MotoGP News
The battle for the 125cc title continued to hot up at Indianapolis and promises to deliver another exciting slice of action this weekend, after Nico Terol cut Marc Márquez’s Championship lead to just four points with victory last time out.
Marc Marquez says: "I can’t wait for the weekend, because this is where we will have the chance to turn the page after the race at Indianapolis. The truth is it was a good weekend, except for the race, because I was always riding comfortably and the work that the team put in was excellent. At Misano, I hope to get a good result, because after the last two races, I think it’s our turn. It will be important to finish the race and not make any mistakes."
"It’s a track which last year, with the KTM, went well for me and I was able to finish fourth after a good weekend, so this year, although with the Derbi the past is the past, I hope everything goes well. I haven’t yet fully recovered the strength in my arm, but it’s no obstacle once I’m on the bike."
As if the tightness of the top two was not enough, Pol Espargaró lurks just a single point behind Terol as the trio continue to size each other up at every round. Just five days after the action at Indy they will be back on track Misano, eager to strike their next blows in the 11th round of an intriguing battle.
Red Bull Ajo Motorsport’s Márquez was strong in Indy despite his lingering injury concerns and proved his mettle with pole position, but tenth in the race and a first back-to-back set of victories for Bancaja Aspar’s Terol saw the 17 year-old’s advantage lessened. Third for Tuenti Racing’s Espargaró was enough to maintain a very close check on things.
52 points back in fourth place is Bradley Smith and whilst the Bancaja Aspar rider’s chances of challenging for the title appear to be weaker now, the Brit has been on the podium at Misano for the past two seasons and is still in search of a first win of 2010.
A podium for Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) in the previous round will have boosted the German’s confidence further and he will aim to close up further on Smith in the standings, with Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) not far behind.
Returning to action will be Alexis Masbou (Ongetta Team) and Sturla Fagerhaug (AirAsia – Sepang International Circuit Team), with five Italian wild cards adding to the field in the shapes of Francesco Mauriello (Team Semprucci), Tommaso Gabrielli (Racing Team Gabrielli) and Junior GP team riders Giovanni Bonati, Alessandro Tonucci and Armando Pontone.
