Juan Antonio Llados
Austin (United States), April 17 The Spanish drivers set the tone during the Grand Prix of the Americas which took place on Sunday on the circuit COTA (Circuit Of The Americas), in which they won in all categories in the hands of Alex Rins (Honda RC 213 V) in MotoGP. , Pedro Acosta (Kalex) in Moto2 and Iván Ortolá (KTM) in Moto3.
The victory of Alex Rins, which places him in third place in the provisional classification of the World Cup, preceded only by the Italians Marco Bezzecchi, who finished sixth, and Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia, who fell to the ground, further tightens the differences in the World Cup. classification while there are still eighteen grand prizes, with double points, to be played, which is the same 666 points at stake.
These data leave a completely open competition that has only just begun and which in the next appointment should recover at least two of its protagonists, the Spaniard Marc Márquez and the Italian Enea Bastianini.
In any case, what became clear in Austin was the success of Lucio Cecchinello and Honda in taking over the services of Alex Rins, who had no bike for the 2023 season when Japanese manufacturer Suzuki announced its withdrawal from the competition, since he was the only pilot of the Ala Dorada brand who managed to finish the race and, moreover, as the winner.
Both the Repsol Honda driver, the Spaniard Joan Mir, Rins’ teammate, the Japanese Takaaki Nakagami, or the Ala Dorada tester, the German Stefan Bradl, found themselves on the ground, an unequivocal sign that he Something is happening at HRC, which needs to fix the problems of a bike that all its riders say has potential, but it hasn’t shown on the track yet.
Ducati’s dominance is another point to take into account, despite the Bagnaia “fiasco” in Austin, since their bikes are usually on the podium and the American race was no exception, with Luca Marini on the second step of the podium and for him his “first shooter” of the MotoGP World Cup, which the “half-brother” of Valentino Rossi experienced almost as if it were a victory.
The KTMs came to Austin strong and excelled throughout the weekend, but when the moment of truth came the pressure took its toll on their two riders, Jack Miller and Brad Binder, who crashed, although the second returned to the track to, in a show of pride, cross the finish line in last position.
One of lime and the other of sand was that of the Aprilia pilots. Aleix Espargaró was out of the race on the opening lap when the rear suspension lockout system snagged and crashed, while teammate Maverick Viñales endured the pace and harshness of the American race to finish fourth and occupy the same position in the provisional World Cup.
In Moto2, the Italian Tony Arbolino retains the lead in the standings, but the victory of his rival Pedro Acosta leaves him only seven points ahead; 61 points from the first against 54 from the second.
Arón Canet, whose mistakes took him away from the leading positions and relegated him to the final eighth position, is third in the championship with 41 points, while Alonso López, also the protagonist of some “frights” during the race Moto2, ranks fifth with 32.
In Moto3 the situation is tightening and now the Spaniard Daniel Holgado (KTM), who won in Portugal, and the Brazilian Diogo Moreira (KTM) are tied at 49 points at the top of the table, although the first victory, for the first time in his sporting career was for the Valencian from Puzol, Iván Ortolá. ECE
JLL/ea