MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Marc Marquez made it back-to-back wins in MotoGP for the first time this season, as the Honda star overcame a stubborn Jorge Lorenzo to win the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

After losing his lead to the Yamaha man on the opening lap, Marquez had to be patient and wait for his opportunity to pass Lorenzo, eventually doing so on Lap 24 of 27. Lorenzo’s Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi rallied from eighth to finish third after a stunning battle with Dani Pedrosa, preserving his lead atop the driver standings.

Here’s the winning moment, per BT Sport MotoGP:

Here are the full race results:

Pos.	Points	Rider	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	25	Marc MARQUEZ	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	41'55.371
2	20	Jorge LORENZO	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	+0.688
3	16	Valentino ROSSI	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	+5.966
4	13	Dani PEDROSA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	+6.147
5	11	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati Team	Ducati	+21.528
6	10	Bradley SMITH	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+21.751
7	9	Pol ESPARGARO	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+30.378
8	8	Cal CRUTCHLOW	CWM LCR Honda	Honda	+31.607
9	7	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati Team	Ducati	+32.821
10	6	Danilo PETRUCCI	Octo Pramac Racing	Ducati	+34.517
11	5	Maverick VIÑALES	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	+39.010
12	4	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Octo Pramac Racing	Ducati	+41.815
13	3	Scott REDDING	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	+50.209
14	2	Aleix ESPARGARO	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	+1'00.465
15	1	Hector BARBERA	Avintia Racing	Ducati	+1'04.147
16		Nicky HAYDEN	Aspar MotoGP Team	Honda	+1'05.066
17		Mike DI MEGLIO	Avintia Racing	Ducati	+1'06.941
18		Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	+1'13.862
19		Eugene LAVERTY	Aspar MotoGP Team	Honda	+1'18.706
20		Stefan BRADL	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	+1'19.730
21		Alex DE ANGELIS	E-Motion IodaRacing Team	ART	+1'19.882
22		Toni ELIAS	AB Motoracing	Honda	+1'19.934
NC		Jack MILLER	CWM LCR Honda	Honda	20 Laps

These are the updated driver standings:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	195
2	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	186
3	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	139
4	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	129
5	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	97
6	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	94
7	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	80
8	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	74
9	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	73
10	Maverick VIÑALES	Suzuki	SPA	62
11	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	57
12	Aleix ESPARGARO	Suzuki	SPA	46
13	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	36
14	Scott REDDING	Honda	GBR	33
15	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	20
16	Loris BAZ	Yamaha Forward	FRA	14
17	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia	SPA	13
18	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	12
19	Stefan BRADL	Yamaha Forward	GER	9
20	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	8
21	Nicky HAYDEN	Honda	USA	8
22	Eugene LAVERTY	Honda	IRL	7
23	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	5
24	Mike DI MEGLIO	Ducati	FRA	2
25	Alex DE ANGELIS	ART	RSM	1

After showcasing some scintillating pace in qualifying, Marquez was unable to cling on to first position through the first turn, with Lorenzo just edging out the Spaniard. It set the tone for an absorbing battle between the men chasing the world title.

Christian Pondella/Getty Images

The man leading the standings going into this Indianapolis showpiece was Rossi, and after another mediocre qualifying performance in which he could only finish in eighth, the iconic Italian was going to have to do things the hard way if he was going to extend his lead.

As MCN Sport revealed, the Yamaha rider was showcasing some searing pace on race day:

Once again, he was slowly moving past rivals, giving the American crowd some thrilling action to savour. He’d already got past two riders to move into sixth on the opening stages of the first lap, then capitalised on an error from Bradley Smith to move into fifth. When Rossi moved onto the back of Andrea Iannone, he quickly overtook him to secure fourth.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The Italian was rampant, and it was clear he had eyes for a podium spot. Next up was Pedrosa, and after some initial resistance, Rossi pulled off a stunning move on the Spaniard into Turn 2 on Lap 18.

With leaders in sight, the supporters were bewitched by the Italian’s skills, as noted here by Indonesia VR|46 Fans:

But the two men up front were going to be very difficult to catch. Marquez wasn’t putting too much pressure on Lorenzo, but there was an underpinning sense that the Repsol Honda man was merely stalking his prey with a fast finish in mind.

Nonetheless, the reigning world champion nearly made an error that cost him any chance of victory, per the sport’s official Twitter feed:

It was a classic race with plenty going on, and just to make matters even more intriguing, on Lap 20, the rain flag was branded, prompting the pit lanes into preparing bikes for the wet conditions. Perhaps it was a shift in the weather that knocked Rossi out of his rhythm, as Pedrosa crept up on him again.

Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

The Spaniard then dashed round the outside of Rossi at Turn 1 with just four laps to go, but on the next circuit, the Yamaha man capitalised on an error from Pedrosa to retake his spot in the top three.

At the front, things were really beginning to heat up, with Marquez applying heavy pressure. The reigning champion set the fastest lap of the race to move to within touching distance of Lorenzo, but to his credit, the Yamaha responded with an even better time. But clearly confident from his win in Germany last time out, Marquez boasted an aura.

Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

With three to go, the Honda man finally got the job done at Turn 1, pulling out of Lorenzo’s slipstream and surging to the front of the pack. As we can see, per BT Sport MotoGP, it was a stunning piece of riding from Marquez:

He was able to extend his lead in the final stages and won by a comfortable margin in the end. Meanwhile, after overtaking Rossi on the penultimate lap of the race, Pedrosa was overtaken by the Italian on the final lap, capping off a stunning battle between the pair.

Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images

Marquez loves this circuit, having won five times in succession, per BT Sport MotoGP, and although he lost pole position early on, there was an assurance about his riding and inevitability he would eventually get the job done. After a tough start to the season, the Spaniard looks set to launch a major surge toward top spot.

But Rossi and Lorenzo both showcased in spades why they shouldn’t be written off. The latter was brilliant throughout and did everything he could to best the world champion, while Rossi continues to dazzle on race day. Nonetheless, if the Italian can’t improve his qualifying displays, his nine-point lead will quickly be whittled down by the chasing pack.