2015 Indianapolis MotoGP: Marquez’s American domination continues

There was lots of excitement as the MotoGP circus returned after a month long hiatus and headed across the Atlantic Ocean to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The biggest question in everybody’s mind was whether the mid-season break has allowed Honda to regain the advantage gained by Yamaha. HRC tried a new swingarm during testing but for the US Grand Prix both the Repsol Honda riders selected the 2014 swingarm. The old setup worked for the Repsol Honda riders as Marc Marquez grabbed pole position with Dani Pedrosa recording his best qualifying performance in second. Jorge Lorenzo qualified in third position while Valentino Rossi had a disappointing afternoon with eighth place on the grid. 

As the lights went off, it was Jorge Lorenzo who made a stunning start to grab the race lead from Marquez as the riders entered the first corner of the race. Down the grid, Rossi was in salvation mode as he made up two places. The Italian rider could have made up few more places but was squeezed out while exiting the first corner. Marquez was in close pursuit of Lorenzo and it seemed that the reigning MotoGP champion will pass the Yamaha rider soon. But that didn’t happen as Lorenzo was riding hard to maintain the race lead. Within the opening few laps it was clear that it would be a two-way fight between Lorenzo and Marquez for the race win. Both the Spanish riders were able to carve out a healthy lead from Pedrosa who was in a lonely third position. Rossi soon overtook Bradley Smith, Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Inannone to rise up to fourth position. 

By the halfway mark the pecking order remain unchanged with Lorenzo, Marquez, Pedrosa and Rossi. At the front it seemed that Marquez was sizing up and pass Lorenzo soon but despite being striking distance the Repsol Honda rider was holding him up. In the mean time he also made a mistake that allowed Lorenzo some breathing space. Rossi had also hiked his race pace and was shaving off Pedrosa’s lead with every passing lap. With only few laps remaining in the race, the MotoGP passed Pedrosa under braking to grab third place. Post this move it appeared as if the current champion will be able to race away from the Spanish rider but Pedrosa was persistent with his chase and wanted his first podium finish of 2015 season. With three laps remaining in the race, Marquez finally put down the hammer and passed Lorenzo to grab the race lead. Once ahead the youngest MotoGP champion showcased his supreme race pace as he etched almost a half second lead within a few corners.

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There was more drama as Pedrosa passed Rossi to regain third position from the Italian rider. It seemed that the Yamaha rider would finish out of the podium for the first occasion in 2015. But Pedrosa buckled under pressure and Rossi passed him to take the final step on the rostrum. Despite finishing third, Rossi still leads the championship over team-mate Lorenzo by nine points. It was also Honda’s 700th win in the GP class making it the most successful manufacturer also.