MARQUEZ MASTERCLASS
DORNAMOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
WORDS: JACK FAIRMAN
RACE NEWS
Marquez ran away with the race… and the championship
IMAGES: ROB GRAY/MICHELIN
Last time we met, Cal Crutchlow had just left Argentina as the first British rider to lead the World Championship since Barry Sheene in 1978 and Marc Marquez appeared to have embarked on a crusade to piss off the entire World. So what’s changed? Everything. Especially for Marquez, who ran away at both COTA and Jerez for a pair of dominant wins. COTA was expected, extending his win tally in Austin to a staggering six, while Jerez is a warning sign for the rest of the year as Marc has usually struggled at that particular Spanish arena. Moving along, after an off in America Crutchlow got matters off to a blistering start in Spain by taking pole, setting a ludicrous time and new Circuit Record of 1’37.653. Crutchlow set another, rather less impressive, record in the race though, becoming the first rider in five years to fail to win at Jerez from pole, crashing out. He later said that the Repsol Honda factory boys wouldn’t have had it quite so easy if they had been using the same equipment as him… possibly referencing the carbon swingarm used by Pedrosa and Marquez which is giving the Repsol camp improved grip.