Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) claimed his first win of the season in confident style in blazing sunshine and in front of a huge crowd at Jerez today, making it two out of three so far this year for Honda, and reasserting himself in a World Championship battle that is already rich with tension.

With Texas winner Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) claiming a very hard-fought second place, it was the second race in succession that Honda took the top two positions.

Pedrosa took the lead from fellow-Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at the Dry Sack hairpin on the sixth of 27 laps, and was immediately able to secure a small but vital cushion, to win by 2.487 seconds. The last lap, he said, was particularly special, in front of 111,259 fervent Spanish fans.

He made it look easy, compared with his team-mate’s second place. Twenty-year-old Marquez had been fighting to find a way past Lorenzo mid-race and again in the closing laps. Every attack was repulsed, and when he did get in front the last time round Dry Sack, he directly ran wide, ceding the position once more.

The class rookie, who became the youngest-ever GP winner at Austin, Texas a fortnight before, wasn’t done yet.

At the final corner he saw a chink of space inside his rival, and dived straight into it. The pair touched, but Marquez had the inside line and was able to finish his corner, while Lorenzo was sent out wide, and had to accept third.

The same three riders were on the rostrum in Texas, with the order of the front two reversed.

Marquez’s third successive rostrum finish puts the youngster ahead at the top of the World Championship, with 61 points to Lorenzo’s 57; while Dani’s win moves him to second overall, one point clear of his Yamaha rival.

Conditions were hot and punishing, especially for the tyres, with all riders having to focus not only on racing their rivals but also trying to stay smooth, to avoid running out of grip in the closing laps. Pedrosa managed it best, able to run a fast but smooth pace, riding alone.

With Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow (both Yamaha) fourth and fifth the next-best Honda rider was sixth-placed Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V). He had been ahead of Crutchlow mid-race, and was barely two seconds adrift at the finish.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) crashed out in the early stages, but Grand Prix rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) was just seven tenths of a second away from scoring a first point, finishing 16th after holding his own in a strong CRT battle aboard his CBR1000RR-powered machine. Staring was at the back of a tight four-strong group, but gained two places in the last lap for his best finish yet.

After a day of testing at Jerez, the MotoGP World Championship moves on to Le Mans in France in two weeks, as the European season gathers momentum.




Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: race winner

“It was a beautiful race. I was able to ride the bike well, even though it was difficult because the tyres were really on the limit. I couldn’t push too hard because of that, so I had to ride carefully. I was able to maintain a good advantage throughout the race and collect this win at home as a result. It was fantastic, especially seeing all the fans in the stands; this year we’ve had a lot of people come to watch this Grand Prix. I also want to say ‘Happy Mothers Day’ to my mum and thanks to all my team; it’s been a great day!”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: second

“It was a very good race. I gave 100 percent from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident – a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: sixth

“That was a long and hard race because of the heat, which made it tough on the tyres. I didn’t get the best start and lost two positions, which I was able to make up although it was when I closed down on the group ahead of me that we started to struggle for grip. It is basically the same problem we have been having all weekend but I also started to have some problems with the front, which wasn’t allowing me to get on the gas as I wanted. Anyway, we gave 100 percent and it’s a positive result that gives us something to build on in the test tomorrow. I want to thank the team and sponsors for their continued support.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 16th

“It goes without saying that I am happy with my best result so far in MotoGP. At the start of the race I was struggling a bit but then I got into my rhythm and found the confidence to push. I am still gaining experience in this class and I think we are on the right track to start making big improvements. It’s a shame to miss out on the points but I am determined to get there soon and I am sure that with the help of the team, who continue to offer great support, we will do it soon.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: DNF

“Basically we were not able to fix our problems throughout the weekend and even today I could not ride the bike in a smooth way. I crashed early on because, since the beginning of the race, I could not push the front and this overall package did not suit my riding style. This tough weekend ended with a crash and I feel sorry for everybody. We must forget this race and go ahead working hard for Le Mans GP.”

Event results - Round 3 - Race 1

1 Dani Pedrosa 45m17.632s SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Marc Marquez 2.487 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Jorge Lorenzo 5.089 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Valentino Rossi 8.914 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Cal Crutchlow 12.663 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Alvaro Bautista 15.094 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
7 Nicky Hayden 25.632 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Andrea Dovizioso 41.881 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Aleix Espargaro 43.812 ESP ART Power Electronics Aspar
10 Bradley Smith 44.461 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
11 Michele Pirro 45.974 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
12 Hector Barbera 59.859 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
13 Michael Laverty 1'09.743 WAL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
14 Danilo Petrucci 1'17.813 ITA IODA Came IodaRacing Project
15 Colin Edwards 1'18.177 USA FTR NGM Forward Racing
16 Bryan Staring 1'18.928 AUS HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
17 Claudio Corti 1'19.307 ITA FTR NGM Forward Racing
18 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'19.457 JPN FTR Avintia Blusens
19 Stefan Bradl DNF GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
20 Andrea Iannone DNF ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
21 Lukas Pesek DNF CZE IODA Came IodaRacing Project
22 Randy De Puniet DNF FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
23 Yonny Hernandez DNF COL ART Paul Bird Motorsport


Championship standings

1 Marc Marquez 61 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Dani Pedrosa 58 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Jorge Lorenzo 57 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Valentino Rossi 43 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Cal Crutchlow 35 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6 Alvaro Bautista 28 pts SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
7 Andrea Dovizioso 26 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
8 Nicky Hayden 24 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Aleix Espargaro 17 pts ESP ART Power Electronics Aspar
10 Andrea Iannone 13 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
11 Stefan Bradl 11 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
12 Bradley Smith 10 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
13 Ben Spies 9 pts USA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
14 Hector Barbera 7 pts SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
15 Randy De Puniet 6 pts FRA ART Power Electronics Aspar
16 Michele Pirro 5 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
17 Yonny Hernandez 3 pts COL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
18 Michael Laverty 3 pts WAL ART Paul Bird Motorsport
19 Danilo Petrucci 2 pts ITA IODA Came IodaRacing Project
20 Hiroshi Aoyama 1 pts JPN FTR Avintia Blusens
21 Colin Edwards 1 pts USA FTR NGM Forward Racing
22 Lukas Pesek 0 pts CZE IODA Came IodaRacing Project
23 Karel Abraham 0 pts CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
24 Claudio Corti 0 pts ITA FTR NGM Forward Racing
25 Bryan Staring 0 pts AUS HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
26 Blake Young 0 pts USA APRILIA Attack Performance

.