Another Repsol Honda Podium for Marquez and Pedrosa, Race won by Andrea Dovizioso
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa scored the third consecutive double podium finish and the sixth of the season out of 11 races, in one of the most exciting races this year and in front of more than 90,000 thrilled spectators at the Red Bull Ring Circuit.
After an epic battle with Ducati Corse's Andrea Dovizioso that lasted until the last corner, Marquez was edged by the Italian at the finish line by just 0.176”. The pair traded places twice at the last corner of the final lap with the Italian having the edge towards the charge to the chequered flag. Marquez's Repsol Honda teammate Pedrosa completed the podium, recovering from eighth on the grid to gain 16 valuable points in the standings.
The next appointment for the Repsol Honda team will be a one-day test in Misano on August 20. After that, the team will head to the Silverstone race with Marc leading the Championship by 16 points over Dovizioso, while Dani remains in fifth place having reduced his deficit to Rossi in fourth to just two points.
Marc Marquez – 2nd:
“I wouldn’t have slept well tonight if I didn’t try to go for the win in the last corner! But it wasn’t possible. Today Dovi had just a little bit more than us and it was difficult to overtake him. I tried my best all race, really gave it my all, and I lost the rear many times. It was a great battle, and Dovi deserved this victory as he rode very well. We got this second place and it’s good. I’m very happy with these 20 points at this track where I had struggled a lot last year. It’s an important result for the Championship. We’re working well; step-by-step, we found a good base that allowed us to be there, and to be consistent in every situation. Today I was able to try that move at the end because I was feeling good with the bike. It will be important to continue like this and to try and be on the podium at every race.”
Dani Pedrosa – 3rd:
“I’m very, very happy with how this weekend turned out and with this podium finish, as we had struggled a lot in the practices, had to go through Q1, and finally qualified just eighth on the grid. But it turned out in the race that I was faster than we were expecting. I still had some issues with the front locking and the rear spinning, but our race strategy worked very well. I wasn’t too aggressive in the beginning; I took my time with a full tank, saving some fuel, and then step-by-step I increased my pace until I closed the gap to the front of the race, also because Marc and Dovi were battling and disturbing each other. Unfortunately, when I caught them I had so much spinning that the rear tyre overheated and I had no more grip and drive. I wanted to stay with them and try to fight with them but even though I couldn’t, I’m happy with this podium and proud of my team and of the work we did here.”
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