Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez scored his first points of the season with a dynamic charge to finish 11th in the Grand of the Americas.

It was timely return to form for the 2014 Moto3 World Champion who had crashed out of the opening two races in Qatar and Argentina. Starting 21st on the seventh row of the grid Márquez was in maximum attack mode and had surged to 13th on lap three of 19 before settling in 11th on lap five.

In the final laps of a closely fought race Márquez engaged Julian Simon and Marcel Schrötter in a tense battle for a top ten finish before he was slowed with pain in his forearms.

The problems that slowed Franco Morbidelli in qualifying meant a frustrating race for the Italian rider in Texas.

From ninth on the grid Morbidelli advanced to seventh on the opening lap before electing to salvage points on a difficult weekend at the demanding Circuit of the Americas.

Álex Márquez: 11th 
“Even though I started 21st I had the pace to be running up with the second group with guys like Johann Zarco, so it means I have to improve in qualifying.  I also suffered some problems with my arms in the final laps of the race so I need to check with Dr Mir to assess this issue. I felt good on the bike and believe I can race with the top riders but I am disappointed that the pain in my arms penalised me at the end of the race.”

Franco Morbidelli: 14th 
“It was a really difficult race and I didn't have good feeling from the start so we need to check the bike. I understood the best option today was to finish the race and score some points and pushed like hell until the end. I scored two points which is not what we wanted but in the circumstances it was the best I could do.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“It was nice fight back by Alex to score his first points of the season in this race, although he suffered some problems with his arms over the final six laps. This slowed his pace in the fight for a top ten finish. For Franco it was disappointing day considering that at the first two races he was fighting for the podium. We need to find the solution as to why Franco was 14th here.”