Bradl takes points as Marquez challenges for third podium
. By Bikeland Staff
Heartbreak for Alex Marquez who failed to finish his first race of the year while hunting a third podium finish, Stefan Bradl ends in the points for the second time in 2020.
Sunday at the Teruel GP began with celebrations as Honda achieved their 800th Grand Prix win thanks to Jaume Masia in the Moto3 race. The young Spanish rider, who last week became Honda’s 100th different race winner, put in an inch-perfect ride to write another page in Honda’s Grand Prix history.
Alex Marquez made a steady start to the second race in Aragon, avoiding several incidents ahead of him as his hard front tyre got up to temperature. Lapping in the low 1’48s, the hunt was on as the MotoGP rookie picked his way through the field. Johann Zarco briefly put up a fight, but the RC213V soon found its way through as the podium loomed. Pushing hard, Alex was working to catch Mir when he lost the front at Turn 2, ending his race on lap 14. While the end was bitterly disappointing, Alex again showed incredible pace and potential as he cut his way through the field.
From the line, Stefan Bradl ripped forward from his best qualifying of the year and found himself in the point scoring positions within just a few corners. Having shown stronger pace during the second weekend in MotorLand Aragon, Bradl was able to fight hard with the likes of Lecuona and Petrucci for points. Andrea Dovizioso fell back into clutches of Bradl late in the race, the German pushing until the end to pass him. On the penultimate lap, the German found his way past to cross the line in 12th place.
The final push of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship resumes at the Valencia circuit on November 06, kicking off the last triple-header of the year. It looks set to be an intense end to 2020, the MotoGP World Championship still wide open.
Alex Marquez
DNF
“It was completely my mistake; I lost some time with Zarco and Mir was escaping and I was probably pushing too hard to catch him. I was thinking about the podium a bit too much today because I really think we had the pace, but we need to remember to always be patient. It was another rookie mistake but we should be proud of the weekend and these three races in a row overall. Two podiums and a strong weekend here fighting. We have made good progress but stay realistic, be calm and see what our target is. I want to say thank you again to the Repsol Honda Team for their work.”
Alex Marquez
Stefan Bradl
12th
“It can always be a little bit better, but I am happy with this result as we have improved compared to last week, so this is a positive. We want to continue on this trajectory and today shows we are making progress. The start was a bit difficult but after that I was able to fight, maybe I was fighting a bit too much in the opening laps, then I relaxed and was able to catch the factory Ducatis. The speed was good overall, a strong weekend.”
Stefan Bradl
Teruel Grand Prix
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Time/Gap
1 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 25 Petronas Yamaha SRT 41'47.652
2 Rins Alex 42 SPA 20 Team Suzuki Ecstar 2.205
3 Mir Joan 36 SPA 16 Team Suzuki Ecstar 5.376
4 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 10.299
5 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 11 Esponsorama Racing 12.915
6 Oliveira Miguel