moto

Spaniard Alex Rins (Honda-LCR) won the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday ahead of defending French vice-champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), third and who signed his first podium of the season in the United States.

On the demanding track in Austin (United States), the big loser of this third round of the MotoGP season is the Italian Francesco Bagnaia: starting from pole position, the world champion in the premier class was on his way to victory, but before the halfway point he crashed and retired.

An abandonment which suited Rins since the Spaniard, then on the heels of the Ducati rider, took the opportunity to recover the lead of the race. The reins acquired, he was never worried by the competition until the finish.

“I am so happy !” reacted the winner, who signs his first victory at Honda-LCR. The 27-year-old Barcelonan was the only driver present this weekend to have already won in the premier category on the Texas track – in Suzuki’s time – in 2019.

He finished ahead of the Italian Luca Marini (Ducati-VR46), second, and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), who started from seventh position on the grid.

“It was very complicated (…) but I’m super happy because I had some difficult first races, we work so hard with the team”, declared the 23-year-old from Nice who, a time second in the race thanks to the falls of his adversaries, will finally not have resisted Marini.

This podium also represents “a big boost for confidence, for me, for the team and for the people around us”, savors the 2021 champion. “We have difficulties, but to have a little joy in the team, it’s great.”

The other Frenchman on the grid Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac) finished seventh and “satisfied” at the end of a race marked by multiple retirements.

In addition to Bagnaia, the 2020 champion Joan Mir (Honda), the Australian Jack Miller (KTM) or the Spaniards Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) and Alex Marquez (Ducati-Gresini) fell. Only 13 out of 22 drivers saw the checkered flag.

– Bagnaia “does not understand” –

The Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati-VR46), sixth in the GP, remains the championship leader ahead of Bagnaia, second and now 11 points behind his compatriot (64 pts against 53 for Bagnaia).

“I don’t understand (…) I’m very disappointed because it wasn’t my fault,” the defending champion told Canal+ after his crash.

It’s a hard blow for the man nicknamed “Pecco” and who was hoping so much to redeem himself from his blunder two weeks ago in Argentina, when he – there too – fell while a place on the podium was promised to him. By the way, he had lost the championship lead to Bezzecchi.

In Austin, the Turinese however saves the furniture since he won the sprint on Saturday, a new race format, shorter than the GP, earning more points in the championship.

Thanks to this victory, Bagnaia was back on Saturday evening to one point behind his compatriot in the general classification, with the hope of recovering the lead the next day. In vain.

However, promises the Ducati rider, “I will give 100% and try to win the next weekend”, in Spain at the end of April.

Behind, Rins recovers the provisional third place in the general classification (47 pts). Zarco drops to fifth place (44 pts), Quartararo goes back to seventh (34 pts).

In the lower categories, in Moto2, the young 18-year-old Spaniard Pedro Acosta took his second victory of the season, ahead of the Italian Tony Arbolino, who retains the reins of the general classification, after an intense battle until the flag checkered.

In Moto3, 18-year-old Spaniard Ivan Ortola won for the first time in his GP career. The Spaniard Daniedo (KTM Tech3), fifth, remains at the head of the championship, tied on points with the Brazilian Diogo Moreira, fourth on Sunday.