taking a maximum amount of information from each finish during his rookie campaign. 

 Stefan Bradl’s Catalan Grand Prix got off to a compromised start, the German forced to stand up and run on at Turn 1. But Bradl rallied himself and on Lap 15 moved to be just behind Alex and battling with Lecuona for the final points. Towards the end of the race Bradl was forced to slow as he struggled for rear grip and took 17th at the flag.

 Takaaki Nakagami produced another rousing performance as he battled up to seventh, fighting for a fifth-place finish right to the line. The LCR Honda Team rider holds seventh in the overall championship standings.

 After three busy weeks, the Repsol Honda Team will be able to enjoy a few days rest before the French Grand Prix on October 11. But before the next race, Stefan Bradl will ride the Honda RC213V at the new Portimao circuit ahead of the track’s championship debut later in the year. Alex Marquez will also join the test in Portimao to learn the layout.

 Alex Marquez (13^th)

“A difficult race today. We were expecting warmer conditions and we couldn’t use the soft front; we went with the medium. That was my mistake, I pushed the team hard to use the medium but during the race the temperature dropped a lot. In the first laps I lost a lot of time after my good start, then in the middle of the race I felt better but in the end I slowed again. It’s my mistake, sometimes this happens as a rookie and I have been able to learn from this. We also found a few things this weekend, so we are still improving and learning and now we look to Le Mans and also a quick visit to Portimao to learn the layout.”

 Stefan Bradl (17^th)

“It was cooler than everyone thought it would be, everyone had to manage it. For me it’s tricky to understand the rear tyre and I was struggling a bit. At the end of the race I had to slow down a lot because the rear dropped off a lot. In the middle of the race I was not so bad, and I was near the points, fighting well. Sadly, the rear then dropped and we fell back. But we keep working with the Repsol Honda Team, trying different things and pushing. Now we have a little break before heading to Portimao for a test which will be important for me and Honda.”

Rider Standings

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Points	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	QUARTARARO Fabio	20	FRA	25	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	40'33.176
2	MIR Joan	36	SPA	20	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.928
3	RINS Alex	42	SPA	16	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	1.898
4	MORBIDELLI Franco	21	ITA	13	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	2.846
5	MILLER Jack	43	AUS	11	Pramac Racing	Ducati	3.391
6	BAGNAIA Francesco	63	ITA	10	Pramac Racing	Ducati	3.518
7	NAKAGAMI Takaaki	30	JPN	9	LCR Honda	Honda	3.671
8	PETRUCCI Danilo	9	ITA	8	Ducati Team	Ducati	6.117
9	VINALES Maverick	12	SPA	7	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	13.607
10	CRUTCHLOW Cal	35	GBR	6	LCR Honda	Honda	14.483
11	BINDER Brad	33	RSA	5	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	14.927
12	ESPARGARO Aleix	41	SPA	4	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	15.647
13	MARQUEZ Alex	73	SPA	3	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	17.327
14	LECUONA Iker	27	SPA	2	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	27.066
15	RABAT Tito	53	SPA	1	Esponsorama Racing	Ducati	27.282
16	SMITH Bradley	38	GBR	0	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	28.736
17	BRADL Stefan	6	GER	0	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	32.643
18	OLIVEIRA Miguel	88	POR	0	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM	DNF
19	ROSSI Valentino	46	ITA	0	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	DNF
20	ESPARGARO Pol	44	SPA	0	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	DNF
21	ZARCO Johann	5	FRA	0	Esponsorama Racing	Ducati	DNF
22	DOVIZIOSO Andrea	4	ITA	0	Ducati Team	Ducati	DNF

Successful surgery for

Successful surgery for Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez
prepares for second run in Jerez

 

MotoGP 2020 Round 3, Grand Prix of Andalucia

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Alex Marquez prepares for back-to-back races as reigning World Champion Marc Marquez undergoes surgery on his broken right humerus in Barcelona.

After falling heavily on Sunday, Marc Marquez was diagnosed with a broken right humerus and travelled to Barcelona on Monday to the Hospital Universitari Dexeus. Dr Xavier Mir and his team in collaboration with Dr Barrera performed an open reduction and internal fixation of a titanium plate to the right humerus. The radial nerve was untouched and did not need intervention.

Marc is now recovering from successful surgery and will remain in hospital for up to 48 hours. His aim is to return to the 2020 World Championship as soon as possible with an expected date becoming clearer soon.

Alex Marquez will again mount his Repsol Honda Team RC213V at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto after a solid rookie debut. The Gran Premio Red Bull de Andalucía presents a unique chance to run at the same circuit as the previous race, Alex and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage able to apply all that they found during the previous weekend. Conditions ahead of the weekend look to again be demanding as temperatures are expected push above 30°C for most of the event. The reigning Moto2 World Champion will be aiming to collect points and finish as the top rookie once more.

Free Practice 1 begins at 09:55 Local Time on Friday, July 24. Lights for the 25-lap Andalucía GP will go out at 14:00 Local Time on Sunday, July 26.

Alex Marquez

“First, I’d like to again wish Marc, Cal and Alex Rins a speedy recovery. From my side as a rider, the situation does not change too much as I have my job, my objectives and I will always push to the maximum to achieve them. Going racing at the same circuit will be interesting, times will be very fast as most people have a good base setting but I am confident for the weekend, I learned a lot in my first GP and now I can apply it directly on the track again.”

Alberto Puig ( Team Manager)

“Everyone who races in the World Championship has the unfortunate possibility of getting injured and having to go to the operating room. Unfortunately, it was our turn and it was Marc who has had to undergo surgery. Marc will take some time to recover but we are happy with how everything has gone. Doctor Mir and his team have taken care of the entire situation since the fall and performed a successful operation. This gives the Repsol Honda Team a lot of motivation, knowing it went well, but now we have to be patient to see how Marc recovers and to understand when he can return.”

“Cal Crutchlow also had an operation that went well and in principle, his intention is to test the wrist on Friday. We are optimistic about his participation in the Grand Prix."

“This weekend we will be focused on Alex, helping him to take another step forward. When you are young and new in a category, every week you improve and grow. We hope he can close the gap to the front of the race.”

Rider Standings

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Points	Team	Constructor
1	QUARTARARO FABIO	20	FRA	25	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha
2	VINALES MAVERICK	12	SPA	20	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha
3	DOVIZIOSO ANDREA	4	ITA	16	Ducati Team	Ducati
4	MILLER JACK	43	AUS	13	Pramac Racing	Ducati
5	MORBIDELLI FRANCO	21	ITA	11	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha
6	ESPARGARO POL	44	SPA	10	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM
7	BAGNAIA FRANCESCO	63	ITA	9	Pramac Racing	Ducati
8	OLIVEIRA MIGUEL	88	POR	8	Red Bull KTM Tech 3	KTM
9	PETRUCCI DANILO	9	ITA	7	Ducati Team	Ducati
10	NAKAGAMI TAKAAKI	30	JPN	6	LCR Honda	Honda
11	ZARCO JOHANN	5	FRA	5	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati
12	MARQUEZ ALEX	73	SPA	4	Repsol Honda Team	Honda
13	BINDER BRAD	33	RSA	3	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM
14	RABAT TITO	53	SPA	2	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati
15	SMITH BRADLEY	38	GBR	1	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia