Tuesday 15 September: Marc Marquez wins one of the most dramatic MotoGP™ races ever ahead of Smith and Redding, with Rossi in fifth and Lorenzo crashes out.
Marc Marquez wins one
of the most dramatic MotoGP races ever ahead of Smith and Redding, with
Rossi in fifth and Lorenzo crashes out.
Repsol Honda’s Marquez took his fourth win of
the season at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di
Rimini in some of the most difficult conditions the MotoGP™ World
Championship has seen in recent years. The Spaniard took his 23rd
MotoG victory after gambling in a flag-to-flag race that saw most
riders pit twice due to the changing conditions.
A record 92,000 fans at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
bore witness to an incredible spectacle but were denied a Valentino
Rossi victory as the Italian crossed the line in fifth. Rossi managed to
extend his lead in the championship standings to 23 points over
teammate Lorenzo after the Spaniard crashed out of the race in second.
There was drama on the grid as drops of rain started to fall, riders
setting off on their Warm Up lap with baited breath. Meanwhile, Ducati
Team’s wildcard Michele Pirro had an issue with his GP15 and was forced
to start from pit lane on his second bike, equipped with wet tyres.
The rest of the MotoGP field started on slicks with Jorge Lorenzo
setting a scalding pace from the start with a trademark launch off the
line. Small battles emerged throughout the opening lap, but drama came
as the white flags were flown on lap two. This signaled that all riders
were able to come in and swap to their second bikes if conditions
deteriorated.
Lorenzo forged ahead undeterred with Marc Marquez close behind, the
duo able to break away from Valentino Rossi who struggled in the opening
laps. All the while rained continued to fall, some riders pushed even
harder in the conditions while many tiptoed around, waiting to follow
their rivals into the pits. By lap six the pace had dropped by close to
six seconds and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) found himself battling the
Ducati Team pair of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, but the riders
were visibly timid in the tricky conditions.
Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing’s Scott Redding had been
involved in this battle for fourth, but on the seventh lap disaster
struck as the Brit ran on and dropped his Honda. Determined as ever, he
sprinted to his bike and dove into the pits for wet tyres. By this stage
the majority of MotoG riders had also opted for wet bike change, just
the front three of Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez staying out.
As is usual in racing, the top three all dove into the pits together,
adopting the same strategy as your rival is often the safest option in
unusual circumstances such as the San Marino GP. Even in pit lane there
was drama as Marquez and Lorenzo almost collided, the Yamaha rider
gesturing to Marquez to ‘stay calm’ as they returned to track.
With the three re-joining at the same time, it was clear Lorenzo and
Marquez had a quicker pace than Rossi and the Italian soon found himself
2.5 seconds behind Lorenzo. Lorenzo himself was able to get through on
Marquez at Turn 8 when the Honda rider ran wide on the tenth lap. All
riders found it difficult to tell where was wet and where was dry as the
new Misano surface is quite dark.
But as the track began to dry, Rossi began to fly. The Italian
gaining over a second a lap on the two leaders with each circulation,
despite his front wet tyre rapidly starting to deteriorate. Worried
mechanics worked hurriedly in pit lane, preparing bikes for a second
change of the race.
Loris Baz (Forward Racing) was one of the first to jump back onto
slicks, the Open rider soon finding himself inside the top ten as the
rest of the field also opted to change back. Meanwhile, Bradley Smith
(Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was struggling outside the points having
remained on slicks throughout the entire race. The Brit followed his
instincts to risk it after missing the opportunity to change with the
rest of the pack.
Again, it was the top three who stuck together and stayed out long
after the others. Rossi and Lorenzo battling tooth and claw for multiple
laps as Marquez played it safe, waiting behind the Yamaha pair and
assessing their tyres. On lap 18 Marquez decided it was time to swap
back to slicks, a move that would prove to be a masterstroke. Lorenzo
would join Marquez on slicks the following lap while Rossi continued to
push ahead, 92,000 fans roaring in approval.
Disaster struck as ‘The Doctor’ pitted, with just seven laps to go
Lorenzo fell at Turn 15. The Mallorcan suffered a small contusion to his
right hand and his Yamaha M1 took a severe beating, but it was his
championship hopes that came off worst of all. With eyes transfixed on
the front-runners, Baz, Redding and Smith continued their silent charge
through the order.
Marquez had chosen the perfect time to pit, he had built enough of an
advantage to maintain a solid lead in the race even with his second pit
stop and Smith’s gamble to stay out on slicks was finally paying off
after a multitude of laps spent tiptoeing around and dropping as low as
21st, the Brit in a solid second now. As Lorenzo fell, Baz was promoted
into third.
Sadly for the Frenchmen this would not last as Redding, who had
swapped to slicks earlier than many riders after being unable to find a
good feeling on wets, rapidly gained on the Open rider, passing him with
four laps to go.
The positions settled in with just a handful of laps remaining and
for the fourth time in 2015 Marquez secured victory, his first MotoGP™
victory at Misano. An elated, and somewhat surprised, Bradley Smith
joined him with a second place finish and Scott Redding rounded out the
podium with his first premier class podium finish. This was the first
time since the 1979 Venezuelan GP (Barry Sheen & Tom Herron) that
two British riders have finished on a podium in the premier class. Loris
Baz may have been forced off the podium, but a fourth place finish
delivers an incredible result for his Open Championship campaign.
With the yellow smoke settled and customary post-race track invasion
dispersed, Rossi maintains his lead of the MotoGP™ World Championship
with 247 points, now 23 clear of Lorenzo due to his DNF. Marquez jumps
to 184, a comfortable margin ahead of Andrea Iannone who has 159 points.
A second MotoGP™ podium gifted Britain’s Bradley Smith 20 points and
cements him in fifth overall. Loris Baz jumps to 15th overall in the
World Standings, with 28 points, now five points ahead of Hector Barbera
(Avintia Racing) in the Open battle.
It was another excellent ride in tricky conditions for Octo Pramac
Racing’s Danilo Petrucci on the upgraded GP14.2 he was given after his
first podium at Silverstone last time out. He crossed the line in sixth
ahead of the factory Ducati duo of Andrea Iannone (7th) and Andrea
Dovizioso (8th).
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa only just beat Aleix Espargaro on the
Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR to the line by 0.126s as they finished in
ninth and tenth respectively. LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow managed to hold
off his teammate Jack Miller (12th) to cross the line in 11th while Mike
Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) pulled off his best result of the season as
he finished in 13th.
Alongside Lorenzo there was misfortune for Alex De Angelis (E-Motion
IodaRacing Team) and Yonny Hernandez (Octo Pramac Racing) who came
together at Turn 6. With just two laps to go Pol Espargaro (Monster
Yamaha Tech 3) also fell, his fourth DNF of the year.
Moto2: Zarco has one hand on title after win
Johann Zarco takes his
sixth win of the season from Tito Rabat and Takaaki Nakagami to extend
his lead in the standings to 93 points.
Ajo Motorsport’s Zarco took advantage of an
early crash between Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
and Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) while they were battling for the
lead to take his seventh career victory. In the process Zarco equaled
Oliver Jacque, Arnaud Vincent and Christian Sarron in the list of most
successful French GP riders of all time. It also meant that Zarco
recorded his 12th consecutive podium of the season and the Frenchman can
now take the title at Motegi.
EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Tito Rabat recovered from an awful start that saw
him drop down to 8th by the end of the first lap to claim his seventh
podium of the season. In a race were tyre choice was crucial, Rabat
joined Zarco and a number of other riders by opting for the harder rear
while the medium seemed to drop off dramatically in the latter stages.
Rabat eventually crossed the line 3.850s behind his title rival Zarco in
second.
Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Takaaki Nakagami (+5.388s) went for the
medium rear and was struggling dramatically for grip at the end of the
race. The Japanese rider managed to hold on to claim his first podium
since Misano in 2013 and the sixth of his GP career.
Forward Racing’s Corsi (+7.058s) crossed the line in fourth ahead of
Julian Simon (+9.225s) on the QMMF Racing Speed Up bike. AGR Team’s
Jonas Folger also went for the medium rear tyre, and saw his podium
challenge fade as the race went on. The German eventually crossed the
line in sixth, 10.466s behind the race winner.
Lorenzo Baldassari (Forward Racing) rode superbly with a dislocated
right shoulder to finish in seventh, while Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt
Intact GP), Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP40), and Thomas Luthi
(Derendinger Racing Interwetten) completed the top ten.
Rins took out Aegerter while challenging him for the lead on just the
second lap. Both riders re-joined, but Rins was black flagged late on
in the race after battling with riders while a lap down. Aegerter
eventually recovered to finish in 24th.
Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes was forced to retire from the race after a
loose fairing rubbed against his rear tyre forcing it to delaminate.
It was announced before the race that Mika Kallio would be parting
ways with the Italtrans Racing Team to join the QMMF Racing Team for
2016. Unfortunately for the 2014 Moto2™ runner-up he then crashed out of
the race at turn 8 on just the third lap. There were also crashes for
Ricard Cardus, Robin Mulhauser, Alex Marquez, Jesko Raffin and Federico
Caricasulo.
Moto3: Bastianini takes maiden victory
Gresini Racing Team Moto3’s Bastianini won a close fought battle at
the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli to snatch his first
Moto3™ victory in just his 31st start at his home grand prix. In the
process he closed the gap in the championship standings to Danny Kent to
55 points with 5 races remaining.
The Italian was involved in a five man leading group that saw the
lead swap hands multiple times. On the last lap the ‘Beast’ made his
move through turn 11 and held on to take the checkered flag for the
first time in his career, just 0.037s ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel
Oliveira. It was Oliveira’s fourth podium of the season and best result
since his race win at Assen as he took advantage of the new KTM Frame
and chassis available to riders at Misano. It seemed a fitting way for
the Portuguese rider to celebrate his announcement he will make the step up to Moto2™ next year with Leopard Racing.
Ongetta-Rivacold’s Niccolo Antonelli (0.345s) recovered from
Saturday's crash to cross the line in third and take his third podium of
the season ahead of a hard charging Romano Fenati (+0.584s) on the SKY
Racing Team VR46 KTM. Oliveira’s teammate Brad Binder made it three
KTM’s in the top five as only 0.637s separated the leading group across
the line.
Leopard Racing’s championship leader Kent (+8.000) was at the back of
the leading group mid way through the race but was forced to give up a
position after exceeding track limits at turn 6 a number of times.
Unfortunately for the Brit the nearest rider was four seconds back and
he had to slow to let them pass, ending any chance he had of a podium as
he eventually crossed the line in sixth.
Alexis Masbou (SAXOPRINT RTG), Francesco Bagnaia (Mapfre Team
Mahindra), Isaac Viñales (RBA Racing Team) and Phillip Oettl (Schedl GP
Racing) completed the top ten.
Scotsman John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) recovered from 26th on the grid
to finish in 19th. There was also a five second penalty applied to Maria
Herrera for exceeding track limits although it did not affect her
position of 24th.
Efren Vazquez (Leopard Racing) crashed out of the race while battling
in the leading group, and there were also falls for Zulfahmi
Khairuddin, Tatsuki Suzuki, Remy Gardner, Jules Danilo and Juanfran
Guevara. Guevara crashed on the last lap and made contact with his
teammate Martin, who somehow stayed upright to take the last
championship point in 15th.
Both Estrella Galicia 0,0 riders Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Navarro
were forced to miss the race after crashing in practice on Friday being
declared unfit.