Marc Marquez wins in MotoGP return to COTA in Austin

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez scored his second victory of the season as MotoGP returned to the COTA circuit Austin, Texas, for the first time since 2019.

The Spaniard, who has six titles in the premier division and two in the support series, led all 20 laps of the main event after starting third at Circuit of the Americas. He finished more than 4 seconds ahead of runner-up Fabio Quartararo.

It was the 58th career victory in MotoGP and seventh in eight starts at COTA for Marquez, who missed all but one race last year and the start of the 2021 season after injuring his arm during a crash in the season opener.

Marquez celebrated winning the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas by carrying a flag on the cooldown lap saluting late American champion Nicky Hayden.

“The plan exactly was like I did the race,” Marquez said. “Start well, be first in the first corner. And then when the tires started to drop a little bit, start to push. That’s exactly what I did, and then I saw I increased the gap and was riding comfortable.”

A majestic ride and a classy tribute 👏@marcmarquez93 honours the late great Nicky Hayden ❤️#RideOnKentuckyKid | #AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rwsCE9Kjt2

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 3, 2021

Francesco Bagnaia, who started on the pole position in pursuit of his third consecutive victory, rounded out the podium after a penalty to Jorge Martin, who had crossed the line in third but was scored in fifth behind Alex Rins.

Enea Bastianini finished sixth, followed by Joan Mir, Jack Miller, Brand Binder and Pol Espargaro to round out the top 10. Mir and Miller exchanged words after contact on the last lap.

Quartararo increased his championship points lead to 52 (254-202) over Bagnaia, putting the Frenchman in position to clinch the title in the next race.

In the Moto2 race, American rookie Cameron Beaubier finished a career-best fifth before his home crowd.

Doing the home fans proud! 🇺🇸

A career best finish for @cameronbeaubier! 👏#Moto2 | #AmericasGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/cxUwH7i4XG

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 3, 2021

Beaubier races for American Racing Team, which recently announced his return for the 2022 season along with fellow American rider Sean Dylan Kelly as a new teammate. Beaubier won five Superbike championships in six seasons before making the move to Moto2.

The Red Bull Circuit of the Americas marked the first MotoGP race weekend at Circuit of the Americas since April 2019. Last year’s race was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this season’s Oct. 3 race was added in June after the cancellation of the Japan round.

Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points