Spanish world champion Marc Marquez became the first man in 17 years to win 10 consecutive MotoGP races when he rode to a comfortable victory in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday.
Not since Australian Mick Doohan won 10 in a row in 1997 has a rider put together that long a streak.
Marquez, riding a Repsol Honda, completed the 27 laps (112.6km) in 42 minutes, 7.041 seconds, 1.803 seconds ahead of compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha).
Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was 6.558 seconds back in third place, with Spaniard Dani Pedrosa’s Honda fourth in an action-packed race that featured several crashes.
Marquez, 21, also increased his lead in the standings, picking up 25 points to improve to a perfect 250 points for the season.
Pedrosa is second on 161 points, with seven-time world champion Rossi close behind on 157 points after 10 of 18 races.
Marquez started from pole, but got away slowly and quickly fell back to fourth place as Rossi took the lead.
On the sixth lap, Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso appeared to have a little contact on a corner and, though they remained upright, both lost speed and Marquez took advantage to pass them both and take the lead.
Rossi temporarily dropped to third, but surged back to regain the lead.
However, Marquez bided his time and took the lead again on the 11th lap, this time for good, gradually increasing his margin to win at Indianapolis for the second successive year.
US rider Nicky Hayden, who missed the race through injury, said Marquez was dominating the circuit because he did everything well.
“He really has no weak spots,” the 2006 world champion told Fox Sports. “He’s won races from the back, he’s won races where he wasn’t necessarily the fastest, he’s flag-to-flag, switched bikes, started from the grid and ... the thing he does more than I’ve probably seen anybody is ride on the ragged edge so much and not make many mistakes.”
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS