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Marquez Stays Perfect in Moto GP with Win at Indianapolis Grand Prix

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Marc Marquez is a perfect 10…

The 21-year-old Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and current MotoGP world champion won his 10th MotoGP race in a row at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday.

Marc Marquez

Marquez recovered from a bad start to take the lead, gave it right back and then retook the lead for the final 18 laps, beating compatriot Jorge Lorenzo by 1.803 seconds to become the first back-to-back winner in Indianapolis. Italy’s Valentino Rossi finished third.

Though Marquez has been virtually unstoppable this season, with eight poles and 10 wins in 10 races, it appeares as if a couple of early miscues just might put that winning streak in jeopardy. But Marquez wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Every race I go to the weekend and I say, ‘OK, here maybe is the time to finish second or third. Here will be the time that I will struggle,'” Marquez said. “But every race I feel so strong. The most important thing is that I enjoy seeing the podium and the team enjoy every victory like the first one. So it is important to keep the motivation and the concentration, and we will see. But it will be so difficult to win every race.”

With his tenth consecutive win, Marquez equals Mick Doohan‘s 1997 record and continues his dominance in 2014.

But Marquez is quite familiar with breaking records and pursuing milestones since joining the MotoGP last year.

He’s the youngest world champion in history, and he’s now the youngest rider to win 10 straight races, breaking the mark Mike Hailwood set in 1964 when he was 24 years, 86 days old. Marquez is 21 years, 174 days.

And Marquez’s latest win also gave the powerful Spaniards their 500th grand prix victory.

Perhaps this should have been expected, given Marquez’s track record. He’s won all five American races over the past two seasons and has now pulled off a rare feat at one of racing’s most famous venues — four straight race wins. In addition to the 2013 and 2014 Indy GP titles, Marquez also won Indy’s Moto2 races in 2011 and 2012.

Márquez Makes History in Winning the Indianapolis Grand Prix

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It’s the power of three for Marc Márquez …

The 20-year-old rookie Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle rider, who’d already broken a record at Indianapolis Grand Prix a day earlier, took the lead on Sunday with a smart inside pass midway through the race, saved his wobbly bike two turns later and then pulled away from the pack for a 3.495-second victory over Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa.

Marc Márquez

In the process, Márquez became only the third rider in MotoGP history, and the first rookie, to win three races in one country in the same season. Marquez’s fourth win of the season also tied Kenny Roberts‘ single-season rookie record, set in 1978, and gave Marquez his fifth straight win on U.S. soil.

“It will be my second country,” he said after dousing himself with the traditional champagne. “We had the perfect weekend.”

For the Spanish star with the increasingly impressive resume, Sunday’s victory was another major milestone.

Marquez has now won three straight races, the longest overall streak by a rookie since Roberts. He joined two-time world champions Jorge Lorenzo, of Spain, and Casey Stoner, of Australia, as the only riders in series history to pull off a three-race season sweep in one nation.

Marquez extended his lead to 21 points over Pedrosa, who is still trying to recover from a broken collarbone he sustained earlier this season.

Marquez came into the race a heavy favorite after posting the fastest times in both practice rounds Friday and Saturday and becoming the first MotoGP rider to break the 1 minute, 38-second barrier with his record pole-winning run Saturday.

“I feel good in the USA, I won the three races here,” he said. “Now we go back to Europe and try to do the same thing.”

Márquez Makes History at the Indianapolis Grand Prix

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He may be a newbie, but Marc Márquez is already making sports history in his rookie season…

The 20-year-old Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle rider dominated the Indianapolis Grand Prix, winning the pole Saturday with a fast lap of 1 minute, 37.958 seconds, easily besting Jorge Lorenzo’s time of  1:38.471 and shredding Dani Pedrosa‘s year-old record of 1:38.813.

Marc Márquez

In the process, Marquez became the first MotoGP rider to crack the 1:38 mark on Indy’s 2.621-mile, 16-turn road course, outdueling a two-time world champion and the only two-time Indy winner in the process.

“(Sunday) will be a tough race because everybody is struggling quite a lot at the end of the race with the tire,” Marquez said. “I think we have a good base. We are ready for to fight for the win.”

In April, at Texas, Marquez became the youngest winner in series history. In July, at Laguna Seca, Marquez became the youngest rider to win back-to-back races in series history. He’s the first MotoGP rider since 1978 to win more than two races as a rookie, and he came to Indianapolis leading the points chase.

Marquez led both practice sessions Friday, both practice sessions Saturday and took the early lead in qualifying. Then, with three minutes left in the 15-0 minute qualifying session, he finally broke Pedrosa’s record.

Spain wound up taking each of the top three starting spots. Lorenzo, the 2009 Indy winner who competes for Yamaha Factory Racing, finished second. Pedrosa, the defending Indy champ and Marquez’s teammate with Repsol Honda, was third in 1:38.485.