TERMAS DE RIO HONDO, Argentina – Marc Marquez made winning Sunday’s Argentine MotoGP Grand Prix look effortless at Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo.
From pole position, Marquez got the holeshot off the start and never looked back, ultimately stretching his margin out to more than nine seconds by the checkered flag of the 25-lap race.
The win, which featured Marquez’s largest-ever margin of victory in a dry MotoGP race, was his 45th career premier class triumph and gives him the point lead through two events.
“Today was a perfect day. I was so concentrated since FP1 and everything worked well, with just a tiny hiccup in FP4,” said Marquez. “But we kept pushing and pushing, and in the race I knew that my strongest point was the first five laps. I put everything in and then I saw the difference – one second, two seconds, three seconds – and then I settled into my rhythm and pushed a little less.
“I managed the tires and the bike; it was a really sweet feeling with the bike.”
The caution-free race saw Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi hold second at both the halfway point and the finish, with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso completing the podium and giving three different manufacturers the top three finishing positions.
Pramac Racing’s Jack Miller and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Danilo Petrucci, Takaaki Nakagami, Fabio Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro and Pol Espargaro made up the balance of the top 10.
Marquez’s teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, was a disappointing 12th in the race.
Meanwhile, defending Argentine Grand Prix winner Cal Crutchlow received a ride-through penalty for jumping the start that derailed his efforts quickly, while Maverick Vinales and Franco Morbidelli crashed at turn seven on the last lap and both failed to finish.