Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 / APRIL 12-14, 2019 CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS / AUSTIN, TEXAS P80 seconds clear of second factory Ducati teamster Danilo Petrucci, who had another average after- noon. Fabio Quartararo's seventh was also a best-yet for the Petro- nas Yamaha rookie, and likewise for ninth-place, fellow class rookie Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati), who was less than a sec- ond behind Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM). Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) came through for a close 10th, the only Honda finisher, with Vinales taking 11th ahead of Andrea Iannone (Aprilia) at the end. Second Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was an early faller, remounting only to retire. The last points went to Jo- hann Zarco, class rookie Miguel Oliveira (both Red Bull KTM) and Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Ducati). Dovizioso's consolation for missing the podium was to regain the title lead with 54 points. Rossi (51) is second, then Rins (49), deposed leader Marquez (45) and Petrucci (30). Moto2 Swiss veteran Thomas Luthi had a fruitless and disheartening 2018 in MotoGP. His return to Moto2 took him to the top of the tree in just three races, with a clear win at COTA. The former 125 Champion outpaced Dynavolt Intact Kalex teammate Marcel Schrotter, with both of them leaving early leader Alex Marquez (EG-VDS Kalex) to a distant battle for fifth. It was the 32-year-old's 12th Moto2 win. "We had to work hard—the oth- er guy in my box [Schrotter] had good speed, but we made some changes for the race, and now I am really happy," said Luthi. Schrotter marked "not a bad race. I wanted to stay in front from the start because I thought I could go away, but I made a mistake into the first corner, then I lost touch with Tom when I was having a fight with Alex." But it wasn't an all-Kalex po- dium, with Speed Up rider Jorge Navarro coming through steadily to take third place from Marquez with three laps to go. One lap later, another returned veteran snitched fourth. Mattia Pasini, who retired at the end iii My Own Race: 99 JORGE LORENZO DNF MOTOGP "It has been a difficult weekend with the weather and everything," Jorge Lorenzo said. "I didn't get the best start, but I was able to recover, and then I started to make up some positions. Sadly, we had an issue with the bike, and I was forced to retire from the race. It was a differ- ent issue yesterday. The positive is that in the race I was feeling quite good at a circuit where normally I have difficulty. Now we look to Jerez, a circuit I like and where we will hopefully be able to be stronger." 36 JOAN MIR 17TH MOTOGP "I'm quite disappointed about the jump start, the footage shows that I moved a fraction be- fore the lights, but I didn't gain anything from it," Joan Mir said. "Nevertheless the penalty is a ride-through. Without this, I could have had a strong result, so it's a real shame, but anyway, I'm happy with my pace and my feeling with the bike, both were good this weekend. I want to congratulate Alex because he did an amazing job! All the team will continue working to be even more competitive." 9 DANILO PETRUCCI 6TH MOTOGP "Finishing sixth, given all the issues we encountered during prac- tice, can be considered a good result for us here in Texas," Danilo Petrucci said. "Clearly I want to do better, but we still took some important points, keeping fifth place in the standings. It's been a long, grueling race. At one point I was recovering ground on Dovizioso and Morbidelli, and I even thought I could catch them, but the front locked a couple of times, and I preferred not to take too many risks. At any rate, I'm happy."