MotoGP Raceweek: Marquez delighted with dominant weekend

Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), April 1: Marc Marquez labelled his victory at the Argentina Grand Prix as the perfect way to finish one of his best weekends since stepping up to FIM MotoGP World Championship.

Having sealed pole position on Saturday in Termas de Rio Hondo, Marquez rode away from the field in the race, the Spaniard finishing 9sec clear of second-placed Valentino Rossi.

Marquez was dominant throughout the 25 laps on Sunday and quickly established a healthy lead that enabled him to have a hassle-free afternoon.

Victory moves Marquez to the top of the riders' standings after two races, and he was delighted with the performance of his Repsol Honda.

"I'm happy with the way we managed the weekend, it was one of the most solid weekends of my career in MotoGP," he told a media conference.

"I felt really strong during all the sessions, and I understood all the set-up and the tyres, and then I understand the way to manage the race and that the first lap was where I could make the biggest difference.

"This was the strategy, the start was perfect, I was so concentrated and I just pushed at the beginning and once I saw the gap I tried to manage the race and try to finish in a good way."

And that’s how it’s done! Win number one of 2019 and the @MotoGP championship lead for @marcmarquez93.#ArgentinaGP win number three 🏆🇦🇷🏆🇦🇷🏆🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/NLHGwYK4V4

— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP) March 31, 2019

Rossi snatched second from Andrea Dovizioso on the final lap with a superb passing move at turn seven, a decision he was very happy with post-race.

"Dovi stayed in front for the majority of the race but I was able to stay with him because I have a point where I feel very good with my bike," said the Italian. "But I know that to beat Andrea I have to be very, very precise.

"To win a fight with Andrea on the last lap is always great, to win a fight on the last lap in general is very exciting."

Dovizioso blamed tyre degradation for his inability to hold onto second, even if a podium place was his aim coming into the weekend.

"Happy for the podium, because when we came here it was our target," said Dovizioso. "But I am not happy in the way the tyre worked during the race and I had to stay in front to manage the tyres.

"At the end Valentino was able to study me. I couldn't stay behind because I was struggling, maybe it wasn't the best strategy.

"I am not happy about third position because the second was there but we have to be happy about the podium."

(With OPTA inputs)