Photo: motogp.com
We knew that a spectacular, very fast and technical circuit like Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina was the perfect background for an amazing race. The Qualifying sessions already provided a most interesting grid layout, with Aleix Espargaro on the front row, but little did we know about what the race would offer...
Undoubtedly, 9-time World Champion Valentino Ross was the man of the day at the Argentinian track, as his race saw him starting from a rather modest 8th position on the grid. While his FP times were nothing to write home about, the race revealed that in all four practice sessions he had been testing the extra-hard tire and not chasing lap times.
The elder of the Espargaro brothers led the start of the race, but Marquez, riding on hard rear tire passed in front early and started to open a gap. In fact, at the end of the first lap, the Repsol Honda rider was already 0.8s ahead of his pursuers. With a free track in front of him, Marquez knew that pushing hard to gain as much distance as possible before his tire would start to let go was the only strategy.
He had a 4-second advantage when he felt that the performance of his rear tire started to dwindle, but by then, Rossi had already found his pace in the race. After two initial laps of "testing the ground" the Doctor started working his way up.
With the battle for the second position allowing Marquez to escape at the front, Rossi also needed several laps to deal with Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Iannone. He caught up with the reigning champion only two laps before the end of the race and did not hesitate to attack as soon as possible.
Marquez and Rossi had clashed twice before Rossi managed to get in front of the Spaniard and make it stick. A bit too eager to fight back, Marquez ignored the fact that Rossi would pick up the bike while exiting the turn and clipped his rear wheel.
The young Honda rider crashed, and his bike slid dozens of meters in the grass near the track, with Marquez running towards it but to no avail. With him out of the race, Dovizioso climbed into the second position, followed by a very determined Cal Crutchlow.
It wasn't exactly a photo finish, but it was close enough, and by all means, the type of racing action we haven't seen in MotoGP for quite some time.
Aleix Espargaro and his Suzuki teammate Maverick Vinales finished 7th and 10th in Argentina, proving that, despite the GSX-RR still needs a lot of work, things are heading the right way. Bradley Smith was 6th, while the top 10 was complete with Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding.
Dani Pedrosa's substitute rider Hiroshi Aoyama crashed one lap before the end of the race, leaving Repsol Honda empty-handed at Termas de Rio Hondo. Danilo Petrucci caused Aoyama's crash, and the Race Direction gave him a penalty point, too. Yonny Hernandez was also forced to abandon as his Pramac Ducati caught on fire. He managed to abandon ship at the side of the track and was unhurt.
The current MotoGP standing sees Rossi in the leading position with 66 points, followed by Dovizioso with 60 and Iannone with 40. Lorenzo is fourth with 37 points, one ahead of Marquez, and three clear of Crutchlow.
Next, MotoGP returns to Europe with the 3rd of May Race at Jerez. We might see Dani Pedrosa riding again, as his recovery after the arm pump surgery goes well.
The elder of the Espargaro brothers led the start of the race, but Marquez, riding on hard rear tire passed in front early and started to open a gap. In fact, at the end of the first lap, the Repsol Honda rider was already 0.8s ahead of his pursuers. With a free track in front of him, Marquez knew that pushing hard to gain as much distance as possible before his tire would start to let go was the only strategy.
He had a 4-second advantage when he felt that the performance of his rear tire started to dwindle, but by then, Rossi had already found his pace in the race. After two initial laps of "testing the ground" the Doctor started working his way up.
One by one, towards the final one
Further into the race, Rossi's extra-hard tire only got better and he managed to use it to the max, unlike his team mate Jorge Lorenzo who had a rather cautious weekend and finished the race in the 5th position.With the battle for the second position allowing Marquez to escape at the front, Rossi also needed several laps to deal with Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Iannone. He caught up with the reigning champion only two laps before the end of the race and did not hesitate to attack as soon as possible.
Marquez and Rossi had clashed twice before Rossi managed to get in front of the Spaniard and make it stick. A bit too eager to fight back, Marquez ignored the fact that Rossi would pick up the bike while exiting the turn and clipped his rear wheel.
The young Honda rider crashed, and his bike slid dozens of meters in the grass near the track, with Marquez running towards it but to no avail. With him out of the race, Dovizioso climbed into the second position, followed by a very determined Cal Crutchlow.
Finish line drama
The Manx rider seems to get better and better aboard his LCR Honda satellite bike. He literally stole the last podium step from Ducati's Andrea Iannone meters before the two bikes blasted across the finish line.It wasn't exactly a photo finish, but it was close enough, and by all means, the type of racing action we haven't seen in MotoGP for quite some time.
Aleix Espargaro and his Suzuki teammate Maverick Vinales finished 7th and 10th in Argentina, proving that, despite the GSX-RR still needs a lot of work, things are heading the right way. Bradley Smith was 6th, while the top 10 was complete with Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding.
Dani Pedrosa's substitute rider Hiroshi Aoyama crashed one lap before the end of the race, leaving Repsol Honda empty-handed at Termas de Rio Hondo. Danilo Petrucci caused Aoyama's crash, and the Race Direction gave him a penalty point, too. Yonny Hernandez was also forced to abandon as his Pramac Ducati caught on fire. He managed to abandon ship at the side of the track and was unhurt.
The current MotoGP standing sees Rossi in the leading position with 66 points, followed by Dovizioso with 60 and Iannone with 40. Lorenzo is fourth with 37 points, one ahead of Marquez, and three clear of Crutchlow.
Next, MotoGP returns to Europe with the 3rd of May Race at Jerez. We might see Dani Pedrosa riding again, as his recovery after the arm pump surgery goes well.
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