Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) starred in a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone today, finishing a tantalisingly close second and third, behind winner and fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
Marquez took the lead twice in the last three laps, making his final bid for victory with three corners to go. He made it through, but Lorenzo dived inside at the next turn and held him off in the fast dash through Woodcote to cross the line just 0.081 seconds in front. Pedrosa was a further 1.4 seconds back at the flag, having been right with his fellow Spaniards in the final stages after coming through from a sluggish start.
It was a miraculous ride from Marquez, who crashed at high speed in this morning’s warm-up session, dislocating his left shoulder. After treatment at the Clinica Mobile he was passed fit to ride, although he needed painkilling pills and injections. The 20-year-old rookie and World Championship leader started the 20-lap race from pole position, aiming to continue his record-breaking spree with a fifth consecutive win.
Pedrosa had a great race after a difficult qualifying session yesterday, when he was fifth fastest. He knew he needed a great start if he was to challenge the leaders, but he didn’t get one. Nonetheless he kept his head and quickly started passing riders ahead of him. By lap four he was into third place with a clear track ahead of him, which allowed him to quickly close on the leaders, establishing that new lap record in the process. However, his red-hot pace had taken the best from his tyres and on the last lap he made a minor mistake which lost him the chance to attack those in front.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 2nd
“I’m very happy with how things went today. This morning when my shoulder popped out I thought that my weekend was over, but the doctors were able to put it back in place quickly and that allowed me to be up there at the front, fighting with Jorge. I didn’t feel much pain, because I received an injection to dull the pain, but I was lacking strength and feeling tired by the end. Despite all this, I was able to battle all the way until the final corner with Jorge, who eventually emerged victorious today. Congratulations to him! For me these 20 points are like a win!”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd
“I’m disappointed with the result today. I rode well but got a bad start and conceded a lot of seconds in the opening two laps, so I had to really push in order to recover ground. I gradually caught up with Marc and Jorge, but I wore my tyres out in the process and at the end of the race I lacked grip in the right-hand corners. I tried to calm down and slow my pace in order to lower the tyre temperature, although finally I wasn’t able to match their performance. That meant that when I attempted to pass, the bike slid out a lot and I was unable to really get involved in the fight for the win. I will have to give it another go at Misano.”
Repsol Honda Team Press Release
