2016 Austin MotoGP Results | Circuit of the Americas Recap

2016 Austin MotoGP Results | Ducati Andrea Iannone
Ducati's Andrea Iannone

2016 Austin MotoGP Results

2016 Austin MotoGP Dominated by Honda Marc Marquez
Honda’s Marc Marquez – the undisputed champion of COTA

For the fourth-straight year, MotoGP headed to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, a 3.4-mile circuit containing 20 corners and a challenging layout with multiple elevation changes that drive most racers insane.

Some of these are the top names in the series, such as nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi and his teammate, five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. But the story is much different for Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez – he has tasted nothing but victory at COTA.

The 23-year-old Spaniard has won every race at Circuit of the Americas since both he and the Texas Formula 1 track joined the premier class in 2013. There’s something about American tracks that Marquez seems to enjoy; since 2013, he has won every premier-class race on USA soil, including at the tracks that are no longer on the MotoGP Championship: Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

2016 Austin MotoGP Circuit of the Americas Jorge Lorenzo earns second

This streak continued this weekend when Marquez earned another dominate win at Circuit of the Americas – his second-straight this season after dominating round two last weekend at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina.

Marquez led every practice and qualified his RC213V on pole before claiming the 2016 Austin MotoGP win by 6.107 seconds ahead of the season opener winner, reigning MotoGP Champion Lorenzo. Taking the final podium was Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone, who redeemed himself from a penalty last weekend; the Italian finished 10.947 seconds behind.

Marquez has also now won every COTA race from the pole, proven once again that his is the undisputed MotoGP champion in the United States since 2013.

2016 Austin MotoGP Recap

When the 21-lap race began, Lorenzo, who very un-Lorenzo like crashed during the warm-up, got to turn one first from his second-place start on the grid. Lorenzo, along with teammate Rossi and both factory Ducati riders, opted for medium front and rear Michelin tires. As for Marquez, he was the only rider to opt for a soft front and medium rear tire.

But Lorenzo ran wide at turn one, and this opened the door for Marquez to make his move. Marquez took the lead, followed by Lorenzo and Rossi. Dovizioso was able to use some of the GP16s amazing straight-line power to literally slide himself into second at turn one. Also charging to fourth from the back of the field was Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Aleix Espargaro.

Then the crashes began; first was Avintia Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz, who crashed at turn 1. Next, on the third lap, was Rossi, the 37-year-old Italian losing his front midway through turn two. Rossi suffered a DNF, and for the first time in 25 races didn’t finish within the top five.

As Marquez extended his lead, the battle for second began between Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Behind, Espargaro’s GSX-RR began to slow as Iannone moved forward.

2016 Austin MotoGP Results | Ducati Andrea Iannone
Ducati’s Andrea Iannone

On lap seven, Dovi was once again at the fate of his fellow riders. But it wasn’t Iannone this time such as the last-lap crash in Argentina that occurred due to an ambitious overtaken by Iannone; this time Pedrosa tried making a pass, and crashed into Dovi, sending both to the ground.

Dovi suffered a DNF, but Pedrosa was able to rejoin, only to pull into the pits three laps later with issues due to damage from the crash. Sportsmanlike, Pedrosa then walked over to Dovi and apologized, explaining the crash was not intentional.

Next to wreck were LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow and Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith; fortunately, both were able to rejoin the grid and earn the final-two positions – 16th and 17th, respectively.

As Iannone slipped into third place, Suzuki’s Espargaro battled with teammate Maverick Vinales for second. Due to his medium-front tire over Espargaro’s softer tire, Vinales had additional braking stability. The two battled intensely to the checkered flag.

Up front, Marquez ran a smooth race, retaining his status as the undisputed King of Texas. He was joined by Lorenzo and Iannone on the podium. Behind, Vinales was able to hold off teammate Espargaro for fourth.

2016 Austin MotoGP Circuit of the Americas Marquez collects trophy

Rounding out the top 10 were Octo Pramac Yakhnich Ducati’s Scott Redding, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro, Redding’s teammate Michele Pirro. Avintia Racing Ducati’s Hector Barbera and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Stefan Bradl.

With his third-place at Qatar, and his wins in Argentina and Texas, Marquez now has 66 points, 21 ahead of Lorenzo. Rossi fell back to third, 33 points behind Marquez.

The 2016 MotoGP Championship now breaks for two weeks ahead of Jerez, round four of 18.

Photos by Ara Ashjian

2016 Austin MotoGP Results:

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap
1 25 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 157.9 43’57.945
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 157.6 +6.107
3 16 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team Ducati 157.3 +10.947
4 13 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 156.8 +18.422
5 11 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 156.7 +20.711
6 10 45 Scott REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Yakhnich Ducati 156.2 +28.961
7 9 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 156.0 +32.112
8 8 51 Michele PIRRO ITA OCTO Pramac Yakhnich Ducati 156.0 +32.757
9 7 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 155.9 +34.592
10 6 6 Stefan BRADL GER Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 155.6 +40.211
11 5 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 155.3 +45.423
12 4 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 155.2 +47.127
13 3 53 Tito RABAT SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 155.2 +47.426
14 2 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 154.9 +51.190
15 1 76 Loris BAZ FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 153.7 +1’12.929
16 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda Honda 153.3 +1’19.252
17 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 152.8 +1’28.036
Not Classified
26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 148.0 10 Laps
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 157.8 15 Laps
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 156.2 19 Laps

MotoGP Championship Point Standings (after three of 18 rounds):

Pos. Rider Bike Nation Points
1 Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 66
2 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha SPA 45
3 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 33
4 Pol ESPARGARO Yamaha SPA 28
5 Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 27
6 Hector BARBERA Ducati SPA 25
7 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 23
8 Maverick VIÑALES Suzuki SPA 23
9 Eugene LAVERTY Ducati IRL 21
10 Aleix ESPARGARO Suzuki SPA 21
11 Andrea IANNONE Ducati ITA 16
12 Scott REDDING Ducati GBR 16
13 Bradley SMITH Yamaha GBR 16
14 Stefan BRADL Aprilia GER 15
15 Alvaro BAUTISTA Aprilia SPA 14
16 Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 12
17 Tito RABAT Honda SPA 11
18 Jack MILLER Honda AUS 2
19 Yonny HERNANDEZ Ducati COL 2
20 Loris BAZ Ducati FRA 1
21 Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR

2016 Austin MotoGP Results – Photo Gallery

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