Jorge Lorenzo did what he does best, Rossi started from the third row and Marquez fails to finish. Is this a Deja vu of the 2015 season? The last time Jorge Lorenzo clinched pole and won was in the Spanish GP at Jerez in 2015 which sparked an unstoppable run of 4 consecutive wins and trailing the leader Valentino Rossi by 1 point. Will this mark the beginning of another masterclass of a season from the reigning world champion?
Jorge Lorenzo was on the charge right from Friday practice, many expecting him to check out with the 25 points to be offered but few people expected the old warhorse to bounce back like he did in Jerez. Lorenzo could do it but Rossi couldn't, partly because of his starting position and because he was emphasizing on race pace all weekend.
Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone got a brilliant launch off the line but it was Pol Espargaro who attacked the lead trio round the outside at the Dunlop chicane. Lorenzo continued to irk out crucial bike lengths from the chasing pack and built a 0.4 second advantage on Andrea Dovizioso onboard one of the factory Ducatis, closely followed by his compatriot and teammate Andrea Iannone. Iannone upped his pace to hunt down Lorenzo and unfortunately lost the front and ending his quest for the victory, as Lorenzo began to increase his advantage to over 1.5 seconds on lap 7 and finished with an advantage of over ten seconds over his team mate Valentino Rossi.
Meanwhile, it was the opposite for Jorge's team mate Valentino Rossi, who started in seventh place. Having got an average launch, he got swamped by the two Tech3 Yamaha's and Aleix Espargaro's factory Suzuki before he finally broke the shackles and gained positions rapidly. Rossi ran the pace of the frontrunners, sometimes even faster than Jorge Lorenzo which helped him close up on Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez who were ahead of him by over a second and a half, respectively.
Rossi closed up on Marc Marquez's rear wheel for the last podium place while Marc was closing up on Dovizioso, overtaking them in quick succession to take over second behind his teammate. Marc and Dovizioso were close to Rossi, but both lost the front in the 16th lap at the exact same time in the same corner- Turn 7. Marquez remounted to finish last, in 13th. (Only 13 finishers, 7 crashes and 1 retirement). Rossi crosses the line in a vautious second place, reducing his points deficit to 12.
Maverick Vinales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was cruising around in fifth place, pipping his teammate and compatriot Aleix Espargaro yet again until Lap 16. The double crash in front of him promoted him to third, ten seconds behind Valentino Rossi. Vinales pushed on to reduce the gap to a mere 3.5 seconds, lapping faster than a certain Valentino Rossi in the later part of the race. He finally succeeded in bringing home Suzuki's first podium after 8 long years after Loris Capirossi finished 3rd in the 2008 Czech GP. A Podium on the ever developing Suzuki GSX-RR will surely boost the morale of Vinales and Davide Brivio's crew.
Andrea Dovizioso failed to finish yet again as he lost the front at turn 7 on lap 16. Lady luck hasn't been with him in this season as he failed to finish for the third consecutive time. (4, he crossed the line by pushing his gargantuan Desmosedici in Argentina after his teammate took him out). A busted water pump, two riders ramming into him and a washed out front potentially took away Four consecutive Podiums from the Italian ruined his chances of sparking Ducati's first jab at the world championship ever since Casey Stoner left the Bolognan marque in 2010. Andrea Iannone too contributed to Ducati's misfortune as he wiped out a potential Ducati double podium on both Qatar and Argentina, crippling their constructors' championship quest.
Another rider crippled by misfortune is Scott Redding. The 23 year old Pramac Ducati rider dominated the proceedings in the pre season testing, but encountered mechanical issues for the second time this season at the French GP after failing to finish in the points at the Spanish GP. Michelin's newer tires have a harder carcass as opposed to the tires used in testing which had a softer carcass, which wiped out all the hard work they've put up throughout the winter and compelling them to start from scratch again.
Action continues at Mugello in about two week's time. Can anybody stop Lorenzo from checking out with a double digit points lead? Will Valentino Rossi win his home race and reduce his points deficit? Will Marc Marquez bounce back after the DNF? Answers will be available on the 22nd of May!
By: Suraj
Jorge Lorenzo was on the charge right from Friday practice, many expecting him to check out with the 25 points to be offered but few people expected the old warhorse to bounce back like he did in Jerez. Lorenzo could do it but Rossi couldn't, partly because of his starting position and because he was emphasizing on race pace all weekend.Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone got a brilliant launch off the line but it was Pol Espargaro who attacked the lead trio round the outside at the Dunlop chicane. Lorenzo continued to irk out crucial bike lengths from the chasing pack and built a 0.4 second advantage on Andrea Dovizioso onboard one of the factory Ducatis, closely followed by his compatriot and teammate Andrea Iannone. Iannone upped his pace to hunt down Lorenzo and unfortunately lost the front and ending his quest for the victory, as Lorenzo began to increase his advantage to over 1.5 seconds on lap 7 and finished with an advantage of over ten seconds over his team mate Valentino Rossi.
*** Rossi in action. (Source: VR46 official)
Meanwhile, it was the opposite for Jorge's team mate Valentino Rossi, who started in seventh place. Having got an average launch, he got swamped by the two Tech3 Yamaha's and Aleix Espargaro's factory Suzuki before he finally broke the shackles and gained positions rapidly. Rossi ran the pace of the frontrunners, sometimes even faster than Jorge Lorenzo which helped him close up on Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez who were ahead of him by over a second and a half, respectively.
Rossi closed up on Marc Marquez's rear wheel for the last podium place while Marc was closing up on Dovizioso, overtaking them in quick succession to take over second behind his teammate. Marc and Dovizioso were close to Rossi, but both lost the front in the 16th lap at the exact same time in the same corner- Turn 7. Marquez remounted to finish last, in 13th. (Only 13 finishers, 7 crashes and 1 retirement). Rossi crosses the line in a vautious second place, reducing his points deficit to 12.
*** Maverick Vinales in Parc Ferme. (Credits: Michelin Motorsport- Facebook)
Maverick Vinales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was cruising around in fifth place, pipping his teammate and compatriot Aleix Espargaro yet again until Lap 16. The double crash in front of him promoted him to third, ten seconds behind Valentino Rossi. Vinales pushed on to reduce the gap to a mere 3.5 seconds, lapping faster than a certain Valentino Rossi in the later part of the race. He finally succeeded in bringing home Suzuki's first podium after 8 long years after Loris Capirossi finished 3rd in the 2008 Czech GP. A Podium on the ever developing Suzuki GSX-RR will surely boost the morale of Vinales and Davide Brivio's crew.
*** Dovizioso in Argentina (Source: Andrea Dovizioso official)
Andrea Dovizioso failed to finish yet again as he lost the front at turn 7 on lap 16. Lady luck hasn't been with him in this season as he failed to finish for the third consecutive time. (4, he crossed the line by pushing his gargantuan Desmosedici in Argentina after his teammate took him out). A busted water pump, two riders ramming into him and a washed out front potentially took away Four consecutive Podiums from the Italian ruined his chances of sparking Ducati's first jab at the world championship ever since Casey Stoner left the Bolognan marque in 2010. Andrea Iannone too contributed to Ducati's misfortune as he wiped out a potential Ducati double podium on both Qatar and Argentina, crippling their constructors' championship quest.
*** Misfortune from Bologna! (Source: Crash.net)
Another rider crippled by misfortune is Scott Redding. The 23 year old Pramac Ducati rider dominated the proceedings in the pre season testing, but encountered mechanical issues for the second time this season at the French GP after failing to finish in the points at the Spanish GP. Michelin's newer tires have a harder carcass as opposed to the tires used in testing which had a softer carcass, which wiped out all the hard work they've put up throughout the winter and compelling them to start from scratch again.
Action continues at Mugello in about two week's time. Can anybody stop Lorenzo from checking out with a double digit points lead? Will Valentino Rossi win his home race and reduce his points deficit? Will Marc Marquez bounce back after the DNF? Answers will be available on the 22nd of May!
By: Suraj