#CalCrutchlow

Repsol Honda #1 Marc Marquez sits atop the grand prix motorcycle racing world with expectations growing at a geometric rate. Heading into Round 5, he has captured the last five poles, dating back to Valenciana last season, and has won every contest in 2014. He has topped the timesheets in most of the practice sessions. Aside from his boyish good looks, all he has going for him is timing, balance, reflexes, intelligence and a really good bike. The only hope for the rest of the grid this weekend is rain and plenty of it.

On a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon in southern Spain, Marc Marquez took care of business, becoming the first polesitter to win in Jerez since Nicky Hayden in 2006. He is the first rider to win the first four races of the season since Valentino Rossi in 2002. He checked off Jerez on his list of Tracks Where I’ve Won Races, the last venue on the 2014 tour to make the list. He is undefeated since clinching the world championship at Valencia in 2013. In short, at age 21, he is the bomb-diggity of the MotoGP world.

Sick of all the attention the racing gods were getting in the run-up to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, the weather gods put on a show of their own. They sent Typhoon Lekima barreling toward the island on Thursday, summoned a 7.1 earthquake on Friday night, and topped it all off with Typhoon Francisco on Saturday, making a shambles of the weekend practice schedule. Undeterred by the weather, defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo ran a perfect race on Sunday, winning against all odds, and setting up a meaningful season finale in Valenciana. Take THAT, weather gods!

Repsol Honda wonder Marc Marquez won today’s Czech Grand Prix by 3/10ths over teammate Dani Pedrosa, with Yamaha double-champion Jorge Lorenzo another two seconds behind. Once again making it look easy, Marquez now leads Pedrosa by 26 points and a disheartened Lorenzo by 44 with seven rounds left in the 2013 season. Had the rookie not crashed out of the lead at Mugello back in June, this thing would be over already.

Let’s be clear. Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez is the new king of MotoGP. His decisive win at Indianapolis in Sunday over teammate Dani Pedrosa marked his third consecutive win for the 2013 season. It marked his third consecutive win in Indianapolis, having topped the last two Moto2 tilts here. And, lest we forget, it marked three wins in a row in the U.S., following Austin and Laguna Seca. Sunday’s win made it a veritable hat trick of hat tricks for the precocious Spanish youngster.

Once the “marine layer”, the stuff you and I call fog, burned off at the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday morning, it became obvious it was going to be a great day for Honda Racing Corporation. Having placed three bikes on the front row of the qualifying grid, the only impediment left would have been the weather; the RC213V likes it hot. And hot it was, as Repsol rookie Marc Marquez continued his amazing first season by becoming the first rookie ever to win the U.S. Grand Prix.

For defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, the approach of the U.S. Grand Prix at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey is fraught with peril. Fate, and the powerful Repsol Honda duo of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, have conspired to put the bright star of Yamaha Racing in an incredible bind. Having injured his left collarbone twice in two weeks, a crash in Monterey could jeopardize the rest of Lorenzo’s career. But by sitting out, he effectively surrenders the 2013 title to one of his rivals.

Repsol Honda rookie phenom Marc Marquez took the flag in today’s German Grand Prix, a rather anti-climactic end to a brutally dramatic weekend in Saxony. With series leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both sidelined with injuries suffered in practice, this was clearly Marquez’s race to lose. After a poor start, he took the lead on Lap 5 and never looked back. The composed Spaniard again leads the series in his rookie season, with an opportunity to make more hay in California before summer vacation.

Two weeks ago at Assen, we witnessed the re-birth of factory Yamaha legend Valentino Rossi in what was easily the most exciting race of the year thus far. Adding to the drama was the gutty performance of his teammate, defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who defied logic, common sense and the advice of his surgeon on his way to a brilliant 5th place finish that kept him in the hunt for the 2013 title. Sunday’s eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland offers a great opportunity for the Repsol Honda duo of Dani Pedrosa & Marc Marquez to strike back.

It was a thoroughly hectic weekend for factory Yamaha kingpin Jorge Lorenzo at the 2013 Dutch TT Assen. Broke his collarbone in a routine highside in FP2 on Thursday afternoon, chartered a jet to Barcelona that day, had a couple hours of surgery early Friday morning, grabbed a bite to eat, flew back to Assen, slept a little on the plane, started 12th and finished 5th in the race. Had to be helped off his bike at the end. Ho hum.

MotoGP correspondent Bruce Allen previews the seventh round of the 2013 season at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Check back on Saturday for the full report of the Iveco TT Assen.

Factory Yamaha #1 Jorge Lorenzo won a number of battles today at the Gran Premio Aperol de Catalunya. He beat challengers Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez to the finish line for his second consecutive win of 2013 and his second in a row at Montmelo. He beat the Spanish summer heat that had a number of riders seeing stars. He beat the racing surface itself, which was hot, greasy and abrasive. So why does he seems destined to finish second in 2013?