Press release:Red Bull KTM Moto Sport's Spanish factory rider Marc Marquez survived a fierce dogfight for third place in Sunday's 125 cc GP of Catalunya to cross the line in fifth place amid a tight group of six riders contesting the podium finishes.
Marquez, the 16-year-old Spaniard in his rookie year as a full factory team rider, looked impressive as he worked his way up from his third row grid starting position. By lap five he had caught the tail of the second group and was the fastest rider on the circuit at that point of the race.
As the race entered the second half it was clear that while the two front riders, Julian Simone and Andrea Iannone were intent on taking the lead, the trailing group settled in to a battle of attrition for the third place. Marc moved briefly into third place with just five laps to go but then ran wide and had to concede several places.
Marc Marquez:
"This weekend was very, very hard but it was also exciting. The whole weekend was okay for me. We had a good setting on Friday. The bike as a bit nervous but I could ride it. Then it was very hot during Saturday's qualifying. Maybe the heat made the bike a bit less rideable but today for the race it was running very well again. I had a good start and I was able to catch up quite a few positions. But then in the last part, the bike started to move and I made a mistake and ran wide. I was lucky because where I rode there was no gravel, just tarmac - but I did lose a couple of positions. I really had to fight to get back in touch with the group again and of course I was pushing to try to get a podium, but today it just wasn't possible."
The second Red Bull KTM Moto Sport factory rider, 16-year-old American Cameron Beaubier finished eighteenth. Cameron was back racing after an injury pause when he came off in wet weather conditions in Le Mans and fractured his wrist.
Cameron Beaubier:
"I didn't have a good start and I had a lot of trouble with the clutch. So I dropped right down to the back of the pack and had to fight my way back again. I had some good battles during the race but I had some chattering on the bike in the last two corners of the circuit. The bike was running well but the chattering problem got worse. Then I ran wide and almost went off the track and I lost touch with the group I was riding with. After that I wasn't able to go any faster and although I tried to maintain the speed I was going about two seconds slower. I decided to just try to be constant and finish the race. It was a difficult weekend but I was still able to improve my lap times by almost two seconds from the last time I rode here."
Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug, the Red Bull Rookies Cup contender, was given his second wild card to race for the Red Bull KTM Moto Sports factory team in Catalunya and was this time able to complete a GP for the first time in twenty second place.
Sturla Fagerhaug:
"The race was good fun. I had a good start and I managed to make up some places. I tried to stay with the other guys but they had a bit more speed than me so I lost the contact and the slip stream. I did try very hard and I pushed a lot so my rear tyre wore down quite quickly and I had to drop down my speed. Overall it was a hard weekend but I did manage to finish my first GP and I learnt a lot.
Results 1. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia, 41:10.494
2. Nico Terol, Spain, Aprilia, 41:12,739
3. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 41:12.824
4. Julian Simon, Spain, Aprilia, 41:12.825
5. Marc Marquez, Spain, KTM, 41:12.850 (fastest lap 1.51.448 in lap 7) Other KTM
18. Cameron Beaubier, USA, KTM, 41:59.341
22. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM 42.25.709
Standings 1. Julian Simon, Spain, Aprilia, 84 points
2. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia, 82.5
3. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia, 71.5
4. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 59
5. Nicolas Terol, Spain, Aprilia, 57.5
Other KTM 6. Marc Marquez, Spain, KTM, 49 26. Cameron Beaubier, USA, KTM, 1
