Marc Márquez and his Honda RC213V showed his speed in a thrilling race around the Red Bull Ring that ultimately went unrewarded.
Friday‘s session of the Motorrad von Österreich Grand Prix, held again at the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit, was marked by the changing weather. The sun shone for much of the day, although it did not prevent a significant downpour from falling just before free practice 2, something that the Repsol Honda team took advantage of to demonstrate their speed in the wet.
Marc Márquez completed 22 laps on his Honda RC213V in free practice 1. A best time of 1'23.967 saw him finish ninth, just ahead of Jorge Martín, winner of the Styrian GP. In practice 2, and although he couldn't improve his overall time, he was equally fast in the wet with a 1'31.353 that kept him on top.
Pol Espargaró, on his part, took advantage of the first training sessions to try to improve the set-up of his motorcycle, after the difficulties of the previous weekend. Finally, he finished in 11th place. In the afternoon, Espargaró improved as the session progressed, keeping a short distance from his teammate at all times. In the final minutes of the session, when other riders mounted slick tires, the one from Granollers dropped from second to eighth, finishing the day eleventh overall.
Saturday at the Red Bull Ring started well for the Repsol Honda team, as both Marc Márquez and Pol Espargaró finished free practice 3 within the top ten combined. Specifically, Marc improved his time by eight tenths to finish the morning in fourth place with a 1'23.132, just one tenth less than his pole time in 2019.
When Marc returned to the track for Q2, after a small and insignificant crash at the start of Practice 3, a better lap of 1'23.227 saw him go two tenths faster than in qualifying session last week and secured the fifth place. Pol continued to improve his pace with each session. After eighth position in practice 4, # 44 posted 1'23.738 in Q2, also improving the time recorded during the previous weekend. Finally, a Pol Espargaró who felt he could have given more of himself with a better choice of front tires in qualifying, managed to clinch 11th.
All eyes turned to the sky again as the grid prepared to kick off after a productive morning warm-up session for the Repsol Honda team. The gray clouds that covered the sky and the occasional patches of rain made many nervous, although the Austrian Grand Prix was finally declared a dry race. Marquez saw the opportunity for him and shot off, battling the fast Ducati riders at the first corner. After the first minutes of the race, # 93 adjusted the pace, overtaking Zarco and Martín and advancing towards Bagnaia.
The gap between the leading trio of Bagnaia, Quartararo and Márquez and the rest of the riders was clear until the rain arrived. In true Marc Márquez style, the eight-time world champion attacked and led as the rain began to drop harder, until he reached a tipping point and decided to pit with four laps remaining to finish the race.
Unfortunately, a crash at turn one two laps later ended Marquez's incredible feat of victory, rejoining the race to score just one point. However, Marc stays with the good and qualifies this Sunday as the best of the season.
On the other side of the Repsol Honda team box, Pol relived a difficult weekend in Austria, working hard to regain positions as the race progressed. When it started to rain, the little Espargaró still remained in the top ten, but seeing that the conditions worsened, the # 44 entered the pits on the last lap and finally crossed the finish line in position number 16.
After two intense weeks in Austria, the 2021 MotoGP World Championship will resume at Silverstone on August 27 to celebrate the British Grand Prix.
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