Reigning MotoGP king Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) contests this weekend’s Grand Prix of the Americas aiming to continue an unprecedented record of victories on American asphalt.

The young Spaniard has ridden 11 Moto2 and MotoGP races in the USA over the past seven years and has won all of them. After dominating the Moto2 races at Indianapolis in 2011 and 2012, his amazing run of US MotoGP success began with the Americas round in April 2013, when he became the youngest rider in history to start a premier-class race from pole and also the youngest to win a premier-class race. Since then he has won a further four MotoGP races at the Circuit of the Americas (always starting from pole), three races at Indianapolis and one at Laguna Seca. It is a remarkable achievement from a rider who has a habit of achieving remarkable things – Marquez may be 25-years-old but he is already sixth in the all-time winners list across all MotoGP categories.

What explains Marquez’s speed on American racetracks? One important factor is that most US circuits run anti-clockwise, while most European venues run clockwise. The former 125cc and Moto2 World Champion grew up on European tracks but he has spent much of his life training on dirt-track ovals, which run anti-clockwise. He is therefore most at home when turning left aboard his 250-horsepower Honda RC213V.

Marquez needs a good points score on Sunday, following a dramatic second race of the season in Argentina two weeks ago. Marquez dominated free practice at Termas de Rio Hondo, but changeable weather conditions complicated the rest of his weekend. After a delayed race start, his engine stopped at the end of the warm-up lap, so he had to bump-start his RC213V, then rode in the reverse direction of the track to return to his grid position. He quickly took the lead in the race, then obeyed a ride-through penalty for his grid infraction, which dropped him to 19th position. He recovered with amazing speed, all to the way to fifth place, but he was twice penalised for making contact with rivals, which dropped him to 18th at the finish, outside of the points-scoring positions. He now stands fifth in the World Championship, with 17 races still to go.

The man leading the title chase is fellow HRC rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda CASTROL RC213V) who scored a superb victory in Argentina, after a thrilling battle with Frenchman Johann Zarco, Spaniard Alex Rins and Australian Jack Miller. The 32-year-old Briton stands on top of the championship thanks to that victory and an excellent fourth-place finish at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, where he crossed the line less than three seconds behind the winner.

Crutchlow is the first Briton to lead the premier-class World Championship since 1970s legend Barry Sheene. His Argentine victory was his third Grand Prix success, following wins at the 2016 Czech and Australian GPs. Crutchlow has been a Honda rider since 2015 and has become a valuable part of HRC’s MotoGP line-up, showing stunning speed and offering vital feedback on machine performance that allows engineers to continue improving Honda’s MotoGP bikes. He goes well at COTA – last year he finished a hard-fought fourth, just two seconds outside a podium finish.

While Crutchlow celebrated his Termas victory, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) was nursing a broken right wrist, sustained when he crashed after Zarco made contact with him on the first lap of the race. The 32-year-old Spaniard has had an unlucky run with injuries during his MotoGP career, this latest upset forcing him to miss this weekend’s race.

The former 125cc and 250cc World Champion will be replaced by…?? Pedrosa hopes that his right wrist will be strong enough to allow him to race at the Spanish Grand Prix on 6th May.

Honda has three rookies in this year’s MotoGP World Championship – Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V), Thomas Luthi (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU RC213V) – who all go well at COTA. Indeed in last year’s America’s Moto2 race the trio finished first, second and third, in that order.

Reigning Moto2 World Champion Morbidelli comes to the USA full of hope after making a superb start to his MotoGP career. The 23-year-old Italian scored points in both races, coming home 12th in Qatar and 14th in Argentina, despite an incorrect tyre choice. This weekend Morbidelli will continue his apprenticeship, learning more about the very different riding technique to master a 250 horsepower MotoGP bike, after four seasons riding a 125 horsepower Moto2 bike.

Moto2 race-winner Nakagami also impressed in his first outings as a rookie MotoGP rider. The 26-year-old Japanese rider from Chiba finished just outside the points in Qatar, then beat Morbidelli in Argentina, coming home 13th, one place in front of his former Moto2 rival. Like Morbidelli, Nakagami understands that he is at the very beginning of his MotoGP adventure and that he must learn step by step to get the best out of a MotoGP bike.

Luthi missed his first MotoGP points by a mere 1.076 seconds in Argentina. The 32-year-old Swiss rider is hopeful that COTA will offer him the chance to get within the MotoGP points-scoring positions for the first time.

Cal Crutchlow 35

“We arrive in Austin with more determination after my victory in Argentina but I keep my feet on the ground. There many strong riders out there and the championship is still long. I think Honda is very strong at Austin and we will do our best to get as many points as possible for the championship. Winning races in MotoGP is massive, but my goal is to be fighting for the podium in every race.”

Marc Marquez 93

“After a good start to the season in Qatar, we got no points in Argentina, but I was feeling good on the bike in both races, which is positive. The season is long and the most important thing is that our level is there. Now we go to Austin, a good circuit with a good atmosphere and great memories: it was the place of my first pole and my first MotoGP victory and we’ve been able to be strong there since then, so it’s a good place to try and get a good result. That said, every season is different: the bikes, the tyres, the conditions. This year some work was done to reduce the bumps, so we’ll see how the track is. As we’ve done so far, over the weekend we’ll focus our work on the race setup, and then on Sunday we’ll see where we’re able to finish.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

“Since the operation, I started feeling a bit better every day. I’ve been doing exercises to gain mobility and reduce the inflammation. Little by little I’m recovering muscle tone, and this allows me to see some progress. From here it’s difficult to know our real possibilities. We’re going to a difficult track and until I’m back on my bike I won’t be able to really know my situation. But what’s clear to me at this moment is that it’s well worth it to travel and try. An important part of my strength to go to Austin comes from your messages of support, so thank you very much to all of you.”

Franco Morbidelli 21

“The Circuit of the Americas is a nice track and it’s a nice environment, so I’m looking forward to heading there this week for the third race of the season. I still need more laps on the RC213V, more riding and more work to understand the bike and the tyres better. In short we need more experience so, right now, every race is an opportunity to continue the learning process. COTA is a physically demanding circuit to ride, but it’s also quite technical, so finding a good set up quickly will be very important.”

Takaaki Nakagami 30

“The race in Argentina was a unique experience for me. First the delayed start and then the mixed conditions of the asphalt, but I remained focused, gaining my first premier-class points. So I arrive in Austin with more energy and more determination. I know that my learning process is still long but race after race I understand this bike better. And the team is doing a very good job to support me. Last year in Austin, on a Moto2 bike, I finished third, sharing the podium with Morbidelli and Luthi. And now we are competitors for the Rookie of the Year.”

Thomas Luthi 12

“The target from me in Austin is clear; to start where we finished the race in Argentina and to continue building on what we’ve learnt so far. The experience is more, the feeling is better and my confidence in the bike and the tyres is increasing with every lap so it’s good we’re back on track again so soon after the race in Argentina. Initially in Moto2 I struggled in Austin, especially the first part of the track where you flick from left to right so many times, due to the arm injury I sustained in 2013. But last year was a good race after finally finding a solution to give me a better feel for the track and I hope with the RC213V we can do the same. For sure it will be fun circuit on which to race the MotoGP bike.”