Marc Marquez is still the king of the US Grand Prix

Marc Marquez remains the “King of Kota”. The Honda driver won for the seventh time at the Circuit of the Americas in the United States of America.

It was his second win of the 2021 MotoGP season after Sachsenring, as Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) consolidated his championship lead with 52 points. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) finished third on the podium.

Marc Marquez won the holeshot ahead of Quartararo at the start of the 15th race of the season over 20 laps. Alex Rins (Suzuki) also had good first corners, passing Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) to finish third. Everyone survived the first round well.

On the second lap, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR-Honda), who was the fastest in the warm-up, crashed in Turn 12. The Japanese continued at the end of the field. Bagnaia struggled in the early stages and fell to fifth behind Martin.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia’s Ducati teammate Jack Miller took a lead and at the end of the back straight outscored two drivers in one push and climbed to sixth. Miller was the only driver in the field who opted for the solid rear tire.

Martin was also in progress. On the fourth lap, the rookie snatched third from Reigns. Instead, Johann Zarco’s weak form continued. The Pramac Ducati rider crashed into the first turn and was eliminated.

Francesco Bagnia catching up in the second half of the race

On the sixth lap, Marc Marquez in the lead for the first time had a second lead over his pursuers Quartararo, Martin, Miller and Reigns. Bagnaia performed his courses in sixth place and found it difficult to keep up with his opponents.

As a result, the field widened a little. Marc Marquez’s lead grew from two seconds to as much as four seconds. In the first half, Bagnaia appeared and Rins overtook the fifth. Shortly thereafter, Miller let his colleague pass. Bagnaia took fourth place.

Fabio Quartararo with one hand on the World Cup

At the start of the final quarter of the race, Bagnaya was almost two seconds behind Martin and third. The distance quickly narrowed. Martin got into trouble. He also got a long lap penalty for shorting a 4 and 5.

Thus Bagnaia took third place and positions on the podium. 75 World Championship points will be awarded in the remaining three races. In theory, Quartararo could be declared world champion for the first time at the next Grand Prix.

On the last lap, Martin completed the long penalty kick and was back in fifth place behind Rins. And behind them there was a three-way battle for sixth place to the end. Finally, Enea Bastianini (Esponsorama-Ducati) defeated Joan Mir (Suzuki) and Miller.

Valentino Rossi collects world championship point

Brad Bender was the best KTM rider in ninth. Paul Espargaro saw the square flag in 10th place. On fellow Honda teammate Marc Marquez, Paul Espargaro lost 20 seconds—an average of one second per lap.

He was followed by Miguel Oliveira (KTM) in 11th, ahead of Alex Marquez (LCR-Honda). Andrea Dovizioso (Petronas-Yamaha) scored 13 points in the world championship in his second comeback race.

Luca Marini (Esponsurama-Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Petronas-Yamaha) finished 14th and 15th. 19 riders crossed the finish line. Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) came last.

For Aprilia, the trip to the US was one to forget. On lap 10, Alex Espargaro crashed into Turn 13. This was his fifth crash this weekend.

The next race will take place on October 24 in Misano (Italy).