Posted on 28th April 2014
An enthralling MotoGPâ„¢ race at the Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina saw Marc Marquez clinch his third win of the year, ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in the top three.
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As the race at Termas de Rio Hondo got underway Marquez got caught up in the crowd on lap one but played it patiently, picking off his opponents to get into second – eventually hunting down early leader Lorenzo, with his winning move coming 8 laps from the end.
It was a good day for the Repsol Honda team as Pedrosa stayed in the chase throughout the race, eventually overtaking Lorenzo on the penultimate lap for second.
Lorenzo's Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Valentino Rossi was briefly into second early on, but ran wide twice and dropped to seventh before fighting his way back up to fourth.
Solid runs from Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) and Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) saw them finish fifth and sixth – they were 15s and 19s respectively back on Marquez.
Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammates Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro were safely inside the top ten, which was completed by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and top 'Open' rider Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar) – the Japanese competitor crossing the line 0.073s in front of colleague Nicky Hayden.
Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) was 15th after an early crash, whilst there was another DNF for Alvaro Baustista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) who crashed on the first lap, as did Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project).
MotoGPâ„¢ Race Classification
1- Marc Marquez SPA Honda 41’39.821
2- Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda +1.837
3- Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha +3.201
1st OPEN
10- Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Honda +43.279
Moto2â„¢: Dominant Rabat cruises to round three win
Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) cruised to victory at the Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina, taking the Moto2â„¢ hole shot from pole and leading to the finish line, in front of fellow podium finishers Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) and Luis Salom (Pons HP 40)
Rabat totally controlled the race to extend his World Championship lead to 28 points, crossing the line two seconds ahead of second placed Simeon.
A lengthy battle for third was eventually won by Salom as he overtook Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) in the final stages and put the hammer down to record two fast laps and step onto the rostrum for the first time since his graduation from Moto3â„¢.
Corsi had been in the podium hunt but eventually crossed the line behind Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) for his third successive fifth place finish.
The top ten was rounded out by Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2), Mika Kallio Marc (VDS Racing Team), Sam Lowes (Speed Up), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2).
A mistake from Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) saw him drop to ninth from second on the grid on the first lap and he ended up 18th.
Ricard Cardus (Tech 3) and Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) crashed out early on, Viñales remounting only to pull into the pits shortly afterwards. Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing), meanwhile, retired with a technical problem in the early stages.
Moto2â„¢ Race Classification
1- Tito Rabat SPA Kalex 40’06.114
2- Xavier Simeon BEL Suter +2.094
3- Luis Salom SPA Kalex +3.702
Moto3â„¢: Fenati takes Argentina victory
The first ever Grand Prix victory at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo was clinched by Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) in an intriguing Moto3â„¢ contest, with Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) joining the Italian on the podium.
As the huge crowd poured into the circuit to watch Sunday's Gran Premio Red Bull de la Republica Argentina action the Moto3 riders produced another great spectacle with Fenati making his way through at the last corner to take the win.
Marquez and Miller appeared to be unhappy with Fenati's late move but the race result stood after it was reviewed by Race Direction, though the Italian was later given a one penalty point punishment for 'irresponsible riding causing danger to other competitors'.
A brilliant ride from birthday boy Livio Loi (Marc VDS Racing Team) saw him clinch fourth spot as he came from ninth on the grid on the day he turned 17.
Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) ended up crossing the line sixth, just behind compatriot Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0), with the former having run at the front for most of the race.
The top ten was completed by Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team), Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo), Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) and Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3).
Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team) went down on the first corner, with Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia) also crashing together on first lap. A second crash for Hanika saw him highside out of the race in the final stages.
Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) retired early due to a clutch problem and there were also crashes for John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG), Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46), Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN), Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia) and Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing), though all riders were ok.
Moto3â„¢ Race Classification
1- Romano Fenati ITA KTM 38’34.451
2- Alex Marquez SPA Honda +0.099
3- Jack Miller AUS KTM +0.540
