MotoGP COTA Results 2019

Bruce Allen
by Bruce Allen

Alex Rins puts Suzuki on top in Texas. Seriously.

Photos by Getty Images; lead photo by Suzuki

Things were going pretty much according to script on Lap 10 of the Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday. Defending world champion Marc Marquez had checked out after starting from pole and was up over three seconds when, at Turn 12, he folded the front of his Honda, slid off the track, and could not re-enter the race. His unforced error allowed Alex Rins to enjoy his first premier class win and put Suzuki on the top step for the first time since 2016.

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For once, someone other than Marc Marquez got to hang onto the horns of the Grand Prix of the Americas Trophy. Alex Rins takes a well-deserved first career MotoGP win, and the first for Suzuki since Maverick Viñales won at Silverstone in 2016.

Rins was joined by the irrepressible Valentino Rossi in second and Jack Miller, himself on the podium for the first time since 2016 and the first time ever in the dry. Whatever it is that keeps the locals saying, “Keep Austin Weird” was afoot today at COTA.

Practice and Qualifying

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Aleix Espargaro is not a fan of COTA, calling the track “super dangerous” after the first day of practices.

Friday’s big story was the dirty track and the bumps. For a circuit that has had major cosmetic surgery twice now, it now offers riders multiple asphalt compounds, multiple series (plural) of bumps, numerous areas that have been sanded, all of which was built on clay, and all of which slides around in the wet season and/or under the wheels of F1 cars. Terrible place to build a helluva racetrack. Regardless, several of the usual suspects shook off the track conditions, stayed within a very narrow racing line, and posted respectable times. Marquez’ 2015 track record of 2:02.135 remained unthreatened, another indictment of the racing surface. Aleix Espargaro broke the steering locks on his Aprilia on the back straight, saying later he had never raced on anything like it, not even motocross.

With rain expected on Saturday, folks made like the standings after Friday could constitute qualifying order, and the end of FP2 was a bit of a scramble. My pre-race picks of Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Miller were interrupted only by the surprising presence of what could be two Yams on the front row, shades of the salad days of 2010. Viñales and Rossi, one suspects, were praying for cloudbursts all day Saturday – never even have to put on the leathers, play cards, drink Monster Energy, complain to the press, wait for Sunday.

Missing from this picture, vulnerable to having to play through Q1, included both factory Ducati riders, three of the four KTMs, Jorge Lorenzo, Takaa Nakagami and the Aprilias. But two of the rookies made the cut.

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Ducati teammates Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci were among those who had to go through Q1.

As it turned out, FP3 was, indeed, scrubbed and the Friday results would stand as the weekly separating of wheat from chaff. With some high profile names in Q1 and things drying out, the heat was on, as Lorenzo found a quick lap late in the session, leaving Andrea Dovizioso, needing to advance to Q2 to stay in the same zipcode as Marquez, to the untender mercies of teammate Danilo Petrucci, who slid into home, spikes up, beating the throw to snatch the Q2 promotion at the last possible moment. Management would have preferred that he back off, as Dovi’s pursuit of Marquez is more credible than Petrucci’s. Not to mention that they could then use his failure to advance to Q2 in Austin as another reason not to renew his contract for next year.

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Marc Marquez held pole position for the seventh-straight year at COTA.

This is COTA. Q2 was mostly academic. Once Marquez laid down his usual quotient of vapor trails (and consecutive pole #7), most of the residents of tranches one and two cinched it up and gave it a go, generally falling laughably short. The bumps on the back straight are bad enough that they’re irritating Marquez’s shoulder. But only Doctor Rossi and my boy Cal Crutchlow could manage a lap within 6/10ths of #93. The Yamahas keep showing signs of life at a track not designed to their strengths. Pol Espargaro put a KTM in P5 for the first time ever, the factory leaping into immediate contention for the Taller Than Danny DeVito Award later this year.

The Race

Safe to say that very few people expected the outcome of today’s race. You had three or four big names crash out or retire – Aleix Espargaro, Marquez, Lorenzo and my boy Cal, who seriously cannot stand success. Once Marquez left the premises, all of a sudden it was a race with consequences, a race with meaning. Rossi, who once upon a time would have won today’s race by 10 seconds, dogged Marquez for awhile while defending himself against repeated attacks by Crutchlow. Once he took the lead on Lap 10, with #35 and #93 already out, I found myself thinking, “Now or never, Vale.” I was actually rooting for him to win; the lack of wins late in his career will ultimately tarnish his reputation around the edges.

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Valentino Rossi is still chasing for his first win since 2017, settling for a second-consecutive second-place finish.

Rins, possibly having an out-of-body experience, found himself stalking his idol, and with better pace and better tires. He took his time, went through on Lap 17, withstood a couple of keep-him-honest attempts from Rossi, entered the final lap ahead by .3 seconds, and kept his act sufficiently grouped to avoid choking out. Miller kept his podium by holding off Dovizioso, who had started 13th, and Franco Morbidelli, one of two top ten finishers from the Petronas Yamaha team, the other being that insolent Fabio Quartararo kid again.

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Jack Miller completed the podium, his first with the Pramac Ducati team.

The Big Picture

Marquez’ travails today were a good thing for a handful of highly-ranked riders. Andrea Dovizioso, who skirted disaster after poor practice sessions put him in Q1, leads the championship heading to Europe with 54 points. Rossi sits second at 51, Rins third at 49 and Marquez fourth with 45. How much nicer is this than staring at Marquez sitting on 70 points looking self-satisfied? Dare we hope for another opportunity to Let Valencia Decide?

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It was a good day for the anyone-but-Marquez crowd.

Tranches

After Rio Hondo:

Tranche 1: Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow
Tranche 2: Alex Rins, Danilo Petrucci, Jack Miller, Maverick Viñales
Tranche 3: Pecco Bagnaia, Takaa Nakagami, Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, Pol and Aleix Espargaro
Tranche 4: Joan Mir, Andrea Iannone, Jorge Lorenzo, Tito Rabat, Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira
Tranche 5: Karel Abraham, Hafizh Syahrin

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Alex Rins is having a solid start to the 2019 season. He has been competitive in all three races thus far and currently sits third overall behind Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi.

After COTA:

Tranche 1: Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Alex Rins
Tranche 2: Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci, Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo
Tranche 3: Maverick Viñales, Pecco Bagnaia, Takaa Nakagami, Franco Morbidelli, Pol and Aleix Espargaro
Tranche 4: Joan Mir, Andrea Iannone, Jorge Lorenzo, Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira
Tranche 5: Karel Abraham, Hafizh Syahrin, Tito Rabat

Looking Ahead

Another three-week gap until the riders return at Jerez. I suggest today’s race was an overdue fluke, and that Marquez’ 2019 title is in no danger at all. Even if it is only a temporary respite, it is a respite from the relentless perfection of #93. Those of you who root for riders other than Marquez can live to cheer another day.

Moto3

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Aron Canet won his first Moto3 race since joining the Sterilgarda Max Racing Team, riding the KTM.

Aron Canet, winless in 2018 with Honda and now fronting for KTM, led an Austrian podium lockout, followed by Jaume Masia, who had spent some time way back in P18, and Andrea Migno, all of whom, along with Gabriel Rodrigo and Niccolo Antonelli, had credible chances to win. The final turn was terribly congested up front, anyone’s race, with Canet emerging in the lead to seal the win. Moto3 rocks – Canet became the eighth different rider to win in consecutive races dating back to last year. He and Masia head to Jerez tied for the series lead, tighter than wallpaper.

Moto2

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After a fruitless sojourn in MotoGP last season, Thomas Luthi returned to Moto2 and won for the first time since San Marino in 2017.

Swiss veteran Tom Luthi, after a pointless season in MotoGP in 2018, celebrated his personal career resurrection a week earlier than the original, winning easily in Texas on Palm Sunday. Teammate Marcel Schrotter took second, with Jorge Navarro securing his first ever Moto2 podium. Alex Marquez led much of the early going before predictably fading late in the day. The best ride of the day came from Italian guest Mattia Pasini, who stepped on a Triumph-powered bike for the first time on Friday and brought it home in fourth place today, outperforming a couple of dozen riders who’ve had winter testing and two race weekends to get acquainted with the big British bikes.

2019 MotoGP COTA Results

Pos.

RiderTeamTime

1

Álex RinsSuzuki Ecstar41:43.688

2

Valentino RossiMonster Energy Yamaha+0.462

3

Jack MillerPramac Ducati+8.454

4

Andrea DoviziosoMission Winnow Ducati+9.420

5

Franco MorbidelliPetronas Yamaha SRT+18.021

6

Danilo PetrucciMission Winnow Ducati+21.476

7

Fabio QuartararoPetronas Yamaha SRT+26.111

8

Pol EspargaroRed Bull KTM Factory+29.743

9

Francesco BagnaiaPramac Ducati+30.608

10

Takaaki NakagamiLCR Honda Idemitsu+31.011

11

Maverick ViñalesMonster Energy Yamaha+34.077

12

Andrea IannoneAprilia Gresini+34.779

13

Johann ZarcoRed Bull KTM Factory+42.458

14

Miguel OliveiraRed Bull KTM Tech3+44.272

15

Tito RabatReale Avintia Ducati+44.623

16

Karel AbrahamReale Avintia Ducati+44.740

17

Joan MirSuzuki Ecstar+48.063

18

Hafizh SyahrinRed Bull KTM Tech3+1:07.683

Not Classified

DNF

Jorge LorenzoRepsol Honda10 Laps

DNF

Marc MarquezRepsol Honda12 Laps

DNF

Cal CrutchlowLCR Honda Castrol15 Laps

DNF

Aleix EspargaroAprilia Gresini15 Laps

2019 MotoGP Top 10 Standings After 3 Rounds

Pos.

RiderMotorcyclePoints

1

Andrea DoviziosoMission Winnow Ducati54

2

Valentino RossiMonster Energy Yamaha51

3

Álex RinsSuzuki Ecstar49

4

Marc MarquezRepsol Honda45

5

Danilo PetrucciMission Winnow Ducati30

6

Jack MillerPramac Racing Ducati29

7

Takaaki NakagamiLCR Honda Idemitsu22

8

Cal CrutchlowLCR Honda Castrol19

9

Pol EspargaroRed Bull KTM Factory18

10

Fabio QuartararoPetronas Yamaha SRT17
Bruce Allen
Bruce Allen

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  • Ozzy Mick Ozzy Mick on Apr 18, 2019

    It's Good Friday, April 19 in Oz as l awaken from my slumber. It's been less than a week since COTA. I note that the number of comments in response to Bruce Allen's motogp report exceeds 135.
    I'm moved to make the point, as I've done before, that if the powers that be at motorcycle.com look at the interaction and number of comments that Bruce Allen generates compared with other reports/articles in this publication, he should be given more assignments, like interviewing riders and team bosses, as well as reporting in WSBK.
    Here's to Mr. Allen!

  • Barrylindon Barrylindon on May 02, 2019

    Hey Mr Buce, no preview for Jerez.

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