Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez scored his best result of the season so far with a superb second place in today’s Grand Prix of The Americas.

The podium finish moved Márquez to equal second in the Moto2 World Championship, level with Mattia Pasini on 47 points.

Márquez started from pole position led for 13 laps and survived a couple of huge slides in a tense battle with eventual race winner Francesco Bagnaia.

While Márquez staged his dramatic bid for victory it was his rookie teammate Joan Mir who put in a sensational performance to finish fourth.

Mir’s race became a nightmare at turn one after the start when he was bumped wide by Luca Marini and dropped back to 24th place.

The young Spaniard then began a thrilling charge through the traffic and by lap 14 of 18 he was in fourth position and challenging for the podium with his stunning pace.

Mir set his personal best time of the race on the penultimate lap to finish just 1.6s out of third place taken by Miguel Oliveira.

The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez in two weeks.

Álex Márquez: 2nd 
“This was a very important podium as we prepare for the European races with the tracks more suited to my riding style. I was able to run up front for many laps but the wind conditions changed a lot today and I had to save some crashes with the bike moving around. I did my 100% so I am happy for this result.”

Joan Mir: 4th
“I am a little disappointed with this fourth place because at the end of the race I had the pace for the podium. I was in trouble at the first corner so it was difficult but this is racing. But the important thing is that I confirmed that our race pace was really high and better than I expected at this circuit. This is positive for the next races in Europe.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“This is a fantastic result for our team. With his rhythm over the weekend it looked that Álex could go away at the front but by the end of the race he was complaining of a lack of grip. So second position in this case is very good. For Joan it was a very impressive performance to finish fourth in only his third Moto2 race after being pushed wide at turn one. Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS is leading the teams' championship after three races so we go back to Europe with a lot of confidence.”