Last year Pecco Bagnaia celebrated his World Championship in Valencia after suffering more than expected in bad hours against Fabio Quartararo and his Yamaha. Despite starting with the bike everyone envies him for, he himself recognized that his unforced errors had jeopardized a title that should have been won on the road. With this start to the championship, the champion’s doubts linger despite his aspirations to become a more solid rider. A crash on lap eight by the Italian while dominating Àlex Rins by almost two seconds gave a Honda victory at the GP of the Americas in low hours. Aided by the superb riding style of the Barcelona native, the ranch’s other sheriff in the absence of Marc Márquez, the Japanese marque celebrated their first MotoGP victory in two and a half years.
The only previous winner at this weekend’s track in Texas signed his sixth premier class win, his first with the golden wing manufacturer. It’s only his third race with the factory satellite team and at Austin he had to underscore his value to the brand. “Honda makes me feel wasted,” he said on Thursday, before unleashing his devastating pace at a very demanding track where the driver can still make a difference. The last Honda to win a race other than Márquez’s was the Cal Crutchlow satellite at Argentina 2018, and that was more than five years ago. The win broke a drought that had lasted 28 races.
In his seventh season in MotoGP, after being one of Suzuki’s bets on the future where he had grown over the previous six courses until the manufacturer’s dissolution and his landing at Honda where he found shelter as best he could, Rins showed that the circuit of America is doing well. He had won here in 2019, ending Márquez’s run of six straight wins in the premier class, and had previously triumphed in Moto2 and Moto3, where he then took two second places. The 27-year-old from Barcelona was bubbling with joy and emotion in the closed park. It was a necessary win for Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR and an unexpected boost in confidence for a brand and bike that have long not been at the level of European bikes, the new dominants of the competition.
There was also a personal component for Rins, who looked at yesterday’s first win that his two-year-old son Lucas can “relate to”. “Now he’s starting to understand that dad is a motorcycle,” he enthused. “I’m very proud of the team, they deserve it,” he added. There was more than one shaved hair in the satellite’s garage, as Àlex likes gambles and he’s been risking his hair all weekend. Second place on the grid and also in the sprint race on Saturday surprised more than one, but Sunday was something different.
Quartararo, third
On the podium, Quartararo was delighted with a third place which, despite Yamaha’s poor form, alleviates his need for the table, and Luca Marini, brother of Valentino Rossi, celebrated his first premier class podium with a second place finish.
Rins was the only Honda to lead this weekend and the only one to finish the race. Joan Mir hit the ground knowing that the intricate framework hides a glimmer of hope. “I’ve always said that this bike has potential. On some circuits, a pilot shows how it’s done, like Marc Márquez in Portugal or Àlex Rins here,” commented the Mallorquin, a good friend of the winner and former teammate in the ranks at Suzuki. In an elimination race, only 13 of the 22 drivers who started were able to cross the finish line.
Bagnaia’s inexplicable slip left the lead that lurked after dominating with an iron fist on Saturday, where he won the sprint after signing pole position for both tests. Already last year four zeros questioned his reliability with the best machine, although the winter title allayed doubts. At the Argentine GP, the Italian fell after a tense tussle with Àlex Márquez, another who unfortunately crashed at turn three as Jorge Martín grabbed him. The Italian wondered if he was a better rider this year at Termas de Río Honda but made it clear in Austin that he had work to do.
“I’m very angry, nervous, I know for a fact that I didn’t do anything crazy and I fell. I need to understand what’s happening with this bike, incredible as it is and the best in the grid,” said the Turin rider to the DAZN microphones. “I lost 45 points over two weekends and I don’t know why,” he added honestly but frustrated.