MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez is determined to tame the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend.
With another strong performance in winning the Czech GP last weekend, the Honda rider travelled straight to Austria for this 11th round of the series.
The second set of back-to-back races of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship season presents the Repsol Honda Team with a prime opportunity to show the effective developments of the RC213V.
In previous years, the Austrian GP has been one of the more challenging for the team, but the increased top-end power of the Honda has all involved eager to see the difference around the Red Bull Ring, especially Spain’s mercurial Marquez.
As one of the newer circuits on the calendar, this will be just the fourth edition of the race since the Austrian GP returned to the championship in 2016. In the previous three runnings, defending champion Marquez has achieved three top-five finishes including two second-place finishes in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, the reigning champion is hunting his first win.
Team-mate Stefan Bradl will again join the Repsol Honda Team in place of the recovering Jorge Lorenzo. The German rider is excited at the prospect of another Grand Prix aboard the RC213V after improving his feeling on the bike during the Brno weekend. Racing in Austria in 2016, Bradl has some experience of the track to draw upon. 2018 Austrian GP winner Jorge Lorenzo continues his recovery as he aims to return for the next round at Silverstone.
“It has certainly been a busy return after the summer!” Marquez said. “Of course we are very happy about the result in Brno but now we must focus again and prepare for Austria. The Red Bull Ring is a very unique circuit that demands a lot from the brakes and from the power of the bike. In the past we have had some very exciting races there so this year I think it will again be very interesting!”
Photo courtesy Honda Europe
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
Pos. Rider Nation Points Team Constructor
1 MARQUEZ Marc SPA 210 Repsol Honda Team Honda
2 DOVIZIOSO Andrea ITA 147 Mission Winnow Ducati Ducati
3 PETRUCCI Danilo ITA 129 Mission Winnow Ducati Ducati
4 RINS Alex SPA 114 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
5 VINALES Maverick SPA 91 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
6 ROSSI Valentino ITA 90 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
7 MILLER Jack AUS 86 Pramac Racing Ducati
8 CRUTCHLOW Cal GBR 78 LCR Honda Honda
9 QUARTARARO Fabio FRA 76 Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha
10 ESPARGARO Pol SPA 61 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
11 NAKAGAMI Takaaki JPN 57 LCR Honda Honda
12 MORBIDELLI Franco ITA 52 Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha
13 MIR Joan SPA 39 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
14 ESPARGARO Aleix SPA 31 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia
15 IANNONE Andrea ITA 21 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia
16 LORENZO Jorge SPA 19 Repsol Honda Team Honda
17 OLIVEIRA Miguel POR 18 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM
18 ZARCO Johann FRA 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
19 BAGNAIA Francesco ITA 15 Pramac Racing Ducati
20 RABAT Tito SPA 14 Reale Avintia Racing Ducati
21 BRADL Stefan GER 13 Repsol Honda Team Honda
22 PIRRO Michele ITA 9 Mission Winnow Ducati Ducati
23 GUINTOLI Sylvain FRA 3 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
24 ABRAHAM Karel CZE 3 Reale Avintia Racing Ducati
25 SYAHRIN Hafizh MAL 3 Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM
