Marc Márquez’s run of form continues in MotoGP

© David Davies/PA Wire

By Dan Moakes
August 22 2014

In the 2014 FIM MotoGP World Championship, Repsol Honda rider Marc Márquez was clearly the man to beat as he started his title defence with four wins from four races. The question for his main rivals as the European season continued was whether anyone could unseat the youngster.

The next stop, on the 18th May, was Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, where Márquez earned his fifth consecutive pole position with an advantage of 0.7s over the next man. On this occasion there was a surprise in the form of his two closest challengers in qualifying, with Pol Espargaró second for Tech 3 Yamaha and Andrea Dovizioso third for Ducati. Next was Stefan Bradl for LCR Honda, with the works MoviStar Yamahas of Valentino Rossi (in his 299th GP) and Jorge Lorenzo only fifth and sixth. Dani Pedrosa, on the other Repsol Honda, was down in ninth after going in for arm surgery between the Spanish and French races, which put him behind Álvaro Bautistá (Gresini Honda) and Aleix Espargaró (Forward Yamaha), the first of the Open runners.

From amongst the rest of the field, the IodaRacing team’s rider, Danilo Petrucci, was absent due to the wrist injury he’d sustained at round four. Leon Camier had turned down the opportunity to deputise, and so Luca Scassa was engaged, only to also end up injured whilst testing the ART bike. He was also absent.

Form guide: GP wins at Le Mans
Pedrosa & Lorenzo 4; Rossi 3; Dovizioso, di Meglio, P.Espargaró, Márquez & Redding 1

The start of the race saw Dovizioso get away first, with second man Márquez quickly relegated by Bradl, Pol Espargaró and Rossi, who also got ahead of the Tech 3 rider. Then Marc found himself having to avoid the rear of Lorenzo’s Yamaha, running wide and going off track, rejoining in tenth place. All of this early activity left three of the top men, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Márquez, outside the seven leading positions, with Dovizioso leading Bradl, Rossi, Pol Espargaró, Bradley Smith, Andrea Iannone and Bautistá. Nicky Hayden crashed at the start after contact with Iannone, but the Italian did not last much longer and had a lowside crash from another promising position.

Rossi was the man to benefit as he soon made moves on Bradl and Dovizioso to take over the lead, whilst his main rivals were working their way past the likes of Bautistá and Smith. Dovizioso was pushed further back, so that Pol Espargaró ran second, ahead of Bradl; and Márquez got by Lorenzo for fifth, then chased after the leading trio as Dovizioso dropped back to eighth, behind Bautistá and Pedrosa.

Rossi had a good lead, until Márquez worked his way through and started closing the gap. When the Italian ran a bit wide, the Honda rider took his chance and then pulled clear up front. Pol Espargaró retained third, with behind him Bautistá, Bradl, Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Bradl fell to the rear of the group, but it was the two lesser-known Spaniards contesting third, which eventually went to Bautistá after a pass on Espargaró at the Virage du Garage Vert. Pedrosa passed Lorenzo at the Courbe du Musée, but could not do better than fifth.

Race result: Márquez, Rossi, Bautistá, P.Espargaró, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Bradl, Dovizioso, A.Espargaró, Smith, Crutchlow, Redding, Hernández, Aoyama, Abraham, Laverty, Edwards, Parkes, di Meglio. Not finished: Iannone, Barberá, Hayden. Standings: Márquez 125; Pedrosa 83; Rossi 81; Dovizioso 53; Lorenzo 45; Bradl 39; P.Espargaró 38; A.Espargaró 37; Smith 34; Bautistá 26 ·· Open leader: A.Espargaró.
Honda 125; Yamaha 87; Ducati 56; Forward Yamaha 37; ART and Avintia 2; PBM 1.

Mugello hosted the Italian Grand Prix on 1st June, where Márquez was again on pole, but this time the surprise was Andrea Iannone in second on the Pramac Ducati. Cal Crutchlow had a best-yet on the works Ducati, but was only sixth, behind Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Pol Espargaró. Rossi was only tenth, behind Smith, Dovizioso and Bradl; then it was Bautistá, ahead of Open class top man Aleix Espargaró.

Hayden did not run in qualifying due to a wrist injury; and meanwhile Petrucci attempted a return, but was replaced on the Saturday by Michel Fabrizio, whose most recent Grand Prix appearance had been in 2009.

Form guide: GP wins at Mugello
Rossi 9; Lorenzo 4; Pedrosa, Iannone & Márquez 2; Bautistá, Smith & Redding 1

Iannone got away in the lead, with Lorenzo and Márquez battling behind him. Rossi was quick to relegate Crutchlow, Pol Espargaró and Dovizioso for fourth. Lorenzo was first past Iannone, leaving Márquez to tussle with the Italian, but soon enough Marc was through and chasing the leader. Smith crashed from ninth, whilst Bradl was caught when Crutchlow had a slide, and the German was thrown over the high side as both men crashed out. This left Pedrosa in seventh.

The gap between Lorenzo and Márquez gradually came down, whilst Rossi got past Iannone for third but could not keep pace with the two leaders. Iannone began to be closed down by the next group, with Pol Espargaró heading Dovizioso and Pedrosa; and Dani made his way through to fourth by half-distance, whilst Bautistá joined in behind Dovi. Aleix Espargaró headed the Open runners after getting past Hernández, who initially ran as high as tenth.

The final laps saw a close and compelling contest between the leading Spanish duo, with Lorenzo re-taking first position more than once after Márquez had got ahead. The final lap saw Marc edge ahead along the main straight, holding off his rival on the brakes for the right-handed first corner, San Donato. Jorge stuck close behind, but did not quite find the opportunity to try a move, so that Márquez made it six in a row. Meanwhile, early leader Iannone in the end could do no better than seventh.

Race result: Márquez, Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, P.Espargaró, Dovizioso, Iannone, Bautistá, A.Espargaró, Hernández, Pirro, Abraham, Redding, Aoyama, Edwards, Laverty, Parkes, di Meglio. Not finished: Fabrizio, Barberá, Bradl, Crutchlow, Smith. Standings: Márquez 150; Rossi 97; Pedrosa 96; Lorenzo 65; Dovizioso 63; P.Espargaró 49; A.Espargaró 44; Bradl 39; Smith, Bautistá and Iannone 34 ·· Open leader: A.Espargaró.
Honda 150; Yamaha 107; Ducati 66; Forward Yamaha 44; ART and Avintia 2; PBM 1.

The next race was the Catalan Grand Prix in Barcelona on 15th June, and this time it was an all-Spanish front row, but with Márquez third, behind Pedrosa and Lorenzo. Then it was Bradl, Rossi, Aleix Espargaró, Dovizioso and Smith, with Hernández in a strong ninth. Fabrizio continued in place of Petrucci, and Hayden was competing again, although apparently Leon Camier had been considered as a stand-in.

Form guide: GP wins at Barcelona
Rossi 9; Lorenzo 4; Pedrosa 3; Bautistá & Iannone 2; Barberá, Dovizioso, di Meglio, Márquez, Bradl & P.Espargaró 1

This race took place under flag-to-flag conditions, with clouds threatening rain as they lined up. Pedrosa led away until Lorenzo got around the outside of him for the right-handed first corner, Elf. A few corners later, at Revolt Repsol, Rossi also went through on the inside for a Yamaha one-two, with Pedrosa heading Márquez, Bradl, Dovizioso, Aleix and then Pol Espargaró, Iannone and Crutchlow.

Going into lap two, Márquez passed Pedrosa at Elf, going fastest as he then pressed the leading Yamaha duo. The two M1 riders swapped places in the Repsol and Seat corners, with Rossi getting into the lead, and with Lorenzo then losing out to Márquez on the inside at the left-handed Revolt la Caixa. Pedrosa maintained fourth, with Bradl in touch and the rest dropping away.

Lorenzo fought back, but in the end was passed by both Márquez and Pedrosa, with a mistake from Marc temporarily letting Dani past. As Jorge lost ground, the Honda pair closed in on Rossi, with Márquez fighting for the place but running straight on at Elf and having to re-take Pedrosa for second. With stormy weather evidently not too far away, in the form of thunder and lightning, all this time the spare bikes were being readied by the pit crews.

Bradl lost touch with the leaders, but remained well clear of the next man, with Aleix Espargaró sixth after an earlier move on Dovizioso - who would then also lose out to Pol. The lead quartet were mostly close together as gaps fluctuated a bit. Elf saw Márquez get past Rossi, with Pedrosa passing both men moments later, but then Dani let his team-mate through as there had been yellow flags, and somehow this let Rossi take the lead again.

With the rain still holding off, a mistake from Rossi finally gave Márquez the chance to get ahead and stay in front, although not without a fight, and soon Pedrosa also got by the Yamaha man at Elf. The last few laps saw Lorenzo start to lose touch, so it was between these three, with Pedrosa on the attack in second. Three corners from home, Dani tried to get inside Marc at the Banc de Sabadell right-hander, but he just clipped the rear of the other Honda and went wide, rejoining for third as Márquez took victory ahead of Rossi. It was Honda’s 100th win in the four-stroke MotoGP era that had started in 2002. Crutchlow had dropped out with technical problems, with Bautistá also a non-finisher.

Race result: Márquez, Rossi, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Bradl, A.Espargaró, P.Espargaró, Dovizioso, Iannone, Smith, Hernández, Hayden, Redding, Pirro, Aoyama, Parkes, Laverty, Edwards, Barberá, Fabrizio. Not finished: di Meglio, Crutchlow, Bautistá, Abraham. Standings: Márquez 175; Rossi 117; Pedrosa 112; Lorenzo 78; Dovizioso 71; P.Espargaró 58; A.Espargaró 54; Bradl 50; Iannone 41; Smith 40 ·· Open leader: A.Espargaró.
Honda 175; Yamaha 127; Ducati 74; Forward Yamaha 54; ART and Avintia 2; PBM 1.

Round eight was the Dutch TT at Assen on 28th June, where Márquez was second on the grid, behind first-time pole man Aleix Espargaró, with his Open class Forward Yamaha topping the times; and the Spanish theme was continued, with Pedrosa third. Crutchlow was in an improved fifth position, but behind Ducati customer rider Iannone. Then it was Smith, Dovizioso, Bradl, Lorenzo, Bautistá, Pol Espargaró and 12th-placed Rossi.

Form guide: GP wins at Assen
Rossi 8; Lorenzo 4; Márquez 3; Pedrosa, Hayden, Bautistá, Aoyama, Iannone & P.Espargaró 1

The first shuffle for the race came courtesy of the cool, overcast and damp conditions. A little rain was falling, with most riders choosing wet-weather tyres: but Rossi and Pol Espargaró both made late decisions to change to wets, so had to start from the pits; joined by Parkes, with a problem on the warm-up lap, and the delayed Redding. It was Márquez who led after fighting off Dovizioso, with Pedrosa and Iannone next until Aleix Espargaró regained ground to run third. Lorenzo and Crutchlow led the pursuit.

Márquez was fastest, and began to build a lead, with Dovizioso the only man able to really keep in touch. Team-mate Crutchlow was also going well, soon passing Lorenzo and then Iannone for fifth; and with Bautistá getting up to eighth at the expense of Bradl, Aoyama and Smith. Rossi was also moving through. But the track was soon dry enough that riders on wets needed to start making pit stops to change to their bikes on dry tyres, with the first six amongst those leading the way.

This put Lorenzo in the lead, from Hayden, Aoyama, Smith and Bradl; and with Abraham, Petrucci, Pol Espargaró and Barberá behind the rejoining duo of Márquez and Dovizioso. Next time round the second wave of pit-stoppers left Marc and Andrea at the head of the field, on the heels of Aoyama, who stayed out an extra lap. A mistake for Márquez had given the advantage to Dovizioso before the pair passed the Japanese rider. The order behind was now Pedrosa from Aleix Espargaró and Bautistá.

However, the fastest man during this phase of the race was Broc Parkes, on the Paul Bird machine, who had started on dry tyres. The Australian ran sixth briefly, as Aoyama made his stop, but then lost out to Crutchlow and was joined in battle by Iannone, with Rossi behind them. Dovizioso got the lead up to over 3.0s, and meanwhile the final right-left-right Geert Timmer Bocht chicane saw Aleix Espargaró overtake Pedrosa.

Some sections of the circuit saw some rainfall at this stage, but only Edwards stopped to go back on to wets. Meanwhile, Márquez was eating into Dovizioso’s advantage, and sure enough he closed in and passed at the chicane. From there he set a couple of fastest laps and ran out for yet another win. The Ducati man remained far enough out of reach of the late charge from Pedrosa, who had put Aleix back into fourth. Rossi’s progress brought him through the group to finally take fifth from Iannone, as others lost ground in the later stages, especially Lorenzo. Pol Espargaró was out after going down.

Race result: Márquez, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, A.Espargaró, Rossi, Iannone, Bautistá, Smith, Crutchlow, Bradl, Parkes, Redding, Lorenzo, Abraham, Petrucci, Aoyama, Hayden, Barberá, Hernández, di Meglio, Laverty, Edwards. Not finished: P.Espargaró. Standings: Márquez 200; Rossi and Pedrosa 128; Dovizioso 91; Lorenzo 81; A.Espargaró 67; P.Espargaró 58; Bradl 56; Iannone 51; Smith 48 ·· Open leader: A.Espargaró.
Honda 200; Yamaha 138; Ducati 94; Forward Yamaha 67; PBM 6; ART 3; Avintia 2.

Then it was to the Sachsenring, where the German Grand Prix was held on 13th July. Four of the top five qualifiers were Spanish, with Márquez heading a Honda one-two, from Pedrosa, and with Aleix Espargaró and Lorenzo behind local man Bradl. Rossi headed Iannone, Pol Espargaró, Smith, Bautistá and Dovizioso, with Crutchlow behind three more Open machines.

Form guide: GP wins at Sachsenring
Pedrosa 6; Rossi 5; Márquez 4; Aoyama & di Meglio 1

With rain just before the race, the track was wet, and most of the leading riders were on intermediate or wet-weather tyres as they began the warm-up lap. However, conditions were such that they all went straight to the pits to swap to their alternative bikes on slicks, lining up in a gaggle at the pit exit. Meanwhile, Bradl was the only one of the top fifteen qualifiers to have already opted for slicks, having made a late change, and he had the front end of the grid to himself.

Therefore it was no surprise that the local star was the leader away from the start, but with some unlikely pursuers: initially Laverty, from Aoyama, Petrucci, di Meglio, Abraham, Edwards, Barberá and Parkes. Márquez was the first of those joining from the pits, with Iannone, Rossi and Pedrosa closest to him, but Marc at this stage was 2.0s from those ahead. Bradl was soon a comfortable leader as Petrucci took over in second, ahead of Laverty and Abraham.

Pedrosa was quick to pass Rossi and then Iannone to run second behind Márquez in the group pursuing the grid starters, and the Repsol pair soon caught the slower men and started to move through. Rossi was now heading Aleix Espargaró, Smith (before an off-track moment), Lorenzo, Iannone, Crutchlow, Dovizioso, Redding, Hernández, Pol Espargaró and Bautistá.

It wasn’t long before Márquez and Pedrosa were passing the likes of Aoyama, Abraham and Laverty, with Marc then setting about the gap to second man Petrucci. Bradl had a lead of 2.5s, but the left-handed Sachsenkurve corner, at the foot of a fast downhill straight, saw Márquez pass Petrucci on the inside and start to bring down the leader’s advantage. Pedrosa followed through, with Rossi by now sixth, behind Aoyama, and Lorenzo about to take seventh from Abraham.

There was little surprise when Márquez caught Bradl, and the final left-handed Quickenburgkurve saw him overtake on the inside, with Pedrosa not long in following suit. Despite new fastest laps from both Lorenzo and Pedrosa, Márquez was soon easing out his advantage at the front, with faster times of his own. Rossi and Lorenzo took it in turn to relegate both Aoyama and Petrucci, with Iannone tagging on behind the Yamaha duo. Bradl’s podium position did not last too much longer, as the same three men took turns to relegate the German, this coming after Lorenzo had passed Rossi.

Márquez made it nine wins from nine as he moved 1.5s clear of second man Pedrosa. Lorenzo, Rossi and Iannone were spaced apart by the finish, with Aleix Espargaró coming through for sixth. Of those who had been towards the front at the start, Aoyama and Abraham held on best for some points, with Petrucci taking just one and Bradl ending up behind the Italian. Laverty crashed at the Castrol Omega corner.

Race result: Márquez, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Rossi, Iannone, A.Espargaró, P.Espargaró, Dovizioso, Bautistá, Crutchlow, Redding, Aoyama, Abraham, Hayden, Petrucci, Bradl, Hernández, Barberá, Smith, Edwards, Parkes, di Meglio. Not finished: Laverty. Standings: Márquez 225; Pedrosa 148; Rossi 141; Dovizioso 99; Lorenzo 97; A.Espargaró 77; P.Espargaró 67; Iannone 62; Bradl 56; Bautistá 50 ·· Open leader: A.Espargaró.
Honda 225; Yamaha 154; Ducati 105; Forward Yamaha 77; PBM 6; ART 4; Avintia 2.

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