Marc Marquez is the rider who boasts the most victories on the Austin, Texas track. The eight-time world champion achieved his first success in MotoGP at COTA in 2013 and, from that triumph, other subsequent victories followed until 2019, when he crashed, leaving the door open for Alex Rins to win, all Suzuki rider era.
When COTA returned to the calendar in 2020 after a year's absence due to the Covid pandemic, Marquez once again stood on the top step of the podium, despite still recovering from a nasty arm injury suffered in the 2020 Jerez race. This year, the Spaniard made his debut aboard the Gresini team's Ducati in an explosive manner, finishing the Qatar GP in fourth place and getting on the podium in Portugal.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Enea Bastianini won at COTA in 2022 and is happy to return to America after a year away due to a shoulder injury. However, the official Ducati rider fears Marquez's threat: “I missed the race last year due to injury, but I have good memories from 2022. It was my favorite victory of the season and it's nice to be back at COTA. We will have a problem with Marc, because he is very fast on that track, but we will also have a problem with the other riders. We'll see how he goes.”
The Italian returned to the MotoGP podium in Portugal for the first time since Malaysia last year, in which he finished second behind winner Jorge Martin. Last year, in addition to the injury, he struggled with grip on the Desmosedici GP23. This year however, the good start to the season has helped him regain the right confidence for Austin.
Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“The mentality will always be the same, because I think we started on the right foot this year,” he underlined. “We worked well all winter, I knew that the start of the season would be a little more difficult because I struggled more in Qatar. But we also know what aspects need to be worked on, so we can say not that we are calm, but that we are confident.”
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