Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez leads teammate Dani Pedrosa
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez leads Dani Pedrosa
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez
Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati’s Ben Spies
2013 Austin MotoGP Photos/Images/Pics/Wallpaper
The 2013 MotoGP Championship is a historical one for America. For the first time ever, MotoGP will be held in the USA three separate times – Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, and Indianpolis Motor Speedway in Indian. The only country to hold more rounds in 2013 will be Spain (Jerez, Catalunya, Aragon and Valencia).And the historical season for stateside MotoGP fans got underway this past weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.During the debut of the circuit, further history was made when Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez took his first-ever premier-class pole at COTA Saturday. But the 20-year-old rookie MotoGP rider wasn’t done just yet; the Spaniard followed this up with a win, which was also his first-ever in MotoGP.The RC213V pilot now holds the record for youngest rider to ever achieve a pole and win in MotoGP. Marquez ousted the previous record holder Freddie Spencer, who completed the feats in 1982 at the age of 21.Joining Marquez on the Austin MotoGP podium was teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, machine for an all-Spanish podium.Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V MotoGP) says: “After taking my first podium in Qatar I was very happy, but I am even more so today after my first win! It went better than I expected and I am very grateful to the team for their efforts over the preseason; we have worked very hard and, without this, the victory would not have been possible.“The race was very intense and physical, as I followed Dani for many laps and then decided to launch an attack and try to open a gap with ten laps to go. I could not pull the gap I wanted as some problems with the front emerged that we’d experienced throughout the weekend. Despite all this, we were able to take the victory.”And with this historical moment in MotoGP history arrived much great photography from Ara Ashjian, an Ultimate MotorCycling contributor. Ashjian was able to capture some great images of all riders, including Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo, Marquez, Stefan Bradl, Ben Spies, and others, and of course some umbrella girls.Attached above is a photo gallery of Ashjian’s images from Circuit of the Americas, which also make for great wallpaper. To download for wallpaper, simply click on the thumbnail to expand, then right click and set as desktop background.Photos by Ara Ashjian
Associate Editor Teejay Adams recently attended the Yamaha Champions Riding School in Las Vegas, and she took with her the Yamaha XSR900 that she’s been riding for a while. This is the retro-style version of the MT-09, and Teejay gives us her impressions of the bike, including her thoughts versus the XSR700 that she rode previously.
The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—one of the most iconic sportbikes ever. Check it out in person at your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more.
In our second segment, Teejay chats with Cait Maher, a contributing journalist at motorcycle.com and owner of a Yamaha TW200. The two ladies met at the recent launch of Kawasaki’s dual sport KLX230s. Teejay is a total novice off-road. Cait however, although quite experienced in the dirt including her recent venture on the District 37 Barstow to Las Vegas dual-sport ride, still doesn’t consider herself an expert. Both of these girls have a positive, upbeat attitude, and their fun, energetic outlook shines through. Cait is definitely a give-it-a-go type of personality. Her take on the various challenges, experiences and adventures that she’s had make for fun listening.
