Marcos Uriarte lives up to expectations in Texas

Marcos Uriarte, this weekend’s substitute rider in LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP’s Moto3 Team, finished 14th on Sunday after a challenging race weekend in the U.S., earning two points for the German team.

Following David Almansa’s serious crash during last Sunday’s race in Brazil and his subsequent surgery on his left elbow, as well as David Muñoz’s ongoing health issues since his injury in Indonesia, the Moto3 team, led by team manager Peter Öttl, was under pressure to act. A replacement was quickly found in Marcos Uriarte, who already had experience from several Grand Prix starts.

For the young Spaniard Uriarte, however, it was a real leap into the deep end, as he had to replace his compatriot at none other than the Circuit of The Americas—a track widely regarded as the most demanding on the racing calendar due to its length. The 21-year-old, however, showed a steep learning curve. 

Although Uriarte finished Friday’s practice sessions near the bottom of the timesheets, he narrowly missed advancing to Q2 from Q1. On Sunday, he started from P21 on the grid. After a solid performance in which he worked his way up to 14th place, he fulfilled the quiet hopes by finishing in the points.

Due to the postponement of the Grand Prix of Qatar, which was originally scheduled for the second weekend in April, teams and riders are now taking a break of just under four weeks before the championship resumes with the traditional first European race at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain. Hopefully, the full lineup will be back then, including David Almansa and David Muñoz!

#USGP Moto3™ Qualifying Results:
1 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / 2´12.107
2 Casey O’GORMAN / IRL / Sic58 Squadra Corse / Hona / 2´12.519 +0.412
3 Valentin PERRONE / ARG / Red Bull KTM Tech3 / KTM / 2´12.526 +0.419
…
21 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / 2´14.723 (Q1)

#USGP – Moto3™ Race Classification (14 Laps):
1 Guido PINI / ITA / Leopard Racing / Honda / 31´20.489
2 Maximo QUILES / SPA / CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team / KTM / +0.056
3 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / Red Bull KTM Ajo / KTM / +0.254 
…
14 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP / KTM / +20.559  

Moto3™ World Standings:
1 Maximo QUILES / SPA / KTM / 65
2 Alvaro CARPE / SPA / KTM / 42
3 Valentin PERRONE / ARG / KTM / 38
…
8 #22 David ALMANSA / SPA / KTM / 25
18 #64 David MUÑOZ / SPA / KTM / 6
21 #88 Marcos URIARTE / SPA / KTM / 2

Moto3™ Team STandings:
1 CFMOTO Aspar Team 97
2 Leopard Racing 65
3 Red Bull KTM Ajo 64
…
5 LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP 33