2014 Indy MotoGP Results

2014 Indy MotoGP Results

Spoiler Alert: 2014 MotoGP results from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in America listed below

The second half of the 2014 MotoGP Championship began this weekend at a revamped Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 16-turn IMS circuit presented some new challenges for the 23-rider grid. It shrunk from 2.621 miles to 2.591; this shortness arrives from a reconfiguration of turns 3, 4, 7, 15 and 16, which are now “more uniform” with a smoother racing surface.

And during the nearly 70 miles raced over 27 laps Sunday, the reconfiguration provided harder braking zones and more passing opportunities. Riders responded well to the new layout, something that barely happened since MotoGP began there in 2008.

There were many fast riders throughout the week, but when qualifying wrapped up Saturday, the young sensation Marc Marquez again proved both his and the Repsol Honda RC213V’s ability.

The 21-year-old Spaniard earned his eight pole of 2014 MotoGP at a circuit where speeds of up to 215 mph are reached on the front stretch. And though he didn’t get into the lead until lap 11 Sunday, once out front Marquez performed in his usual way – he immediately began pulling away from the grid.

Marquez eventually took the win, finishing 1.803 seconds ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo, and 6.558 seconds ahead of Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi.

This gives Marquez a perfect record of wins this season; he has won the opening 10 rounds. The last rider to achieve a 10-race winning streak in the premier class was Mick Doohan in 1997. This was also the 100th win for a Spanish rider in the premier class, and the 500th for Spanish riders across all classes in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

“I am really happy to have taken this win! After the summer break it was important to start with another victory. Yesterday it seemed like it may be a straight forward race, but it ended up being quite the opposite. We suffered a lot and physically it was hard, there was a lot of humidity and I was sweating a lot,” Marquez says.

“The track temperature rose by 10 degrees today and this made the tires behave differently. It was hard for me to have the same level of confidence. I was patient at the beginning and when I regained the good feeling I had in practice I decided to push, opening that two-second gap which in the end was enough for the win.”

When the race began, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso – who started from second on the grid – got to turn one first. But his time out front was short lived; Rossi passed Dovi on turn two for the lead.

Behind, Marquez got shuffled back, but was in fourth by the end of the first lap. When the first lap was complete, the nine-time World Champion Rossi Rossi was first, followed by Dovi, Pramac Racing Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, Marquez, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo and NGM Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro.

The battling begins, and soon Lorenzo is into fourth, and Marquez into third after Iannone makes a mistake, running wide. Dovi’s Ducati GP13 looks strong, and he soon

Lap 2, Lorenzo battles with Pedrosa for fourth, and Marquez slips into third pass Iannone, who makes a mistake.

Dovi’s GP13 running strong, the Italian was able to pass his fellow countryman Rossi. But the Rossi fought back, and the two went wide, allowing Marquez into the lead with Lorenzo in tow.

But Rossi counters, and was able to quickly get into the lead again. Behind, Lorenzo made a daring pass on Dovi for third.

Marquez stalked Rossi closely, and with 17 to go, he made a pass on Rossi as him, Rossi and Lorenzo were three wide.

After Rossi got out front, LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl and NGM Forward Racing’s Pol Espargaro contacted each other. Bradl suffered a crash in the grass, and though Espargaro was able to continue riding, he had damage to the tail of his YZR-M1, and suffered a DNF. Next to DNF was Iannone, who had mechanical issues with his Ducati GP13.

Up front, Lorenzo passed Rossi for second with 13 to go, and the top three remained this way until the end of the race.

Besides Marquez created history once again, Rossi also set another record – he became the only rider in GP history to accomplish 4000 points.

Pedrosa finished fourth, followed the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo of Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith. The Brit Smith suffered a huge high side Saturday, aggravating an older finger injury.

Though he started strong, Dovizioso finished seventh as his team led by Gigi Dall’Igna continues its mission for better results. Finishing 20 seconds behind was Dovi’s teammate Cal Crutchlow, who terminated his contract with Ducati following this season. He will join the LCR Honda team (Bradl goes to NGM Forward Racing, and Iannone will fill the vacancy no the factory Ducati team.

Rounding out the top 10 were GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Scott Redding and Drive M7 Aspar’s Scott Redding.

The man substituting for the injured Nicky Hayden on the other Drive M7 Aspar, Leon Camier, was forced to retire with six laps to go. Also suffering DNFs due to technical problems was Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project) due to technical issues.

Besides Bradl, two other riders also suffered crashes – Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing), both crashing out on turn four of the first lap.

En route to the win, Marquez set a new record lap at Indy – a 1:32.831. With his win, he has a perfect 225 points, 89 ahead of Pedrosa. Rossi is in third, 93 behind Marquez.

The 2014 MotoGP Championship now heads directly to Brno in the Czech Republic for round 11 of 18.

Photos by Ara Ashjian

2014 Indy MotoGP Results:

2014 MotoGP Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 18 rounds):