MotoGP - Round 4 at Jerez

MotoGP - Lorenzo puts on master class to claim Jerez win

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo dominates the race in Jerez to take victory by over 5 seconds as Rossi claims his 200th podium.

Jorge Lorenzo reclaimed the Circuito de Jerez as "Lorenzo Land” as he proved to be simply untouchable on his way to his 55th World Championship victory. The Spaniard has dominated throughout the weekend, and continued this during the race as he led from the lights to the flag.

His winning margin of 5.576s was an indication of just how much he was in control of the race, as he even had time to salute the fans on his final lap before crossing the line to take the chequered flag.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez rode valiantly with his broken finger and even managed to hold off a charging Valentino Rossi (+11.586s) at the end of the race to claim second. Rossi was 2 seconds behind Marquez with 10 laps to go, and the Spaniard must have had a feeling of déjà vu when his pit board said Rossi had closed the gap to a second with only seven laps left.

Unlike in Argentina he managed to respond to keep the Italian at bay with Rossi eventually crossing the line in third, a further six seconds back, to claim his 200th World Championship podium.

CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow secured a rather lonely 4th place to finish as the leading satellite rider 3.8s ahead of Pol Espargaro on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1. Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone won a hard fought battle for sixth against Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR.

Bradley Smith finished in eighth, while Andrea Dovizioso (9th) had to ride through the field after running wide twice during the opening laps and finding himself down in 25th.

Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez completed the top ten with Hector Barbera finishing as the top Open class rider in 14th, just ahead of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista (15th) who claimed the final Championship point.

Rossi (82pts) now has a 15-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso (67pts) in the MotoGP™ World Championship standings whilst Jorge Lorenzo (62pts) has moved into third, with Marquez (56pts) in fourth.

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Moto2 - Victory for Folger as Rabat avoids crash

An excellent start to the Gran Premio bwin de España saw Rabat with a substantial lead before the grip dropped.

On the grid of the Moto2 race Tito Rabat, Alex Rins and Simone Corsi all opted for the medium rear tyre going against the grain. The track temperature at the start of the race was quite low, which suited the medium compound better. Tito Rabat was able to break away in the early stages, but struggled significantly as his grip levels dropped with rising track temperatures and more worn tyres.

The tenth lap had Jonas Folger take the advantage after steadily closing in on Rabat. From here it was a steady and mature ride from the Qatar race winner, putting in a stream of mid 1’43s to increase his lead. This is just Folger’s second win in the Moto2 championship and sees him move into second in the standings. Despite winning at Qatar, Austin and Argentina were difficult races for the German and this result puts his championship challenge back on course. "It was a really hard race for me. The first laps I used the new tyre a lot, when they started to drop it was hard to adapt my riding style,” he said after the race.

Despite being on the same tyres, Alex Rins showed a much quicker pace than Rabat towards the end of the race. The Moto2 rookie has made a habit of coming strong at the end of the race, able to put in quick laps while other riders struggle for grip. Rins was setting times almost one second quicker than Rabat in the final five laps and was just behind him heading into the infamous Turn 13, attempting to dive up the inside of Rabat. This saw Rins crash out of the race as his front tyre collided with the back of Rabat’s bike. "In the last corner I tried to brake really hard. I thought Rabat would brake really hard too but then we touched,” commented Rins on the incident. He avoided any serious injury.

The touch pushed Rabat slightly wide and off line, allowing Johann Zarco to sneak through. Rabat subsequently finished in third, securing his first podium of the year. "We made a good set up for the new tyre, but I had a lot of problems when the grip dropped. I couldn’t carry the speed in the corners or maintain a good line. I tried to brake late into the last corner because I know what can happen there,” commented Rabat. With 33 points, Rabat sits seventh in the standings and faces an uphill battle to defend his crown.

A poor start from ninth saw Zarco unable to gain places into Turn 1, but the Frenchman showed his experience and settled into a rhythm to close down and follow Rins. The Championship leader knew he would be unable to catch and pass Rins, deciding to settle in behind the Spaniard and benefit from any mistakes. Fortunately for Zarco, Rins’ last corner move opened the door and allowed him to secure second, increasing his overall championship lead.

"Rins tried something but he was a bit too far so I just managed my braking to have a good line. To start ninth and finish second is almost like a victory, so good for the championship,” said Zarco. The paddock now heads to Le Mans for Zarco’s home GP, where he has a best Moto2 finish of fifth, alongside two DNFs.

It was a disaster of a race for Sam Lowes on the Speed Up machine, he and the team having made significant progress on bike setup during the weekend. Starting from sixth did not worry the Brit as he was confident of his pace over race distance, but a bad tyre saw him struggle to finish in 20th spot. Fellow Speed Up rider Julian Simon charged up to 11th after starting from last due to a penalty. "I felt a problem with rear grip on the warm up lap and it was impossible to ride the bike. I did the pace of the leaders in every session and I was good in Warm Up, so to have a tyre problem is disappointing. Staying on the track was pointless in the end,” commented a visibly upset Lowes.

There was also disappointment for 2014 Jerez winner Mika Kallio, the Finnish rider forced into the pits before the end of the race.

Several teams, including Cortese’s Dynavolt Intact GP team, will be running private tests ahead of the French GP.

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Moto3 - Kent wins epic last lap battle

Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent won his third Moto3™ race in a row, in an epic last lap scrap with Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira.

Kent became the first British rider to win three GP’s in a row since Barry Sheene in 1977, after emerging victorious in a dramatic Moto3™ race in Jerez to take a 31 point lead in the Moto3™ World Championship.

Unlike in Austin and Argentina, Kent could not break away from the field despite numerous attempts, and found himself involved in a fight for the lead with Fabio Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder. Coming into the final corner, it looked like 16-year-old Quartararo might take the victory, but he out-braked himself and had to stand up his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda. He made contact with Kent and ran wide, leaving the Brit with just a short run to the line to claim his third win of the season.

KTM Red Bull Ajo’s Oliveira was right in the mix for the race win, actually leading for most of the final lap, but had to settle for second as he finished just 0.097s behind Kent in the drag to the line. Oliveira’s teammate Brad Binder (+0.296s) was the man to benefit from Quartararo’s last corner mistake, as he had let the front three fight amongst themselves throughout most of the race, while patiently waiting in fourth. The South African rider claiming the last step on the podium when Quartararo (+0.882s) ran wide, with the 16 year old Frenchman crossing the line in 4th.

Kent’s teammate Efren Vazquez had fought back from 17th on the grid to fifth by lap 4, and looked like he may also challenge for the race win as he caught the leading group with 14 laps to go, before fading towards the end of the race to take a lonely fifth. Romano Fenati was a further seven seconds back from Vazquez, as he won an intriguing battle for 6th ahead of Francesco Bagnaia on the Mapfre Team Mahindra, and Quartararo’s teammate Jorge Navarro.

Gresini Racing Team Moto3’s Francesco Bagnaia was in ninth, with John McPhee rounding out the top ten on the SAXOPRINT-RTG Honda.

Kent (91pts) now has a 31-point lead over his teammate Vazquez (60pts) in the Championship standings, with 16-year-old Fabio Quartararo (52pts) in third.