Lorenzo pips Marquez on the line as Rossi’s hopes go up in smoke at Mugello
Valentino Rossi may have been unable to score, but the fans in Mugello were treated to a do or die duel between Lorenzo and Marquez
For the first time since 2008, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) lined up for the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM in pole. The last time he started from pole in Mugello he won, having not returned to the top step of the podium since 2008. Over 100,000 people lined the hillside stands of Mugello to see if ‘The Doctor’ could win once more. But it wasn’t going to be easy with Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) right alongside him on the front row.
Riders filtered through clouds of yellow smoke on their warm up lap, getting a final pre-race taste of what the Mugello circuit was like. There was little time to think as the lights went out, Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) making an incredible start to lead into Turn 1 from fifth on the grid. It was a disastrous start for Viñales who dropped down to 11th.
Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS), Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Loris Baz (Avintia Racing) all came together at the first corner and fell. The trio retired from the race, Baz heading to the medical centre for checks. The French rider was diagnosed with a fracture of the third metatarsal and will undergo surgery in Switzerland.
Every lap Rossi attempted to pass Lorenzo into Turn 1, but Lorenzo remained in charge thanks to his incredible performance under braking. Their battle had allowed Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to close down the Yamaha pair, the trio separated by under half a second. Lorenzo closed every door that Rossi tried to open, defending at every corner.
Further down the field Iannone and Viñales recovered from their poor starts as they blasted past Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) down the end of the straight to move into seventh and eighth.
On lap eight Mugello fell silent as Rossi’s Yamaha started to spew thick white smoke. The Italian dropped down to ninth and continued to drop back, his race over. His head hung low as he pulled off to the side of the track and returned to the pits on a scooter.
The fans were silent as their hero trudged into the pits, hardly lifting his visor. Soon after Redding also retired from the race due to a technical issue.
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“It’s been a mixed day for us today. Jorge did a fantastic job to take over the lead into the first corner starting from the second row of the grid. He knows how difficult overtaking at the Mugello circuit is and made his YZR-M1 as wide as he could while he was battling with Valentino and later with Marquez to give Yamaha its 100th premier class win since the modern MotoGP era started in 2002. It was very unfortunate that Vale’s race ended early because of a technical issue, else he would certainly have been able to challenge for the win and join his teammate on the podium. He was really confident on the bike and it’s a real shame that he lost a lot of points in the championship. We will look into what happened today during the break between the races, to come back fully prepared for the next round in Barcelona.”
Rossi may have retired but the race was by no means over, Marquez right behind Lorenzo as they crossed mid-race distance. Their battle wasn’t the only one, as Iannone’s comeback from a poor start continued, finding himself behind his teammate and battling for third. Iannone would eventually gain the upper hand, moving to third on the 17th lap but Dovizioso responded soon after, all the while Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) closed in. A mistake from Dovizioso ended his chances of a podium.
On lap 20 Marquez launched his first attack but ran wide, Lorenzo hanging onto the lead. The attacks didn’t stop and Marquez passed Lorenzo at the start of the final lap but Lorenzo responded again. Marquez looked to have the race won as they exited the final corner but his front wheel lifted ever so slightly, Lorenzo able to grab an incredible photo finish victory. 0.019s is all that separated them across the line, the closest finish of the year. The Yamaha clearly demonstrating superior acceleration out of the final turn which meant despite Marquez’s heroic efforts he had nothing to come back at Lorenzo with on the run to the line.
Pedrosa and Iannone’s battle also went down to the final lap with Iannone able to win out by 0.168s and return to the podium once again. Seventh place saw Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finish as the top Independent Team rider.
Lorenzo leaves Mugello with a ten point lead over Marc Marquez in the World Championship standings, Rossi holding onto third overall but now 37 points behind his teammate.
During the race Andrea Iannone hit 354.9km/h, setting a new top speed record in the MotoGP World Championship.
MotoGP Race Results
- Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) YAMAHA 41’36.535
- Marc Marquez (SPA) HONDA +0.019
- Andrea Iannone (ITA) DUCATI + 4.742
Zarco victorious in eventful ten lap Moto2 dash
France’s Johann Zarco came out on top after a thrilling ten lap battle with Lorenzo Baldassarri, the Italian taking second with Lowes third
Ideal conditions continued in Mugello as preparations for the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM began in the Moto2 class. The track kept getting hotter, ground temperature at 42°C as Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) rolled into pole position on the grid. 31 Moto2 riders lurched forward for the 21-lap race, Tom Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team) leading into the first corner but coming into contact and dropping back. By the exit of Savelli, Lowes was back in the lead with Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) trying to fend of Baldassarri.
Having crashed out of the previous two races while challenging for a potential podium, Baldassarri remained hyper aggressive in second. Meanwhile Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) made his way into the top five from ninth on the grid.
Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) and Luca Marini (Forward Racing) were involved in an incident together on the third lap at Turn 3, ending their races. It was an equally difficult race for Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP) who pulled into the pits with technical issues.
After his early contact with Baldassarri, Luthi was able to compose himself and slid into the lead on the fourth lap. A clear five-rider group was now streaking away at the front.
Xavier Vierge (Tech 3 Racing) lost the front at Turn 13, his bike hitting the air fence and brought out the red flag due to safety conditions. All air fences must be inflated for racing to run, safety paramount in the World Championship.
The race was eventually restarted and set to be 10 laps, the grid decided based on the position of riders on the third lap. As such Lowes lined up on pole ahead of Luthi and Nakagami after the quick restart procedure. But Nakagami, Julian Simon (QMMF Racing Team), Xavier Simeon (QMMF Racing Team), Simone Corsi (Speed Up Racing), Ratthapark Wilairot (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Edgar Pons (Paginas Amarillas HP 40), Federico Fuligni (Team Ciatti) and championship leader Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) were all sent to the back of the grid for delaying the race restart.
Xavier Simeon crashed on the formation lap and was therefore unable to restart the race, even from the back of the grid.
Tom Luthi was fastest off the line in the restart, Lowes getting shuffled down the order as Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) shot into third. Baldassarri was again a man on a mission as the Italian moved into the lead. Lowes remained at the back of the leading five riders, Zarco just ahead of him.
The shortened race produced thrilling action as tyre wear was of no concern, Baldassarri, Zarco and Luthi battling freely at the front. All the while Axel Pons (AGR Team) crept towards the leading group. Behind Rins made great progress through the field and was soon inside the points after his back of the grid start.
Zarco and Baldassarri gave each other no quarter, every open door quickly taken advantage of as the two danced around the 5.245kms of Mugello. It was between the pair as the final lap began, Baldassarri attacking into San Donato but Zarco responded. The Frenchman pushed to the limit to hold onto the lead, clinching victory by 0.030s from Baldassarri. Victory moves Zarco to third in the standings, reigniting his title defence.
The last lap also saw a great recovery from Sam Lowes, the Brit charging through on Luthi to take third place.
Hafizh Syahrin took a stellar fifth place finish ahead of Axel Pons who took his third top ten of the year. Alex Rins made a commendable comeback to eventually finish in sixth and limit the damage to his championship, slipping just two points behind Lowes. There are just 17 points between Lowes in first and Luthi in fourth, it’s still anyone’s championship in the middleweight class.
Moto2 Race Results
- Johann Zarco (FRA) KALEX 18’59.391
- Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) KALEX +0.030
- Sam Lowes (GBR) KALEX +1.096
Binder makes it three in a row as title gains momentum
An incredible 20 lap Moto3 race in Mugello saw Binder play it perfectly to win ahead of Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia with a perfect last lap
Sunday at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM began with the always-thrilling Moto3™ World Championship race. The sun blazed overhead, the ground temperature edging above 34°C as the 33 rider strong field lined up on the grid. Italians featured heavily in the top ten, Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) beginning his home race from pole position.
Fenati shot off the line and held his advantage into Turn 1, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) moving up to third with Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46) splitting the two front-runners. The straight was home to thrilling action as the leading group went five abreast into San Donato, riders easily going from first to fifth in just a few meters. Each lap saw more and more riders join the battle, the slipstream closing the pack up with each run down the 1.141km long straight as the top 20 were all within touching distance.
Replacement rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Schedl GP Racing) had an incredible start to the race, finding himself comfortably inside the top ten and able to battle with the World Championship regulars. Dalla Porta wasn’t the only new name out at the front, rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3) taking the lead on several occasions in front of his home crowd.
Disaster struck on lap ten for pole setter Roman Fenati as his bike expired while he tried to move into first, the Italian rolling off the track and withdrawing from the race. Fenati’s heartbreak presented a big opportunity for the likes of Fabio Quartararo (Leopard Racing) who made his way up into the frontrunners having started 18th, the Frenchman able to lead at several points.
The championship hopefuls continued to encounter difficulties, Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) coming off at Turn 15 on lap 12 after contact with another rider. This left Binder fighting for victory with his two closest rivals out of the race, the South African guaranteed to leave Mugello with the championship lead.
Binder made his move on the final lap and opened up a quarter of second gap, just enough to break the slipstream. For the third straight race the South African takes to the top step of the podium, extending his championship lead once again. 49 points, almost two race victories, separate Binder in first from Navarro in second in the standings.
Di Giannantonio scored his first points of the year with a brilliant second place at home, Francesco Bagnaia (Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3) making it two Italians on the podium with third. Before Mugello, Di Giannantonio’s best result was 17th.
Try as they might, Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) and Fabio Quartararo (Leopard Racing) were unable to pass in the slipstream, settling for fourth and fifth respectively.
Darryn Binder (Platinum Bay Real Estate) was the first faller of the race, coming off at Turn 8 but able to walk away from the accident free of injury. Andrea Locatelli (Leopard Racing) fell at Turn 2 on the 14th lap, a sad end to his home weekend.
Khairul Idham Pawi (Honda Team Asia) crashed out of a potential top five on the final lap, followed soon after by Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0).
Fabio Spiranelli (CIP-Unicom Starker) and Alexis Masbou (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) also failed to finish.
Moto3 Race Results
- Brad Binder (RSA) KTM 39’49.382
- Fabio di Giannantonio (ITA) HONDA +0.069
- Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) MAHINDRA + 0.075
