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Rossi Dominates at Jerez, Dovizioso Unlucky for the Third Time

Valentino Rossi won the Spanish GP round at Jerez in an authoritative manner, starting from pole, arriving first in Turn 1 and then never letting go of the leading position. This is the 113th Grand Prix victory for Rossi, but it represents a milestone in his career, as it is the first time when he wins at Jerez from pole position.
Rossi enjoying his victory at Jerez, 2016 51 photos
Photo: motogp.com
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Starting off from the first row of the grid were also his teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’ Marc Marquez, all three riders racing with the same tires, and thus making rubber management an issue that could win or lose the race. Rossi made the holeshot and Lorenzo and Marquez tried valiantly to keep up with VR46. Cunningly closing the door each time Lorenzo attacked, Rossi only lost the lead for a few seconds.

Fears that he might be burning through the tires too early in the race have been chased away as he kept on opening the gap from his pursuers, helped by the battle for the second position between Lorenzo and Marquez. The order was the same when crossing the finish line for the last time, with JL99 and MM93 second and third, respectively.

Behind the leading trio, Dani Pedrosa made a glorious race after starting from the 7th position on the grid. Still, his uninterrupted presence on the Jerez podium came to an end, as he did not stand a chance to catch up with the front runners. Behind Pedrosa lined up the two Suzuki, with Aleix Espargaro leading from Maverick Vinales, whose start was a poor one, causing him to drop several positions early in the race.

Andrea Iannone also managed to recover well after a very poor first part of the race and having chosen the hard option tires. He was trailed by Pol Espargaro and two customer Ducati ridden by Eugene Laverty and Hector Barbera. Cal Cructhlow put an end to his unfortunate streak and finished in the points zone, 11th, followed by Smith, Baz, Bradl, and Henandez.

Bradl’s Aprilia teammate Alvaro Bautista crashed out of the race in the first third of the Spanish GP, while bad luck continued to make life hard for factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso. After being knocked out of the race two times in a row, first while running in second and one turn before the race finish by his teammate Iannone and then by Dani Pedrosa, Jerez marked the third time Dovi recorded a DNF. Again not being at fault, Dovizioso was forced to abandon the race because of mechanical problems that are being investigated by Ducati.

Ahead of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans on May 8, the MotoGP championship sees Marc Marquez leading with 82 points, followed by Jorge Lorenzo with 65, Rossi with 58, and then Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaro with 40 and 36 points, respectively. Hector Barbera is the best non-factory rider, with 31 points in the 8th position.
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