The US grand prix sprint race podium was a familiar one as Marc Marquez continued his dominance ahead of the field along side his brother Alex Marquez who has finished second place in every race thus far this season.
Marquez commented on another win saying, “I was pushing a bit too much during lap one and came very close to a disaster. The track conditions were very different, and I had noticed it immediately on the long right-hander during lap one. The pace was slower compared to Practice, which made the situation more difficult; then I understood how to tackle these conditions and, without taking excessive risks, I pulled a gap and managed the situation. We’ll see about tomorrow, as we have to improve a couple of things: it’s going to be a long race and the warmup will be very useful to understand how to approach it, but I’m happy with today’s sprint race win.”
Alex Marquez once again finished in 2nd further solidifying Francesco Bagnaia’s gap to Marc Marquez in the championship standings. Bagnaia doesn’t seem to have an answer for Marc Marquez’s recent leap in performance. Whether there is intra-team cause for concern is unknown. What is known is that the lon term outcome may make or break the Ducati Lenovo team.
Bagnaia certainly has not been a championship caliber rider thus far in the season. However, despite a swing in fortune looming. Bagnaia is 30 points behind Marc Marquez in the championship standings. The championship race can be decided early if Marquez continues to gain group every race round. Only time will tell where we will end up come mid season.
US Grand Prix Sprint Race Results