MotoGP

Moto GP returns this weekend as the season heads to Austin, Texas, for the second round of the season in the shape of the Grand Prix of Americas on Sunday.

The season got off to a cracking start at the Losail circuit in Qatar two weeks ago with an action-packed race eventually being won by last season's championship winner, Spaniard Marc Marquez.

He beat veteran Italian rider Valentino Rossi into second by just a quarter of a second, and the Repsol Honda rider will be looking to capture another victory at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend.

It was an extraordinary result for 21-year-old Marquez, who has barely recovered from a broken leg he sustained during a dirt bike training accident.

Also for Repsol Honda, Dani Pedrosa claimed third place, meaning the Belgian-based team are looking good in the constructors' championship. 

Elsewhere in Qatar, Movistar Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo suffered a fall while leading on the opening lap.

As much excitement is expected in Texas, and here's a full race schedule as well as information on how to catch the race. 

On demand streams for all racing and practices can be found at MotoGP.com, while the races are live in the UK on BT Sport 2 and can be streamed on the BT Sport app.  

Riders to Watch

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda

After his mightily impressive win in Qatar two weeks ago, all eyes will be on the Spaniard to see if there is any evidence of trouble as he continues to recover from a broken leg.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's race, he said that he had been working on improving the strength in his leg after he had struggled with so many right-hand turns on the Losail track.

As reported on MotoGP.com, he said:

Since round one I’ve been focusing on getting my leg stronger and my body fitter in preparation for the Austin race this weekend.

This track is one of my favourites, I had a good race here last year where I have good memories of taking my first win in the MotoGP class. [...]

Thankfully the majority of hard turns are left handers at this track which is easier on my leg as I’m still not 100 per cent fit.

The defending champion, having won the title at the first time of asking last season, his competitors may be fearing what possibly he might be capable of when he is 100 per cent fit.

He won this race last year, one of six victories, and he must certainly be counted as the favourite this weekend despite his claim that he is not up to full strength.

His battle with Rossi in Qatar and his eventual victory showed some real grit and determination and left nobody in any doubt that Marquez is the one to beat in the championship this year.

On that occasion, the Spaniard set his fastest lap on the 22nd lap to keep Rossi at bay and claim victory by 0.259 seconds, per Crash.net.

And if the opening practice session is anything to go by, Marquez looks in fine form in Texas, per BT Sport:

Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha

The Spaniard had a nightmare in Qatar last time out as he fell while leading on the first lap.

Having fired himself into the lead from the second row, the 26-year-old lost the front of his M1, and his race was over. 

Second in the championships last season to Marquez, and champion in 2012, Lorenzo will be looking to get this campaign started properly in the U.S.

He had eight victories last year, per MotoGP.com, and needs to get back to winning ways as soon as possible to avoid losing sight of Marquez early on in the season.

However, he struggled in first practice, per MotoMatters' David Emmett:

But he insists that he wants at least a repeat of his third place from this circuit last year.

As reported by MotoGP.com, he said:

After a very disappointing race result in Qatar I look forward to racing at Austin to try to get a good result and forget as soon as possible all the things that happened in Losail.

COTA was not one of the best tracks for us last year. [...]

In the end we got a good result and we finished only three seconds behind the winner.

I guess this year the pace could be even better because our bike has made one step ahead with the new seamless and the chassis is pretty good.

Also, I feel almost perfect, physically at one hundred per cent and that is so important to try to fight for the victory elsewhere.

He will have to fight incredibly hard to improve on his result from last year, but he needs a good race or else he could have a mountain to climb at this very early stage. 

MotoGP hasn't seen a rookie win the championship since Kenny Roberts in 1978, but Marc Marquez has one more chance to join that list.

The Spanish rider sits on pole position and leads compatriot Jorge Lorenzo by 13 points ahead of Sunday's final race of the season, and it's proving to be a difficult one to call.

Of course, Marquez has had two chances to win the title already and came up short both times. Given his current points advantage over Lorenzo, he has a few options that will all see him take the crown.

If Lorenzo wins, Marquez must finish fourth or above. If Lorenzo comes in second, Marquez must finish eighth or above. If Lorenzo manages third place, a 12th-place finish will be enough for Marquez to claim the championship. This drops to 15th with a fourth-place finish from Lorenzo.

Riders to Watch

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda

Marquez has been a thrilling addition to the MotoGP season and has completely shaken up the sport. He flew out to a championship lead and looked to be running away with the sport until Lorenzo began to peg him back.

He has shown some inexperience at times, and that has occasionally cost him. He was disqualified in Australia after failing to make a mandatory pit stop, which handed Lorenzo a lifeline in the championship race.

Pressure could be a factor in the outcome of Sunday's race, and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

Nevertheless, there's no denying the 20-year-old's talent, and that has been on display all season for Repsol Honda. This was especially evident in his demolition of the field during qualifying, securing pole position with a track-record lap of 1:30.237.

Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Reigning champion Lorenzo has clawed his way back into the title reckoning and could now take it on the final day of the season.

Lorenzo has the experience, and he's free of the expectation that has dogged Marquez the last couple of weeks. Speaking to AutoEvolution.com, Lorenzo outlined the situation:

I feel cool. I don’t have any pressure. I don’t have anything to lose; second place in the championship is done, so all I can try to do is win the race.

However, history is a little bit against him at Valencia. Lorenzo crashed out in this race last year and failed to race in 2011 while he recovered from injury. His only victory at the circuit came in 2010.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda

With first and second place a two-horse race, Dani Pedrosa is nonetheless likely to influence the outcome of MotoGP's top prize.

As both Marquez's teammate and the rider with the most victories on the circuit, Pedrosa is definitely a rider to watch.

The Spaniard won the race in 2007, 2009 and 2012 and has won more races on Spanish soil than any rider in GP history.

Byron Wilson wrote for Motorcycle-USA.com that Pedrosa has 13 total wins in Spain across 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes.

There's no doubt that he'll be among the leading pack as the race progresses, which is likely to aid Marquez more than Lorenzo. Pedrosa is a definite joker in the pack.

Prediction

While it's tempting to state that Lorenzo will continue his run of form and take his third championship, Marquez remains the favourite here.

Look for him to get some assistance from Pedrosa and keep Lorenzo at bay to take the title and complete a remarkable debut season.

Despite the weather attempting to ruin qualifying, Jorge Lorenzo emerged triumphant and will start from the front in the AirAsia Grand Prix of Japan.

Due to the weather, the qualifying period was amended to a single 75-minute session, replacing the standard 15-minute Q1 and Q2 periods.

Lorenzo's intensity gave him his second pole position in the space of a week, which was made more impressive by the fact that no one past third place got within a second of his time.

The day began on a very wet track, with some remnants still remaining of the fog and rain that had cancelled all previous practices.

Nicky Hayden threatened to steal pole for Ducati with a strong showing, but as the track continued to dry out he was dethroned by Dani Pedrosa and his Honda.

However, when Lorenzo took to the track he immediately assumed the top spot, only stretching his lead with each trip round the circuit.

His countryman and title rival Marc Marquez had a mixed day, taking a couple of trips into the gravel but still managing to post a time 0.658 of a second back from Lorenzo.

Marquez will be well aware of the importance of this race to his title hopes. The 20-year-old's remarkable rookie season will be capped off with a championship if he can outscore Lorenzo by eight points in Japan.

The Repsol Honda rider will be keen to make amends for the Australian round, which saw him disqualified after failing to pit at the required time. Due to tyre safety concerns, riders were instructed to change bikes midrace. 

Because he didn't abide by this, Marquez scored no points for the race, while Lorenzo gained the maximum 25. This changed the race to the title dramatically and gave Lorenzo a bigger window to attack in Japan. 

Marquez has become an incredibly popular figure in a short space of time, but his choice of shirt for Japan left a lot to be desired, and frankly shouldn't have been allowed near anyone with a camera:

Prior to Australia, it seemed that the title was going to no one but Marquez. Following the race, Lorenzo admitted to BBC Sport that he had been very lucky in Australia:

Without the mistake from Marc I think he would have been first or second—now the championship has changed so much.

Before the race we had no chance - a 2% or 3% chance - and now it's 20% or 30%.

Nevertheless, Lorenzo needed no luck on the Motegi Circuit, and his dominant times reflected that. He will be unwilling to give up his status as World Champion without a fight.

World Championship leader Marc Marquez took pole position ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang. 

Marquez, who set a new lap record with his fastest qualifying lap, starts Sunday’s race 39 points ahead of his nearest contender with just four races remaining. The Spaniard’s time (2:00.011) saw him pip Valentino Rossi (2:00.336) and Cal Crutchlow (2:00.359), who will start in second and third place respectively.

Marquez’s nearest title challenger, Jorge Lorenzo, had to settle for fourth place, whilst Dani Pedrosa, the man who was quickest in the opening two practice sessions, will have to make do with a disappointing fifth-place grid spot.

It was a dramatic finale to the qualifying session, with pole position changing hands four times in the final knockings. A sudden, but short, downpour at the start of Q2 meant for a drying race track and quickening times as the session wore on and conditions improved. As is often the case in these circumstances, timing and strategy became so crucial.

As the chequered flag dropped, Lorenzo had posted the quickest time. But, Crutchlow overtook him with a minute to spare.

The action didn’t cease there. The seven-time World Champion Rossi beat the Briton’s time by just a couple of hundredths of a second and that looked enough to secure the coveted pole position.

Not quite. The superb Marquez, who timed his final run to perfection, outdid Rossi. The lap record was a coup de grace on a tremendous qualifying session. The Honda driver is already showing an unshakeable winning mentality for one so young.

It’s all set up for a fascinating race, with the likes of Lorenzo and Pedrosa capable of challenging from further back. 

In other news, the German rider Stefan Bradl did not partake in qualifying. He had a nasty-looking fall at the first turn in fourth practice and suffered a subsequent fractured right ankle.

Here are the full list of results from today's qualifying session:

Q2

1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Repsol Honda Team 2:00.011
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.336
3. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:00.359
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.578
5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Repsol Honda Team 2:00.692
6. Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Go&Fun Honda Gresini 2:00.974
7. Bradley Smith (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:01.306
8. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Ducati Team 2:01.635
9. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Power Electronics Aspar 2:02.151
10. Andrea Iannone (ITA) Energy T.I. Pramac Racing 2:02.536
11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2:02.900
12. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda MotoGP No Time

Q1

13. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Forward Racing 2:02.858
14. Claudio Corti (ITA) NGM Forward Racing  2:03.175
15. Hector Barbera (ESP) Avintia Blusens 2:03.212
16. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Avintia Blusens 2:03.418
17. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Ignite Pramac Racing 2:03.651
18. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar 2:03.805 
19. Michael Laverty (GBR) Paul Bird Motorsport 2:04.198
20. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came IodaRacing Project 2:04.310
21. Luca Scassa (ITA) Cardion AB Motoracing 2:05.199
22. Bryan Staring (AUS) Go&Fun Honda Gresini 2:06.038
23. Lukas Pesek (CZE) Came IodaRacing Project 2:06.203
24. Damian Cudlin (AUS) Paul Bird Motorsport 2:06.273

In his home country—at his third attempt—and with a 34-point lead in the MotoGP World Championship, nothing will stand in the way of a Marc Marquez victory at Aragon. He may have been denied wins with crashes in his last two races in Spain, but this is a circuit he knows too well.

Marquez was victorious here in the Moto2 class, and admitted his love of the track to Supersport.com:

The track—which is one of my favourites—has technical first and final sections, and you need to be strong in cornering. We've had good results there in the past two years so I hope to continue this way and we've also been testing there already this year on the MotoGP machine, so we have some data. 

Marquez wasted no time in practice, setting a blistering pace with a one minute 49.987 seconds lap that put him half a second up on his nearest rival, Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo.

Although the lap record would be broken several times in qualifying by Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, Marquez remained in touch with them and rose to the occasion every time it was required of him.

In his penultimate qualifying lap, Marquez made his move once more and broke the lap record with a time of 1:47.804 to take pole position. It's the third time in three races he has accomplished pole position with a lap record, which shows just how talented he is.

His ability to suddenly put in a daunting lap has been on display throughout this season. Although this is his rookie year, Marquez has made a remarkable adjustment to the demands of MotoGP and now shows a level of patience that wasn't present before.

By the time Marquez took his fourth straight victory at Brno, it was clear he had learned to trust not just himself, but his bike too. He showed considerable restraint and confidence during that race as he reeled in Lorenzo and passed him late on.

The only thing that could stop him winning the race at Aragon is a decision to play it safe for the title. He could settle for a podium finish in order to guarantee him the points. Pushing for a race victory can result in mistakes, so holding back to secure points would actually be a sensible decision.

At just 20 years old, Marquez has the ability to dominate the sport for years to come. In time that's likely to become dull and evoke reactions like the ones we've seen in Formula 1 with Sebastian Vettel. Right now, however, it's a real battle between him and Lorenzo.

Expect that battle to continue in Aragon and Marquez to emerge victorious once again.

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo won an exciting British MotoGP at Silverstone on Sunday by beating compatriot Marc Marquez in the final few corners of the race.

The result ends Marquez's run of four consecutive race wins and springs Lorenzo back into world title contention in third place, just behind another Spaniard in Dani Pedrosa.

With six races to go, all three riders will feel there is an opportunity to seize the end-of-season crown, although Marquez very much remains favourite having extended his lead over Pedrosa to 30 points.

Let's take a look at how the contenders' title hopes changed this weekend.

Marc Marquez (Reysol Honda)

Twenty-year-old Marquez will be delighted with his showing at Silverstone on Sunday, having pushed the experienced Lorenzo all the way until the final few seconds of the race.

Marquez has been a revelation in his debut MotoGP season. Despite having won the second-tier series in 2012, he was not expected to really challenge his two experienced rivals.

He has done more than that, though, and came remarkably close to winning a fifth consecutive race in Britain. His title chances, though, have improved with Pedrosa's third-place finish.

Success won't be easy for him, but he is comfortably in pole position given his 30-point lead in the title standings.

Dani Pedrosa (Reysol Honda)

Forever the bridesmaid in recent years, after four runner-up finishes in the world championship, Pedrosa lost ground to his rivals on Sunday after placing third.

At this stage last season, Pedrosa would go on to win four more races—only for two retirements to cost him a shot at the title. He needs a similar performance this time around if he is to stand any chance of success.

It has now been eight rounds since Pedrosa completed back-to-back wins at Jerez and Le Mans, which the rider himself would accept is not good enough for someone of his ability.

The title is not out of his reach, but he will require a significant improvement in form.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)

The win at Silverstone has done two-time world champion Lorenzo's season the power of good and he has now closed to within 39 points of the title leader.

Lorenzo has won four races this campaign, but saw a mid-season drop off in results allow the two leaders to pull clear in the overall classification.

However, three successive podium finishes, including this success would suggest that the Yamaha rider is now coming back to some sort of form at the right stage of the season.

Lorenzo will need an excellent final six races if he is to close the gap at the top of the standings, but he is more than capable of doing so. As the pressure on Marquez rises, can the experienced Lorenzo capitalise?

The British MotoGP will take place at Silverstone on Sunday afternoon, in what is Round 12 of the 2013 calendar.

With Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo looking to keep pressure on championship leader and compatriot Marc Marquez, all eyes will be on the Spanish trio at the head of the field.

The three riders have shared wins in 10 of the 11 races between themselves thus far this campaign, with Marquez having won the last four races to establish a 26-point lead at the head of the standings.

Can another rider break the Spanish stranglehold? Will anyone prevent a fifth win a row for Marquez? Let's take a look at some of the riders to watch this weekend.

Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha)

It is 37 years since a British rider last won the premier class at their home Grand Prix, and Cal Crutchlow will be hoping to put that record straight—although the odds are not in his favour.

Crutchlow has a woeful record at his home race and crashed twice in free practice on Saturday morning—this is the third year in a row that he has had an incident at Silverstone.

He has been given the all-clear to race and will be encouraged by his four podium finishes this season, but he will need to perform drastically better than his best fifth-place finish in the British GP.

Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)

With seven premier-class MotoGP world championships to his name, Valentino Rossi is one of the most recognisable names in the world of motorsport.

The Italian, whose last world title came in 2009, will be encouraged by a run of six races inside the top-four places and is the only man outside of the three leaders to have won a race this season, at Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.

Rossi was looking good on Saturday and will hope to continue his good form on Sunday. He will know, though, that it will be far from easy to break into the top-three places ahead of his Spanish rivals.

Alvaro Bautista (Honda)

Another Spanish rider, Bautista has been incredibly consistent in his work this season but has yet to earn himself a podium finish. On Saturday, though, his lap times suggested he could at least compete for a podium place.

Bautista finished fourth at Silverstone in 2012, finishing just behind teammate Pedrosa on that occasion. He has shown, though, that he is well suited to the Silverstone track.

A good finish on Sunday and Bautista will find himself moving up the championship standings, having found himself in eighth position following the race in Czech Republic.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)

After a brilliant start to the season, in which he won three of the first seven races, Lorenzo has slipped down the standings to third place, behind his two compatriots.

The 2010 and 2012 British GP winner has an excellent record at Silverstone, though, and will be hopeful of a win this weekend to put his title challenge back on track.

Both seasons in which Lorenzo has won the British race he has gone on to win the title, so the omens would be good should he secure a win.

The quickest rider on Friday, Lorenzo has shown impressive form thus far this weekend and is certainly one to watch.

While he might be just 20 years of age, Marc Marquez has already taken the Moto GP world by storm in his first year of competition, smashing barriers, records and expanding his horizons along the way.

That being said, the youngster’s prolific form is only set for bigger and better things, the next opportunity for which comes this weekend in Indianapolis.

At the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in Monterey, Calif. last month, Marquez claimed his third win of the season, extending his lead over Dani Pedrosa to 16 points in the process. As a result of the feat, Marquez also became the youngest-ever rider to ever win consecutive races in the top tier of GP racing, a record previously held by Freddie Spencer.

However, with BBC Sport reporting via Twitter that the Spaniard also finished practice the fastest in Indianapolis, the starlet is quite possibly set to etch his name even further into the history books:

Barely out of his teenage years, Marquez’s achievements so early in his career are already remarkable. Having finished on the podium in 14 of his last 17 races in the Moto2 class, big things were always expected from the Honda representative, but perhaps not as big as this.

Finishing second to Marquez in the Indy practicing was England’s Carl Crutchlow. The Yamaha rider was just three-tenths of a second behind Marquez’s impressive time of one minute and 40.781 seconds.

Earlier this month, the BBC’s Ben Parrish painted Spain’s grid leader as the emerging favourite to now go ahead and win the 2013 title, even though those involved are only halfway through their campaign.

However, one massive factor in that will be the youngster’s fitness, which he has so far managed to maintain while, as Parrish points out, Pedrosa's has not.

At this stage of his career, Marquez can be both susceptible to injury and the least likely to pick up something debilitating, relying largely on the vast hunger that’s undoubtedly in his belly.

Other than Pedrosa and fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi would’ve also been a rider many would have considered as a candidate for silverware come season’s end.

However, with another victory on Sunday, young Marquez will assuredly be in the driver’s seat (no pun intended) to claim top spot come November—and given his current trajectory, there’s no reason why Honda’s newest disciple can’t do just that.