Marquez finished second after a controversial move on Lorenzo Photo: Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez had an eventful race at the legendary Jerez circuit for the third round of the MotoGP season. 

The 20 year old started the race at the back of the front row in third, only 0.298 seconds off pole man Lorenzo. Marquez got a good start and was running in third position behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa. In the opening laps he was involved in a battle with Valentino Rossi for third and once passed Rossi, Marquez stuck with Lorenzo; he left it until the final lap to make a move. 

Marquez saw an opportunity and took it on the final lap, in the final ‘Lorenzo’ corner. Mirroring the infamous last corner manoeuvre between Rossi and Gibernau in 2005, Marquez went on the inside of Lorenzo and they touched. As a result Lorenzo ran wide and Marquez crossed the line in second position, infront of Lorenzo in third. 

Marquez explained “It was a very good race. I gave 100% from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident – a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it”