Photo: motogp.com
The Circuit of Catalunya-Barcelona was the scene of several epic battles this weekend during the Catalan Grand Prix and showed, possibly more than any other race this year, how spectacular and rewarding MotoGP is as a sport.
Valentino Rossi claimed one of the most amazing victories in his career, after a battle that saw him starting off from fifth on the grid and quickly relegated down to the seventh position early in the race. However, last Sunda would prove to be one of Rossi's best days, as he immediately started to attack, knowing that he must not leave Lorenzo escape at the front.
The leading pack raced closely together in the opening of the race, and this prevented large gaps from forming. Rossi tackled rider after rider, passing them with his classic moves and managing to fend off any attacks.
Seven laps into the race, Rossi passed Lorenzo, who started to lose ground gradually and ended up being chased by Ducati's Andrea Iannone. Unfortunately for the two, the race ended nine laps before the checkered flag would wave. Iannone was caught on the wrong foot when Lorenzo braked a bit earlier that the Italian expected and the Ducati slammed hard into the rear wheel of the Yamaha.
Both riders went down, thankfully, without sustaining injuries. Lorenzo was clearly not in contention for a podium, but he was going to score decent points before the incident.
On the other hand, Maverick Vinales had a great race day, albeit his lack of experience caused him to make several mistakes that cost him a fair chance for another podium. Riding very aggressively and proving that the new Suzuki GSX-RR has a ton of potential, Vinales got in a battle with Pedrosa but lost a chance for the last position on the podium after an error that would give the Honda rider just the right gap needed to secure the third place.
Pol Espargaro and Crutchlow were fifth and sixth, with the Brit happy to see that his Honda was a bit more manageable, and got the better of Dovizioso. The great surprise was to see Alvaro Bautista putting Aprilia in the eighth position at the end of the race, ahead of Petrucci and Jack Miller, for the first time in the top ten in MotoGP. Aleix Espargaro and Bradley Smith retired with mechanical issues.
With Lorenzo not earning any points at Barcelona, he also lost the lead in the championship. The new leader is Marc Marquez, with 125 points, ten more than Lorenzo. However, the biggest change is seeing Rossi reducing the gap to his teammate from 37 points to 12. Rossi is now third, 22 points behind Marquez and 21 ahead of Dani Pedrosa. Vinales retains his fifth overall position with 72.
Next comes the Dutch round at Assen, for the first time ever a Sunday race.
The leading pack raced closely together in the opening of the race, and this prevented large gaps from forming. Rossi tackled rider after rider, passing them with his classic moves and managing to fend off any attacks.
Seven laps into the race, Rossi passed Lorenzo, who started to lose ground gradually and ended up being chased by Ducati's Andrea Iannone. Unfortunately for the two, the race ended nine laps before the checkered flag would wave. Iannone was caught on the wrong foot when Lorenzo braked a bit earlier that the Italian expected and the Ducati slammed hard into the rear wheel of the Yamaha.
Both riders went down, thankfully, without sustaining injuries. Lorenzo was clearly not in contention for a podium, but he was going to score decent points before the incident.
On the other hand, Maverick Vinales had a great race day, albeit his lack of experience caused him to make several mistakes that cost him a fair chance for another podium. Riding very aggressively and proving that the new Suzuki GSX-RR has a ton of potential, Vinales got in a battle with Pedrosa but lost a chance for the last position on the podium after an error that would give the Honda rider just the right gap needed to secure the third place.
Pol Espargaro and Crutchlow were fifth and sixth, with the Brit happy to see that his Honda was a bit more manageable, and got the better of Dovizioso. The great surprise was to see Alvaro Bautista putting Aprilia in the eighth position at the end of the race, ahead of Petrucci and Jack Miller, for the first time in the top ten in MotoGP. Aleix Espargaro and Bradley Smith retired with mechanical issues.
With Lorenzo not earning any points at Barcelona, he also lost the lead in the championship. The new leader is Marc Marquez, with 125 points, ten more than Lorenzo. However, the biggest change is seeing Rossi reducing the gap to his teammate from 37 points to 12. Rossi is now third, 22 points behind Marquez and 21 ahead of Dani Pedrosa. Vinales retains his fifth overall position with 72.
Next comes the Dutch round at Assen, for the first time ever a Sunday race.
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