Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) rode to a masterful victory at the Circuit of the Americas this afternoon, leaving his closest rivals well behind. His first win of the year moved him into third place in the World Championship  after a first-corner mistake in Qatar left him to finish the season opener in an uncharacteristic fifth place.

The 22-year-old Spaniard played a perfect game of tactics at this track which is renowned for causing serious front-tyre wear problems and offered less grip than usual due to overnight rainfall. So he bided his time in the first few laps, got himself comfortable and then started his push to the front. Already three tenths behind leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) after three laps he quickly closed the gap and took the lead at the end of COTA's long back straight.

Once in front he was never troubled by his rivals, so he was able to run his own lines and look after his tyres. Lap by lap his advantage increased until he was more than four seconds ahead of Dovizioso who had got the better of Qatar GP winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). In the final few laps he eased his pace very slightly, finally passing the chequered flag 2.3 seconds in front.

This victory, Marquez's 20th in the premier class, was the perfect result after a tense and dramatic qualifying session during which minor technical issues left him just one lap to take pole position from his rivals. Riding one of the most astonishing laps of his life, he took pole from Dovizioso by more than three tenths of a second.

Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda RC213V) was Honda's next best finisher in seventh place, getting the better of a great battle with Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki) in only his second ride on an RC213V. The Briton lost time in a first-lap pile-up and struggled to match his pace from practice.

HRC test rider Hiroshi Aoyama (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) had the tough job of filling the boots of Dani Pedrosa, currently recuperating from surgery to fix a lingering arm-pump problem with his right arm. The former 250 World Champion fought long and hard to keep Hector Barbera behind him, eventually crossing the line a fraction ahead in 11th place.

The only other rider on an RC213V - Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) - had high hopes of a great ride after scoring a superb second-row start yesterday. He got away well but then made a minor mistake in the early part of the first lap which allowed a couple of riders to get past. He tried to make amends at the hairpin before the main straight, only to lose the front, slide off and take out Pol Espargaro (Yamaha).

Honda's four Open class RC213V-RS riders spent much of the race together. Eventually the experience of 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) told in his duel with MotoGP rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda RC213V-RS) who he beat for 13th place by less than a second, despite front-tyre woes. This was Hayden's 200th GP since his 2003 debut.

Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) was only just out of luck, missing out on this first MotoGP World Championship points by one position and just over one second.

Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS) had also been involved in the battle for World Championship points until his gear lever broke.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team: race winner

“I am very happy with this victory! After yesterday, things looked positive for us, but the only doubt was about the weather. In the end, it turned out stranger than it had seemed. When I saw that it was going to be a dry race, I started out very focused - because I knew it was important to try to win today. However, right from the first lap I saw that the track was not like it had been before the rain of last night. There was less grip and it was harder to ride comfortably. I decided to keep calm in the early laps to try to understand the situation well, and when I started to find a feeling similar to practice, I decided to push the pace a bit. That was when I was able to open up a gap."

Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR: 7th

"Today I was really disappointed with the result because we had a good pace over the race weekend. In the race itself we had some problems, I got caught up in the crash on the first lap and lost nearly five seconds in one lap and from that point it was very difficult to catch up. The whole CWM LCR Honda team need to regroup now and come back to the next race stronger as we were too far behind the winner today. We need to discuss a plan for Argentina which is a track I have never raced at before, but I am looking forward to it.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Repsol Honda Team: 11th

“It was an exciting race! It hasn’t been an easy week with the weather so unstable and the race was the first time we’ve had 100% dry conditions. I tried my best, the bike worked well and Dani’s team really helped me. I pushed to the last lap for the best position and I have learned a lot this weekend! Now I will try to build on this experience and improve in Argentina next week.”

Jack Miller, CWM LCR: 14th

“I was really happy with the race. I learnt a lot fighting with guys like Nicky and the rest of the group. I must improve the management of my tyres over the first few laps. I need to learn not to be so aggressive on the front tyre, and especially the rear, so that I have more possibilities at the end of the race. Overall, I am very happy to finish the race and finally get some points. But now we have to make the next step and look to try and finish inside the top ten.”

Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team: 13th

“Compared with the rest of the weekend we performed well in the race. I made a pretty bad start and lost acceleration in turn one, we still don't know why. After that I pushed hard and made up quite a few positions quite quickly. I had a nice fight with a bunch of guys, which I won to take some points and that was a small victory in my 200th GP. We have taken a lot of information from the weekend and we know that we need to improve the response from the front under braking. At the end of the race we suffered a lot from tyre wear, especially on the front, and it was tough to hold my position on the last few laps. Thirteenth place is not spectacular but I am happy because we have finished the weekend moving in the right direction and hopefully we can keep it going from here. I want to say thanks for all the support from everybody in my 200 GP.”

Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team: 16th

“It was strange today because the bike felt different to the rest of the weekend with the change in temperature. Also the tyres really dropped off at the end of the race. With my riding style it was hard to maintain full lean angle and I was more sat up on the bike, like on a Superbike, and that made me lose touch with the guys I was lapping with. I got left behind a little and even though I tried to get back with them it was too late. This is a physical circuit and once the tyres went it was even harder. Anyway, it was an interesting race, I made a good start and I felt good in the early laps. I was able to be aggressive and I had a good fight there for a while with Jack Miller.”

Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: DNF

“I’m really disappointed because I have been fast all weekend in wet and dry conditions. And after claiming my best-ever qualifying in MotoGP I was confident I could have been in that second group fighting for the top six. I had a good early battle with Lorenzo in the first three corners and in turn 11 he stopped mid-corner to pull it back round and I was in a little bit too hot and I think I clipped the back of him and went down. I got going again and wanted to stay out in case it rained but the left footpeg broke off, so I had no gears and had to retire. We can take a lot of positives from the weekend but it is disappointing not to get a good result at the end of it.”

Karel Abraham, AB Motoracing: DNF

"It seemed to be a quite good race. I made a good start and the race was going well. I was holding 15th position and closing the gap to Nicky and Jack. But then the gearbox lever broke. I can't say much about it. We are just unlucky. On the other hand I´m really curious about the front tyre, which was almost destroyed six laps before the finish. But most of riders suffered the same problem.”

Event results - Round 2  

1 Marc Marquez 43'47.150 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team 
2 Andrea Dovizioso 2.354 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
3 Valentino Rossi 3.120 ITA YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
4 Jorge Lorenzo 6.682 ESP YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
5 Andrea Iannone 7.584 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Bradley Smith 10.557 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
7 Cal Crutchlow 16.967 GBR HONDA CWM LCR Honda
8 Aleix Espargaro 19.025 ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
9 Maverick Vinales 38.570 ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
10 Danilo Petrucci 41.796 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Hiroshi Aoyama 47.199 JPN HONDA Repsol Honda Team
12 Hector Barbera 47.339 ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
13 Nicky Hayden 56.484 USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
14 Jack Miller 56.731 AUS HONDA CWM LCR Honda
15 Alvaro Bautista 57.372 ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
16 Eugene Laverty 58.898 HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
17 Loris Baz 1'08.787 FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
18 Alex de Angelis 1'22.236 ART Octo IodaRacing Team
19 Karel Abraham DNF CZE HONDA AB Motoracing
20 Marco Melandri DNF APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
21 Yonny Hernandez DNF COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
22 Mike De Meglio DNF FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
23 Scott Redding DNF GBR HONDA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
24 Stefan Bradl DNF GER FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
25 Pol Espargaro DNF ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Championship standings  

1 Valentino Rossi 41 pts ITA YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 
2 Andrea Dovizioso 40 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
3 Marc Marquez 36 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Andrea Iannone 27 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Jorge Lorenzo 26 pts ESP YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
6 Bradley Smith 18 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
7 Cal Crutchlow 18 pts GBR HONDA CWM LCR Honda
8 Aleix Espargaro 13 pts ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
9 Dani Pedrosa 10 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
10 Danilo Petrucci 10 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Maverick Vinales 9 pts ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
12 Pol Espargaro 7 pts ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
13 Yonny Hernandez 6 pts COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
14 Hector Barbera 5 pts ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
15 Hiroshi Aoyama 5 pts JPN HONDA Repsol Honda Team
16 Nicky Hayden 3 pts USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
17 Scott Redding 3 pts GBR HONDA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
18 Jack Miller 2 pts AUS HONDA CWM LCR Honda
19 Alvaro Bautista 1 pts ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
20 Alex de Angelis 0 pts ART Octo IodaRacing Team
21 Stefan Bradl 0 pts GER FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
22 Mike De Meglio 0 pts FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
23 Marco Melandri 0 pts APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
24 Loris Baz 0 pts FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
25 Eugene Laverty 0 pts HONDA Drive M7 Aspar