125cc: Marquez claims first win at Mugello
Marc Marquez won his first-ever 125cc World Championship race at Mugello in Italy, holding off title protagonists Pol Espargaro and Nicolas Terol, as well as Britain's Bradley Smith, after a tense battle
Espargaro's Derbi started the last lap in the lead by weaving from one side of the track to the other, but this didn't stop Marquez (Derbi) from zapping past him on the run to the first corner.
Terol (Aprilia) then deposed Espargaro from second place at Turn 3, and while they threatened further lead changes over the last lap, the order remained unchanged.
Marquez won by 0.039s over Terol, Espargaro and Smith - the top four covered by 0.161s. It was the 14th consecutive victory for a Spanish rider in the 125cc class.
"I'm very, very, very happy," said Marquez. "It's more important to win at this circuit than anywhere else, because it's so hard."
Early in the race, Terol and Espargaro had jumped clear of Marquez and Smith, but the chasing duo worked together to close a 2.6s gap, both taking it in turns to smash the lap record in catching up.
Marquez added: "The leaders got away at the start, but step by step I caught them. If I work hard with the team, I think we can stay in front every race now."
Terol said: "I tried to pull away at the beginning, but had to think again so I sat at the back of the group, studying the riders. I wanted to be second coming off the final corner, but I slid wide and had to settle for second."
Espargaro said: "Third is a great finish for us, and the points for the championship is more important than winning the race."
After the race, fourth-placed Smith complained that a lack of top speed from his Aspar-run Aprilia had hampered him.
"It's frustrating to finsh fourth," he said. "Our bike doesn't have enough top speed. We need to work on that, it's a serious issue. The material isn't at the level we need to ride at."
Poleman Sandro Cortese crashed twice, the first time when running fourth on lap two.
Terol leads the points race by five over Espargaro, with Marquez and Smith moving up to third and fourth respectively.
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Marc Marquez Derbi 39m53.153s
2. Nicolas Terol Aprilia 0.039
3. Pol Espargaro Derbi 0.116
4. Bradley Smith Aprilia 0.161
5. Efren Vazquez Derbi 10.281
6. Randy Krummenacher Aprilia 10.364
7. Esteve Rabat Aprilia 10.562
8. Tomoyoshi Koyama Aprilia 36.341
9. Johann Zarco Aprilia 36.411
10. Daniel Webb Aprilia 36.730
11. Jonas Folger Aprilia 36.775
12. Alexis Masbou Aprilia 45.871
13. Marcel Schrotter Honda 45.879
14. Jasper Iwema Aprilia 45.895
15. Simone Grotzki Giorgi Aprilia 46.060
16. Riccardo Moretti Aprilia 50.305
17. Jakub Kornfeil Aprilia 50.789
18. Alessandro Tonucci Aprilia 53.145
19. Mattia Tarozzi Aprilia 1:19.447
20. Armando Pontone Aprilia 1:19.541
21. Muhammad Zulfahmi Aprilia 1:19.545
22. Michael van der Mark Lambretta 1:21.764
Not classified
Alberto Moncayo Aprilia 16 laps
Luigi Morciano Aprilia 16 laps
Louis Rossi Aprilia 14 laps
Sturla Fagerhaug Aprilia 12 laps
Sandro Cortese Derbi 7 laps
Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia 4 laps
Tommaso Gabrielli Aprilia 3 laps
Marco Ravaioli Lambretta 3 laps
Luca Marconi Aprilia 1 lap
Luis Salom Aprilia 0 laps
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