THREE-TIMES world champion Marc Márquez's win at yesterday's (Sunday's) MotoGP race in Texas has 'neutralised' what is being referred to as the 'Viñales effect': having never won a Grand Prix before, Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales clinched the first two races of this season, hinting at a brand-new Spanish contender for the world title.
But Márquez (pictured), a prodigy who became the youngest-ever rookie to win a MotoGP world championship in 2013, at age 20 – and went on to do the same in 2014 and 2016 – is now biting back and netted the top spot in Austin yesterday.
Viñales was lying second with 50 points to Italian veteran Valentino Rossi, his Yamaha YZR M1 team-mate, on 56, and Márquez – who suffered a fall at the last race – was eighth in the standings, but has now pulled himself up to third with 38 points with his epic win in the USA.
Márquez's compatriot Dani Pedrosa looked set to be the one Viñales had to watch, cutting the first corner to get ahead of Márquez, who started from pole.
Meanwhile, their fellow Spaniard and twice-world champion Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Desmosedici GP17) made a spectacular entry and ended up in a head-to-head fight with Viñales.
It was Viñales' own poor start that put him back at the beginning of the race, as Pedrosa and Márquez sat comfortably in front of Rossi, who had also got off to strong beginning.
Viñales temporarily won the battle with Lorenzo and slipped up into fourth in line, but bit the dust on bend 17 a lap later, forcing him out of the race.
Pedrosa forged into the lead, but with Márquez glued to his rear and Rossi at less than a second behind him, looked set to lose ground unless he stepped on the gas.
Márquez's determination not to suffer another fall – which he could not afford even at this early stage in the season – meant he played it safe, waiting for the easiest moment to shoot past Pedrosa.
This was on lap nine, and Pedrosa's efforts henceforth to get past Márquez went unrewarded, and Rossi was gaining on him with just a 1.3-second margin.
Márquez saw his chance on lap 15, his fastest overall, to escape from the battle behind him between Rossi and Pedrosa.
Rossi gained a slight advantage over Pedrosa, coming in second, with Pedrosa third.
Márquez's win was his fifth consecutive victory at the Austin Grand Prix, which he has won every time he has raced there in MotoGP since his début at the top level in 2013.
