Sure, Marc Marquez may have been ruled out of action for the 2023 MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, but that didn’t stop Honda from continuing its brilliant record here. Alex Rins created history by winning his first race for the LCR Honda squad, breaking Honda’s winning drought since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the team’s winless drought since Cal Crutchlow’s triumph in Argentina 2018. Luca Marini finished in second place for the VR46 Ducati team and 2021 champion, Fabio Quartararo rounded off the podium finishers in third place for Yamaha.
The race could easily be called a ride for survival as many big hitters started dropping out of the race. The most notable one was Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia who crashed out of the lead, another high profile error in consecutive races. This gave Rins the lead and controlled the rest of the 20-lap race to take the chequered flag. While Quartararo was second for some time, Marini managed to get the better of him in the closing stages.
With this win, Alex Rins becomes the first Honda rider that isn’t Marc Marquez to win a premier class race since Cal Crutchlow in Argentina 2018 and currently sits third in the rider’s standings. Marco Bezzecchi, who finished sixth in the end, managed to stretch out his lead to 11 points over second-placed Bagnaia.
MotoGP will be back racing within two weeks with the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez scheduled to run between April 28-30.
