Constructive fifth for Marquez as Espargaro takes points in soaking Buriram
A dramatic day at the Thai GP yielded more points for the Repsol Honda Team as Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro dodged puddles and chased improvements.
What had looked set to be a straightforward race day in Thailand was interrupted by a torrential downpour during the Moto2 race, leaving the Chang International Circuit soaking wet. Subsequent on and off showers saw the premier class race delayed by almost a full hour as race organizers waited for a clear window of weather.
All eyes were on Marc Marquez when the racing did get underway as he shot off the line, disappearing behind a wall of spray as the field charged into Turn 1. Emerging from the wall of water, Marquez found himself firmly inside the top five and settled in for the long 25-lap race. Steady at the start, the eight-time World Champion picked up the pace as the race went on as he used his incredible riding ability and mixed-weather skills to guide his Honda RC213V around the Thai circuit. In the closing laps, Marquez smelled a potential podium and launched his attack on Francesco Bagnaia but was unable to make a move stick.
Ultimately settling for a fighting fifth place, Marquez moves up two positions in the overall MotoGP World Championship to 13th.
On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Pol Espargaro put together a strong recovery ride from 19th on the grid. Cautious in the early laps as his tyres got up to temperature, Espargaro found his speed towards the end of the race and steadily picked off the competition as the laps went on. Crossing the line in 14th, the #44 adds a further two points to his haul but remains disappointed with his overall Thai GP.
The MotoGP World Championship now enjoy a one-week break before the Australian Grand Prix and the final three races of the year begin.
Marc Marquez
“I am happy with the race overall; I was again able to do a solid race – avoiding mistakes and staying calm at the start. Wet races are always very long so you need to be careful. Then I was feeling better, and I gained time on the group ahead, but it was impossible to overtake Bagnaia. The acceleration of the Ducati is very strong. We keep on working and trying to improve everything, it has been a good weekend where we were competitive in the wet and the dry. Now we have a week off to recover a bit and keep on training to be strong for the final three races of the year.”
Pol Espargaro
“It was a long and tricky race in the wet. It’s clear the Honda has more potential in it because you can see what Marc is doing. He’s maybe riding in a different way but I am still struggling a lot with edge grip. We were able to make up some places in the wet and score some more points, but this is not what I am aiming for and we need to improve for the final races.”
Thai Grand Prix - Race Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 25 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 41'44.503 |
2 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 20 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.730 |
3 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 16 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1.968 |
4 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 13 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 2.490 |
5 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 11 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2.958 |
6 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 10 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 13.257 |
7 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 9 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 14.566 |
8 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 8 | LCR Honda | Honda | 14.861 |
9 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 7 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 15.365 |
10 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 6 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 18.097 |
11 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 5 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 19.041 |
12 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 4 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 19.659 |
13 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 3 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 22.439 |
14 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 2 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 23.646 |
15 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 1 | 30.483 | |||
16 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 0 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 33.466 |
17 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 34.072 |
18 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 36.203 |
19 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 36.532 |
20 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 42.508 |
21 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 0 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 49.992 |
22 | Nagashima Tetsuta | 45 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 51.346 |
23 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 0 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +2 Laps |
24 | Gardner Remy | AUS | DNF | DNF |
Rider standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 219 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
2 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 217 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
3 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 199 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
4 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 180 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
5 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 179 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
6 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 154 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
7 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 151 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
8 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 131 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
9 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 127 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
10 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 122 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
11 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 112 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
12 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 101 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
13 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 84 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
14 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 80 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
15 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 77 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
16 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 50 | LCR Honda | Honda |
17 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 49 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
18 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 46 | LCR Honda | Honda |
19 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 31 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
20 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 23 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
21 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | 15 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
22 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 10 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
23 | Gardner Remy | AUS | 9 | |||
24 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 9 | |||
25 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | 3 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
26 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | 2 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
27 | Pirro Michele | ITA | 0 | |||
28 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 0 | Aprilia Racing Test Team | Aprilia |
29 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
30 | Watanabe Kazuki | 92 | JPN | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
31 | Nagashima Tetsuta | 45 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda |
32 | Tsuda Takuya | JPN | 0 |
Location Information
Designed by German architect Herman Tilke, the Buriram International Circuit opened in 2014 and will see MotoGP™ making its debut this season. Located around 410km northeast from the country’s capital of Bangkok, the town of Buriram in the Buriram province literally translates into “city of happiness”, and its typically hot… read more.
Length | 4.6 km / 2.83 miles |
Width | 12 metres / 39.37 ft. |
Left corners | 5 |
Right corners | 7 |
Longest straight | 1 km / 3280.84 ft. |
Constructed | 2014 |
Modified | / |
444 Moo 15 Buriram Chang Wat Buri Ram 31000, Thailand - View in Google Maps
Records
Track Best lap | 1m29.287s (183.6 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023) |
Pole Position | 1m29.287s (183.6 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023) |
Race Lap | 1m30.178s (181.8 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023) |
2023 Sprint Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducati) |
2023 Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducati) |