Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013 CAPTAIN AMERICANO MARC MARQUEZ COMPLETES A SWEEP OF THE THREE UNITED STATES GPS BY MICHAEL SCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE T he Brickyard spoke Spanish on Sunday. And what it spoke about was history. It's a subject dear to the heart of the world's oldest permanent racetrack, because there's been plenty made there in the past. The good thing about history, however, is that it will just keep on happening. The Spanish prevailed in two out of three classes, with Spanish riders claiming another double rostrum lockout in MotoGP and Moto3. The Moto2 winner was also from Spain. But we're already familiar with this phenomenon. The big news at the IndianapoMarc Marquez led every practice session, qualifying on pole position, set a new lap record and won the Red Bull Indy Grand Prix – his third victory on American soil in 2013. lis GP was personal. Marc Marquez took another giant stride into legend and a significant step also in extending his World Championship lead, at the expense of the established heroes. While Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa and defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and his Yamaha trailed behind, each still carrying residual pain and injury, the merciless madman who had cut a swathe through the early part of the season with his wild aggression proved that it has taken him just half a season to find the maturity and confidence to win with apparent ease. His record grows more remarkable race by race. Already the youngest rider to lead the World Championship, his clear win at Indy was his third in a row, and his third in the USA – giving him a pair of hat-tricks almost more impressive than his growing lead in the World Championship. P41 Briefly... The collarbone crew returned to Indy after three weeks of recovery, during which each had taken a very different approach. For Dani Pedrosa: "My recovery was basically not to move a lot." His left collarbone fracture, initially thought only partial, had been diagnosed as a full but not displaced break after the Red Bull U.S. GP at Laguna Seca, where he finished fifth. When he did get back on track, "it was less painful, but I was a little stiff on the bike," he said. All-action Jorge Lorenzo took the opposite course. "I spent almost all the holiday training, training hard," he said. The private test at Brno had shown he felt good on the bike again. "This is very important for the mind, no?" Andrea Iannone was also back after missing Laguna Seca with a shoulder injury, and after a gruelling first day admitted he would be seeking a different strategy for pain control. Valentino Rossi scotched persistent rumors that he is to launch a Moto3 team next year. Instead he is looking for a way to help young Italian riders at the start of their careers, he said. "No, is not true about the team. We start to work with some young Italian riders. We call it VR46 Rider Academy. Some in Moto3, but also in the Italian Championship and in the Spanish Championship – just helping the guys to find a good motorcycle for next year." Talk of a Rossi team has simmered for a couple of years, with his best friend Uccio Salucci tipped to manage it. continued on next page

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