Marc Marquez made Misano win number four, with Petrucci and Dovizioso completing podium
Showing his prowess in the wet Jack Miller took sixth
MotoGP 2017 – Round 13 – Misano
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took his fourth win of the year in a high stakes duel at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the conditions torrential and the top three in the title fight lining up for the challenge on the front row.
But as the spray cleared, it was Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) just ahead of the reigning Champion on track as the two dueled – and Marquez pounced on the last lap for another 25 point haul.
That gives number 93 the Championship lead once again as Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) came home third, with the two rivals equal on points and equal on wins – and Marquez ahead by virtue of more second places.
But despite the challengers on the front row in the SanMarino GP, it was Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) who got away best from Row 2, taking the lead through the first two corners after tousling with Marquez and shooting away into the distance.
Marquez slotted into second and Dovizioso in third, with Petrucci then slicing around the outside of Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) at the start of the second lap to begin his charge. After Viñales, the Pramac rider then shot past Dovizioso, beginning to hone in on Marquez and then taking over in second.
After setting the timesheets alight and clear in the lead, drama then struck the head of the race as Lorenzo suddenly highsided out at Turn 6 – rider ok – leaving Petrucci in the lead and a long game of highspeed chess to set in: Petrucci, Marquez, Dovizioso, and nothing between them.
As the laps ticked on and the stakes seemed to get higher and higher, Dovizioso began to fade backwards and the trio became a duo in the battle for the win. The ring of the Honda getting louder and louder behind him, Petrucci held firm but Marquez chose his moment well: heading through at Turn 1 on the final lap.
The rider from Cervera was then able to keep a small margin as the spray kicked up behind him, holding his nerve to take win number four of the year – and the Championship lead.
Marc Marquez – P1
“This was one of the best races of my career. It gave me an amazing feeling because it required incredible concentration to manage the tension the whole time. It was very easy to make a mistake, and that’s why I decided to attack only on the final lap. That lap was amazing; I took many risks, but with such a close season, it was worth trying to get the five extra points for the win. Of course I was thinking about the Championship the whole race. At the beginning the feeling wasn’t so good, probably because there was so much water on the track, and I had a couple of very scary moments. Lorenzo was amazingly fast early on, and so was Danilo later when he took the lead after Jorge’s crash, but I was able to follow him and finally to attack. Thanks to the team for the great job. I’m happy for everyone after what happened at Silverstone. We always try to be ready for every situation, so because we knew that changing the setup from wet to dry takes quite a long time at this track, we agreed that if I felt the track was drying, and there was even a small possibly of a flag-to-flag race, I would signal the team. So I did, and even if in the end that didn’t happen, it was right to do so as we got close to it. This Championship is amazing; anything can happen, but now we’ve returned to the top, equal on points with Andrea. The last five races will be very tough, but we’ll keep pushing and give it our 100%. Finally, I wish to congratulate Toni Bou for his 22nd title, it’s just amazing. Keep doing like that, Toni!”
That meant Petrucci took second and his fourth premier class podium, 1.1 seconds off the win after Marquez fired in the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.
Danilo Petrucci – P2
“It was a fantastic race. From the first lap the feeling was good. I was leading for long until I saw Marquez coming back. I was thinking to make him pass but my fear was that he could run away. Marquez has done a fantastic last lap and he deserved the victory. I would have liked to win the race but I am very happy for how the weekend has gone, and I have to thank the whole team”.
Dovizioso took a safe third place – his first podium finish at Misano – and another good haul of points, with Viñales able to similarly avoid mistakes despite the stakes, taking fourth to keep himself very much in the title fight.
Andrea Dovizioso – P3
“In the end I’m happy with my third place because today I wasn’t able to find a perfect feeling with the bike. I tried to keep up with Marquez and Petrucci and I did for 20 laps, but the track conditions were really difficult. When they began to lower their lap times I would have had to take too many risks to stay in touch, and I preferred to slightly drop my pace to bring home the 16 points for third place, which is very important for the championship. The Misano weekend however confirmed that we can be competitive on every circuit and we can fight for the title until the very end.”
Behind the front four, Michele Pirro (Ducati Team) made steady progress and once again impressed as a wildcard for the Borgo Panigale factory, completing the top five. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) put in a signature stunner in the wet from way down on the grid, for some time threatening Viñales for the top four before eventually crossing the line in sixth.
Jack Miller – P6
“At the start of the race I felt I had more pace than Vinales and Crutchlow but by the end of the race my pace dropped and I probably switched the engine map too late to help look after the rear tyre. It was good on the edge but I had lost some drive grip and it wasn’t possible to hold off Pirro in the final laps. This was my best weekend in the second half of the season so far and with some good points I am looking forward to the next race in Aragon.”
Seventh over the line was a fight back from Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing), ahead of a quality ride from rookie Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) shot through the field from P16 on the grid to take ninth, with an impressive double act behind him for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, as Bradley Smith took his first top ten with the Austrian factory and teammate Pol Espargaro crossed the line in eleventh.
Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) took points in P12 and kept out of trouble, ahead of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in P13 – who crashed in the early stages and remounted. It was a tough day at the office for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), as the Spaniard struggled to find grip and get heat into the tyres, crossing the line in P14.
Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) supplied some late drama as he had a problem on the final lap, but managed to push the bike over the line for the final point.
Now it’s the final European round before the flyaway races, and Marquez and Dovizioso are equal on points. They’re also equal on wins, but the number 93 has more second places – making him the new leader in the sixth change so far this season. And Aragon? That’s Marquez’ backyard, and the number 93 will march home with a single focus: victory.
MotoGP 2017 – Round 13 – Misano – Race Results
- MARQUEZ Marc 50’41.565
- PETRUCCI Danilo +1.192
- DOVIZIOSO Andrea +11.706
- VINALES Maverick +16.559
- PIRRO Michele +19.499
- MILLER Jack +24.882
- REDDING Scott +33.872
- RINS Alex +34.662
- FOLGER Jonas +54.082
- SMITH Bradley +57.964
- ESPARGARO Pol +1’00.440
- BAUTISTA Alvaro +1’17.356
- CRUTCHLOW Cal +1’35.588
- PEDROSA Dani +2’02.212
- ZARCO Johann +1 lap
- BAZ Loris +1 lap
- ABRAHAM Karel +1 lap
MotoGP World Standings after Round 13 – Misano – Top 15
- Marc MARQUEZ – Honda – SPA – 199
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO – Ducati – ITA – 199
- Maverick VIÑALES – Yamaha – SPA – 183
- Valentino ROSSI – Yamaha – ITA – 157
- Dani PEDROSA – Honda – SPA – 150
- Johann ZARCO – Yamaha – FRA – 110
- Danilo PETRUCCI – Ducati – ITA – 95
- Cal CRUTCHLOW – Honda – GBR – 92
- Jorge LORENZO – Ducati – SPA – 90
- Jonas FOLGER – Yamaha – GER – 84
- Alvaro BAUTISTA – Ducati – SPA – 62
- Scott REDDING – Ducati – GBR – 54
- Jack MILLER – Honda – AUS – 53
- Aleix ESPARGARO – Aprilia – SPA – 43
- Loris BAZ – Ducati – FRA – 39
Dominique Aegerter masters Misano in Moto2
Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) mastered the soaking conditions at Misano to take his second ever Grand Prix victory, under pressure from title challenger and compatriot Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) throughout until pulling away over the final laps to take the first win on a Suter since Valencia 2014.
Aussie rider Remy Gardner pulled out a strong performance, taking championship points despite two crashes, finishing in 13th.
Remy Gardner
“I was surprised to be 21st on the grid as we went much quicker than we had all weekend in qualifying and didn’t expect everyone else to improve so much. The warm up was encouraging although the track was slippery and I went down. What a race though! It’s a real shame that I crashed the first time as I think we had the pace to finish in the top 8. The second crash was unlucky, the data shows nothing strange so I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Anyway, we got 3 points after two crashes in the same race which I don’t anyone could have predicted. What else can I say other than it was a long hard race that I didn’t think was ever going to end, but I can take the positives and move on to Aragon in a fortnight where I am confident I can improve both me and the bike a bit more.”
That was a headline, and the San Marino GP wrote a few more as Championship leader Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) crashed out of the lead early on, meaning Lüthi hops up to only nine points off the top of the standings after his second place finish.
Completing the podium was another newsworthy performance as Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) put his wet weather pace to good use to join the first ever Swiss 1-2 celebrating on a rainy rostrum.
It was Morbidelli who got the best start as polesitter Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) lost out slightly off the line, and the EG 0,0 Marc VDS rider soon began pulling away in the lead. But it wasn’t to be, crashing out soon after and leaving a Swiss 1-2 as Aegerter led Lüthi. Pasini then crashed out soon after that, followed by Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – but the frontrunners held firm.
The two Swiss riders remained locked together for much of the race, with Aergerter ahead bar one mistake that allowed his compatriot briefly through. But once back in the lead, the Kiefer Racing rider was back in control and held firm under the pressure until pulling away to win by 1.4 seconds. Lüthi took second to make up huge ground in the Championship, with Syahrin threatening to close for some time before eventually taking third and his second ever podium finish.
Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) kept calm and carried on in torrential conditions for another incredible rookie result to take fourth, with reigning Moto3™ Champion Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) another newcomer with a top result as he completed the top five. Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) came back with a solid sixth after a tough weekend.
Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) took an impressive seventh as another top rookie, although the Frenchman was served a short time penalty and had crossed the line ahead of Cortese. Simon Corsi (Speed Up Racing) was next over the line despite late drama – crashing at the final corner but able to get it to the flag in eighth.
Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) took his best ever result in ninth position, with Jesko Raffin (Garage Plus Interwetten) a good margin back to complete the top ten. Eleventh was Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), winner at Silverstone, after the Japanese rider was another late crasher but remounted to take points.
Alex De Angelis (Dynavolt Intact GP) crashed twice but scored as he took P12 in his home GP, with a similar story for Remy Gardner (Tech 3 Racing) in thirteenth and Tetsuta Nagashima (Teluru SAG Team) in fourteenth. Xavi Vierge (Tech 3 Racing) completed the points.
Next up is Aragon and a very different racetrack once again – with the margin at the top now cut down to nine points and Morbidelli looking to bounce back quickly.
Moto2 World Standings after Round 13 – Misano – Top 20
- Franco MORBIDELLI – Kalex – ITA – 223
- Thomas LUTHI – Kalex – SWI – 214
- Alex MARQUEZ – Kalex – SPA – 155
- Miguel OLIVEIRA – KTM – POR – 141
- Francesco BAGNAIA – Kalex – ITA – 124
- Takaaki NAKAGAMI – Kalex – JPN – 109
- Mattia PASINI – Kalex – ITA – 104
- Dominique AEGERTER – Suter – SWI – 88
- Simone CORSI – Speed Up – ITA – 86
- Hafizh SYAHRIN – Kalex – MAL – 66
- Luca MARINI – Kalex – ITA – 59
- Xavi VIERGE – Tech 3 – SPA – 56
- Brad BINDER – KTM – RSA – 56
- Jorge NAVARRO – Kalex – SPA – 50
- Marcel SCHROTTER – Suter – GER – 44
- Fabio QUARTARARO – Kalex – FRA – 41
- Lorenzo BALDASSARRI – Kalex – ITA – 39
- Sandro CORTESE – Suter – GER – 28
- Remy GARDNER – Tech 3 – AUS – 17
- Axel PONS – Kalex – SPA – 17
Romano Fenati leaves the Moto3 field in his dust with a 28s lead
Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) left the field in the dust at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, taking his ninth win in Moto3 by more than 28 seconds by the flag. The Italian, who took his first win in similar style at Jerez in 2012, put in a masterclass in the rain to claw back some points in the Championship over Joan Mir (Leopard Racing) – the man who came second.
The podium was completed by front row starter and second home hero home Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), with only 15 finishers, all of whom scored points in a race of attrition.
It was the man starting from the front, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), who took early control, but by 19 laps to go Fenati hit the front ahead of Fenati and Mir – and didn’t look back. ‘Diggia’ suffered a moment and dropped back slightly from the podium battle, before Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0) took a tumble – the first of two.
There was another wobble at the front soon after, as Martin saved a huge moment at Turn 6 – soon followed by Mir, bringing the two rivals back together on track in second and third. But it didn’t remain that way for too long, with Martin then sadly sliding out at Turn 1 – rider ok.
That left Mir the man on the chase, but the Majorcan hadn’t got the pace to stay with the Italian out front and the gap kept steadily increasing. But the Championship leader stayed calm, keeping it all together as the battle for the final podium place reignited behind him.
Di Giannantonio was the man in third, but Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was lighting up the timesheets. The Spaniard caught the Italian and passed him, before ‘Diggia’ hit back. But Canet wouldn’t be deterred and pushed on – then losing out later as he crashed out of contention chasing the Italian.
Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) came through from P11 on the grid to eventually cross the line in a lonely fourth, an earlier podium contender but then just dropping off the battle for third. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) likewise crossed the line lonely, likewise taking some solid points and avoiding mistakes to complete the top five.
Bo Bendsneyder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) took a good haul of points home in sixth, just ahead of Jakub Kornfeil (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) – a result made even more remarkable by the fact that both riders had crashed and remounted, slicing back through the field once back on board.
Albert Arenas (Aspar Mahindra Moto3) took his first ever top ten result behind the duo as he crossed the line in eighth, despite not riding in the only other wet session of the weekend: Sunday Warm Up.
Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) – winner in Mugello – got more points on home turf as he came ninth, ahead of replacement rider at Platinum Bay Real Estate Jaume Masia in another impressive performance from the Spaniard. Manuel Pagliani (CIP) was P11, ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) in twelfth after a big save. Wildcard Alex Fabbri (Minimoto Portomaggiore) took points and stayed out of trouble in thirteenth in a good day’s work for the Italian.
Compatriot Enea Bastianini crossed the line in P14 to collect two points on home turf despite two crashes, and reigning Moto3 Junior World Champion Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Aspar Mahindra Moto3) rounded out both the finishers and the points scorers in P15, also despite a crash.
Some wet weather superstars before failing to finish were Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and teammate Tony Arbolino, and Japanese rookie Ayumu Sasaki was in sixth before a fall at Turn 6 ended the SIC Racing Team rider’s charge.
John McPhee (British Talent Team) also fell foul of conditions, as well as Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo). And a late crash for Patrik Pulkinnen (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) provided some drama, as the Finn managed to make it to the line but outside the time limit to be classified, having been a lap down on leader Romano Fenati but on for P13.
The paddock now moves to MotorLand Aragon and home turf for Mir, with the points gap now cut by a small margin but the Championship leader still very much in control as Fenati tries to charge back – with nine wins in the class, now the equal most successful Moto3 rider in terms of wins.
Moto3 World Standings after Round 13 – Misano – Top 15
- Joan MIR – Honda – SPA – 246
- Romano FENATI – Honda – ITA – 185
- Aron CANET – Honda – SPA – 162
- Jorge MARTIN – Honda – SPA – 121
- Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO – Honda – ITA – 117
- Andrea MIGNO – KTM – ITA – 98
- John MCPHEE – Honda – GBR – 96
- Marcos RAMIREZ – KTM – SPA – 96
- Enea BASTIANINI – Honda – ITA – 87
- Philipp OETTL – KTM – GER – 84
- Juanfran GUEVARA – KTM – SPA – 71
- Nicolo BULEGA – KTM – ITA – 70
- Bo BENDSNEYDER – KTM – NED – 48
- Livio LOI – Honda – BEL – 47
- Tatsuki SUZUKI – Honda – JPN – 43
