Today, Marc Marquez took an important second-place finish in Catalunya, which enabled him to extend his Championship lead to 27 points over runner-up Valentino Rossi.

With a great start, Marc got into and through the first turn ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, who passed him on the following lap. Marc who, outside of two non-point-scoring finishes, has so far never finished worse than second this season, stuck to the countryman for the first 9 laps of the race, looking for a chance to fight for the win. After realizing that it was too risky maintaining Lorenzo’s pace, he settled for the 20 points and a second-place position.

After a good start from the fourth row, Dani Pedrosa was able to maintain a decent pace despite struggling with a lack of grip, defending fifth position over Maverick Vinales on the final lap.

Tomorrow the Repsol Honda Team will remain in Catalunya for a one-day testing session.


Marc Marquez - 2nd

“Today was a race where we had to manage as best as possible and I tried to be smart. Of course in the first laps I pushed hard because it was important to follow Jorge and to open a gap on the chasers. When we built a comfortable advantage I just managed the pace. I even slowed down a bit in the final part of the race as it was impossible to catch Lorenzo. I saw many crashes, which made me think more than I did in other races. Sometimes the tyre choice you make doesn’t result in the exact feeling you were hoping for, but I think that second is very good for the Championship because we arrived here with a 23-point lead and go to Assen with 27. It’s time to understand how the situation is and try and manage it as best as possible. We made a mistake in Mugello and that had me thinking a lot. Of course, when you don’t win the feeling that you were missing something remains, but a podium is a good result! Maybe other challenging races will arrive but the good thing for us is that so far in every race we have been in good shape.”

Dani Pedrosa - 5th

“I think we did a good result enough considering the weekend, because starting eleventh and finishing fifth is a good recovery. Of course, we cannot be satisfied with that. The feeling was not there, and I struggled a lot with a lack of grip during the race. The riders I was fighting with could gain on me, especially mid-corner and out of the corners. I could be a bit stronger in braking but ultimately my lap times were a bit slower. Cal passed me in the end as a result, and Vinales could catch me as well, though I was able to hold him off on the last lap. Tomorrow we have a one-day test and hopefully we’ll be able to solve this issue and be fast in the coming races.”