Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) won the Catalunya MotoGP race earlier today after falling back to 8th place at the start of the race. Rossi quickly moved forward and was soon in podium position, eventually passing both Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Marc Marquez (Honda) to take the lead.
Lorenzo got the holeshot, but soon drifted backwards before being taken out by an overly aggressive Andrea Iannone (Ducati) who rear-ended Lorenzo at a corner entry roughly midway through the race.
Marquez briefly challenged Rossi with a couple of laps remaining, but Rossi was able to pull a gap and take the win. Finishing in third place behind Marquez was his teammate Dani Pedrosa.
Marquez takes over the championship points lead. Below are the results of the race, but you will find additional details on the official MotoGP site.
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 44’37.589 |
| 2 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +2.652 |
| 3 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +6.313 |
| 4 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +24.388 |
| 5 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +29.546 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda | Honda | +36.244 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | Ducati | +41.464 |
| 8 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +42.975 |
| 9 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | +45.337 |
| 10 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +46.669 |
| 11 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +49.514 |
| 12 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +55.133 |
| 13 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | +57.974 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +1’00.141 |
| 15 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +1’00.429 |
| 16 | 45 | Scott REDDING | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | +1’16.269 |
| 17 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 1 Lap |
See more of MD’s great photography:
What an awesome race. A hoot like that seems to come along about once every 6 races, making the other 5 worth watching as lead-in to the main attraction. Anybody who doesn’t admire Rossi at this point is simply being unfair. Not just his incredible skill and win record, but how pure and genuine his love of the sport and love of motorcycles is. He’s 37, one of the oldest racers out there, but still clearly a kid at heart filled with enthusiasm and passion. One of the greatest competitors on the planet, regardless of sport, with a great deal of emotion and heart.
P.S. – Love that photo up above, how it fills the entire frame with color, focus, and motion … now one of my favorite motorcycle racing photos of all time.
It looks like YAMAHA is on top of the sportbike game.
I’m glad to see it too. They make AWESOME track weapons, and even better street bikes…
Sooooo, what happened to Lorenzo? Tires? Engine? Seems kind of odd. And there is Pedrosa, the quiet stalking raptor, in the background, quietly ganing points while no one is looking, waiting for the T-rexs up front to take each other out…..
He had front tire grip issues.
Too bad, because I’d have liked to see a battle for the win.
interesting, was his tire different from other riders?
Hard front, same as Rossi. He just didn’t manage it as well.
And what’s that about Pedrosa “stalking”? Sadly he will go down in history as the best rider to never win a premier-class championship.
I’m not an expert but in my opinion Randy Mamola is the best rider never to win a premier-class championship. But Dani sure comes close.
I think (but am not certain) he was running the same front/rear (hard/hard) tire combo as Rossi at least. Whatever was going on, you could see from the high-res slow-motion shot that Lorenzo’s front tire was graining badly. It looked down-right ragged by the time Iannone torpedoed him. A similar slow-mo of Rossi later in the race showed his tire looked much better despite being much later in the race.
Something in Lorenzo’s setup/riding style that intensified the wear? Maybe just unluck of the draw and pulled a bad tire out of the lot? I don’t know.
Michelin junk. What do you suppose would be the downside to having every tire manufacturer throw their hat in the ring and offer their own blend of tire as opposed to one mnf?
Accusations previously against that system were cost and that the tire OEMs were making special tires for certain teams which other teams couldn’t have access to. I don’t know if there was any truth to those accusations or not.
Bridgestone did have its issues too. Race tire development is always a moving target. But with the winglettes and new spec ECUs, Michelin is trying to hit an erratically moving target. Plus, with Bridgestone being the single tire supplier for the past seven years or whatever it was, Michelin (nor any other OEM besides Bridgestone) really didn’t have any data on modern GP bikes to even start from. They’ll get it sorted.
I wouldn’t call the Michelins junk, it’s just a first season learning curve. Bridgestone had tons of problems over the years too as they learned (remember the Aussie GP with pit stops for tire changes?).
I’ve been a proponent of multi-tire suppliers ever since they instituted the one tire rule. It would allow better tire development for all tire manufactures, and allow bike manufactures more options to see what tires fit their bikes rather than fitting the bike to the tires.
I remember back when they made the one tire rule, that the rule change was because top teams were “supposedly” getting better tires than the lower teams. Also there is the “issue” of cost and that a one tire system controls that.
I can understand cost from the bike mnf side, but for the tire mnfs, I agree with on on the development aspect.
So if I’m hearing you right, with multi-tire mnfs, some teams were allegedly getting better tires. What is stopping that from happening with one tire mnf. We seem to have missing info here. I’m going to write a stern email to MotoGP….
What I remember hearing back in those days was that Repsol was getting the best Michelin tires and it was because Rossi was on the team. It was a bunch of paddock grumbling with no concrete evidence that ever came to light.
The factor of cost is what everyone keeps talking about like with the “one” ecu manufacture for all the teams rule now. So that lower teams can “compete” with the big boys. I see all these rules as stifling development in a prototype class and you’ll have those that complain that it’s unfair to the lower teams but it is what it is.
I personally love Michelins, but would really like to see everybody who wanted to participate bring their tires in if they wanted to. All the manufactures would benefit from the R&D and to some degree so would we as consumers.
I understand that the lower teams could be at a disadvantage for development without limitless funding for certain things, like chassis, ecu, swing arm etc., but tires? I think all the mnfs that want to participate should and let the riders choose and or provide input in their development…
Wasn’t Lorenzo’s position fading fairly quickly in the race? I can’t believe with his smooth riding that he chunked his tire that quickly. Someone above opined it was bad rubber from the factory….
For that matter, what is the deal with all consumables;
brake systems – type, pistons, fluid, pads
fuel
oil
are there any restrictions per mnf type in these areas?
Rossi will be getting the best gear now Lorenzo is jumping ship. There’ll be no excuses for Rossi when he loses the championship then.
Like he’s not getting the best of everything now…
At this point, whether you like Rossi or not, he doesn’t need to make excuses for anything.
I have a question. Is Rossi the only guy still on the grid who’s ever used Michelin tires?
He’s also the only guy who was racing back when they used horse-drawn buggies.
Lorenzo got to race on Michelins for his rookie MotoGP season in 2008. Pedrosa was also on them from 2006 to 2008.
I like Iannone’s passion but his continuing lack of remorse an unwillingness to accept any blame is repulsive & needs to be dealt with.
That was a great race. I was hoping Marquez would put the hammer down at the end giving us a real back and forth match to the finish line between himself and Rossi, but it was clear the tires didn’t have enough left. Can’t blame the guy a bit for backing off and taking second.
Iannone made another bonehead move in taking out the points leader like that. Surely the guy is going to be starting at the back of the grid next race? He seems to be making a habit of acting like a guided missile.
Guided, what a nice thing to say. 🙂 I like Iannone, so I hope he realizes to relax and use his powers for good.
A race down to at least the second to last lap. Clean passes by the top 2, and a respectful handshake in parc ferme.
I think this is what was needed and a nice break from the usual soap opera that has been Rossi/Marquez.
I hope we see more of this as the season goes on.
Are there no cumulative penalties under MotoGP race direction’s purview that have been codified and punish the actions of a rider like Iannone? I think this is at least his 3rd perhaps 4th or even 5th egregious act that has posed a high likelihood of catastrophe and risk of serious injury to other riders. I don’t really want to see a red card/yer out type of policy like soccer(football, pardon my French), but really, today’s bonehead move makes you wonder if Iannone is even in control of his faculties.
What we are witnessing here is the beginning of… the ITALIAN CONSPIRACY! Marquez better watch his six.
There is a system of penalty points in which a rider can accumulate enough to be suspended from racing. Rossi was given a couple for the kick-move ha put on Marquez last year. These points are handed out under the discretion of race referees so if an incident is deemed no fault, the rider doesn’t get dinged.
Jeremy, I think AI just wanted to let JL ride the Ducati before next seaon. If only for a second and if only just the front tire JL got to ride the Ducati this season.
Ha! Good one!
chuckle+2
Great, Suzy on the 4th!! way to go, eat that Ducati!
Being a fan is awesome, isn’t it Dirk.
LOL
WOW great racing! I was watching Lorenzo drop back and wondering if he was going to blame Michelin, or the weather man for making it so warm or his new helmet or? when BAM. He had a real excuse for not collecting points then.
Iannone will be starting last on the grid next race I’m thinking…or should be. People are going to quit remembering Simoncelli if he keeps this up.
Hey and Crutchlow finished a race on 2 wheels, in the top 10 even, Woo hoo.
Cmon Dani, you are better than this. Sure he got 3rd, but he should be fighting it out with Rossi and Marquez rather than being content to follow them home at a considerable distance.
I’m not sure Dani really is better than this anymore. He simply isn’t a front-runner threat now. He scores whatever points attrition and his Top Two bike hands him, and that’s it.
Whether it’s practice, qualifying, or racing, he doesn’t seem to be competing balls-out to beat his rivals; rather, he seems a bit too content to consolidate his comfortable second-group position.
Afraid you are right VLJ
The comments from the other three aliens are very telling, in that Dani is never mentioned anymore when they talk about the guys who will pose the biggest threats once the flag drops. Marquez and Lorenzo are always at the forefront of everyone’s concerns, as is Rossi, and even Iannone sometimes, and now Vinales’s name is popping up more and more.
Dani?
Nope. Never.
The other riders always know what’s going on.
They know Dani will be there. He’s always there. One of the 4 riders capable of winning on his top *4* bike.
How about Bautista?/From the back to 8th? Maybe the Aprilia will come around faster than expected.
They know Dani will be ~back~ there. He’s always ~back~ there.
No, he is always *up* there. Subjective opinion doesn’t change the fact that he’s won in MotoGP every single year of his career save his rookie season on a 125 and placed lower than 4th in the championship only twice in a 15 year career. Only Rossi and Lorenzo can compare among active riders.
Yes, which stands to reason, since only Dani has been granted that lengthy of a career on a Repsol Honda.
The guy just doesn’t seem to have much fight in him anymore. Ever since #93 took up residence across the garage, Dani has been all too willing to settle, to the point that he’s now a near-permanent fixture in the second pack of riders. The Big Four has become a Big Three, and Vinales and Iannone (when he can manage to remain upright) are threatening to punt Dani to the back of the Second Three.
He certainly doesn’t scare his teammate these days, nor the two factory Yamaha riders. This didn’t used to be the case.
Re: “Yes, which stands to reason, since only Dani has been granted that lengthy of a career on a Repsol Honda.”
The only other riders good enough to hold the seat either ride for Yamaha, or have retired.
Honda let *ROSSI* go. They want the fastest riders they can find, who will not overshadow the Honda brand. Dani has kept that ride so long because he fits that description perfectly.
Honda did not “let Rossi go.” Honda certainly wanted him to stay. Rossi chose to leave Honda, just as Lorenzo chose to leave Yamaha.
Teams do not sit in director’s chairs, letting the riders figure out where they want to go. They “let” Rossi decide to leave, by not compelling him to stay.
Incorrect. Just as Yamaha did their best (within reason) to compel Lorenzo to stay, so too did Honda, regarding Rossi. Once a rider’s contract is up, he’s a free agent. Honda wanted Rossi to stay. They attempted to resign him. He opted to move on to Yamaha.
Dani, always a bridesmaid, never the bride.
Damn, Pedrosa…what a slacker! Shameful! On the podium 6.313 secs. back. Obviously not competitive! Wow…Tough room!
Not sure why my comment above has been awaiting moderation for almost four hours. Sorry if I said something naughty.
just your turn in the barrel waitman, we all go thru it, has nothing to do with content.
What we are saying is Dani used to be a real threat to win the whole thing and often did. He would often get the hole shot and never be headed. In the last 2 seasons Dani has been winning what podiums he has been getting mostly thru attrition. He is not earning them with superior riding. Last year he could claim arm pump. This year he has no such excuse. Other than being first in the second pack and moving up when someone faster goes out for some reason. Like yesterday with Lorenzo. Without Lorenzo’s issues no way was Danny going to be spraying champagne yesterday.
Believe me if you have been around here for awhile you would know I am a Dani fan. But I want to see him fighting for a win, not cruising around relying on someone else’s misfortune to make his podiums.
Point taken Mickey. The only reason I thought you and VLJ were a bit cruel was that Dani was only gapped by 6 secs. Though not an immediate threat to leader, certainly better than second-pack. Plus according to Pedrosa, he was battling tire probs almost from the git-go. Maybe the years of racing experience have also brought a less “balls-out” style. I’ll give you that. I’m just across the river from Hayden’s hometown and I love Nicky but his Moto GP championship was certainly not an example of domination over the rest of the field. Point being, there may be something to be said for restraint and consistency. Remember that old joke about the young bull and the old bull standing on the hill surveying the herd of cows in the valley below…?
I’ve made the Hayden point myself multiple times in the past. Usually gets me berated by the Hayden homers who then go on a false tirade about Haydens lack of productivity due to Honda designing the bike around Pedrosa because he’s a Spaniard, but I digress.
Dani’s gap yesterday was 6 seconds only because Marquez backed off on the last lap when he realized second and 20 points was more valuable than crashing, especially with Lorenzo out.. otherwise it would have been more.
Dani is still better than all but 3 of the current crop of riders but then again, is it Dani or as VLJ says is it his Repsol Honda? Dani certainly has proven his talent over the years, but given his ride, he should be leading the others, and battling with his teammate and the Yamaha factory riders. Instead he is battling with the Ducatis and a Suzuki and barely winning that battle.
He doesn’t, and truthfully hasn’t in a long time, shown the fire to battle as we saw Rossi demonstrate yesterday coming from eighth to win in a very convincing manner.
I found out over the weekend that Home Depot considers “crap” to be profanity if used in a product review…I think this was covered in “Uncle Buck”…so your “damn” may have done it
Seems that he can’t ride the current version of the RCV and Maverick will take his place among the 4 best.
Maverick is not there yet. Out of 7 races so far this season he has only bested Pedrosa once (France) and that was by just one position.
Will be intersting to see next year when Lorenzo moves to the Ducati (who Dovi is having little luck with) and Vinales moves to the Yamaha. Michelin will have a whole year of experience building tires and the factories will figure ways around the spec ecu’s.
I thought Rossi’s best chance to wiin a 10th would have been last year, but it may just be this year or next. MotoGP, always thought provoking and entertaining.
Mickey, your comments on Rossi’s championship possibilities are spot-on. That’s exactly why I’m not giving up on Pedrosa. I remember many saying Rossi was finished. Just sayin’. I wish Dani had gone to Yamaha for 2017. Might have been a great rider/bike combination. We’ll never know. Not to split hairs but the most the gap from Rossi to Pedrosa could have been is 8.965 if I’m reading results correctly. And with Vinales 24 secs behind Dani maybe he decided, just as MM, that discretion is the better part of valor. 3rd place points beats stupid risk. No real disagreement with anything you’ve said, just a different perspective.
yes this normally astute MotoGP commenter was one of the ones who said Rossi was washed up when he went to Ducati. What was I thinking? Crow tastes awful.
My comments are usually spot-on although not everyone immediately recognizes that lol.
I guess you are right in that maybe Dani, not seeing the front runners, and not seeing the guy behind him, could have backed off, figuring nothing to gain, a lot to lose, but it is clearly apparent if you follow MotoGP much at all, that Dani has lost a step the last 2 years. I like the little guy a lot, root for him every week, wish he’d have won a championship or two as he has certainly deserved it, and he has never deserved the hatred that some people have held onto for a decade over sliding into Hayden in his rookie year 2006. Just hope he finds his footing again and swaps some paint at the end of some races with Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez where he belongs. Would be sad not seeing him standing on the top step again.
I won’t go so far as to say Pedrosa has washed up. Dani is one of those guys that still shows flashes of brilliance, now and then. Keep in mind that Marquez has also struggled these past couple of years with the Honda. While Marquez leads in the points right now, you can tell each race day that it requires monumental effort and a higher-than-average degree of risk (and Iannone’s tomahawking of Lorenzo) to achieve those results. It could well be the Honda’s issues are more detrimental to Pedrosa’s riding style.
I think it is a long shot to say that Pedrosa is ever going to win a championship, but I think he still has what it takes to dash the chances of several hopefuls once he gets his ride sorted out.
I’ve read that Dani’s troubles are related to his small stature and low body weight which makes the current Honda difficult for him. Too bad he did not take Lorenzo’s place as the handling characteristics of the Yamaha may suit him better.
I’m no JL fan, but AI is a moron. Knocking out the points leader after what he did earlier to AD should have resulted in a race ban.
I hope Suzuki is stocking up on fairings, frames, etc. for next year.
Who will be the next to be taken out by the self-proclaimed (appropriately on his ass) maniac?
Andrea Iannone needs to go ride a pocket bike in some abandoned parking lot by himself. The guy is a disaster on two wheels when he plays with others.
Iannone taking out Lorenzo was nonsense but love seeing him loose the points.
I was enjoying watching Maverick ride and was hoping he would be on the podium.
Rossi ran that race cool, calm and collected. Would like to see him win the series before he retires.
Having a nice Sunday morning, Hot Dog? Didja go online and purchase a neon yellow t-shirt or two, perchance?
I gently wept as Rossi pulled away, knowing that in the bottom of my T-shirt drawer is a “46” rag that I had to wear the rest of the day. Oh, the shame and humiliation. Rossi ran a good race and MM was right there until his tires started to go away. It was great to see Rossi and MM shake hands in the winners circle. I wonder how JLo could refrain from smoking Crazy Joe when he got up off the ground. I was expecting to see a little “NASCAR rumble” after that stupid mistake.
I never thought it would go that far, but wouldn’t that have been tremendous? Lorenzo pulling himself up from the gravel and charging straight at Iannone, impotent fists ablaze, the ensuing blur of tumbling blue and red resembling a couple of Siamese fighting fish going at it.
If Iannone keeps this up, it will happen. Lorenzo probably won’t be the one to snap, but someone will.
Over at superbikeplanet.com, the editor made a great point regarding Iannone, his penchant for torpedoing people from behind, and his upcoming suspension…
“Iannone will start from the back of the grid at Assen, the next round of the championship. Which is an interesting penalty, being that he will be forced to pass a dozen riders from behind, if he does well.”
If nothing else, Ianonne makes for great theater.
“Impotent fists ablaze…fighting fish” – this is the funniest thing I’ve read today, and since I’m going to bed now, I think this means you win the internet
Iannone is a crackup.
Rossi looked like he found the setup in the morning warm-up. That and the forecast for warmer temperatures probably swung things his way. He seems to be the best with the harder compound Michelins on greasy hot surfaces this year.
Lorenzo clearly struggled today. Was clear to see with Vinales closing on him mid-corner at almost every turn. Eventually got a nice “thanks for taking my seat next year” from Iannone. Fortunately neither got hurt much (afaik) and it opens up the championship a tad.
Ride of the day, for me, would probably be Marquez. The revised layout helped him a little, no doubt, but he still had to get into all sorts of erotic shapes just trying to keep Rossi honest in the race. HRC boys were showing him the same “Loren KO” board lap after lap. He eventually settled after that last mistake which cost him half a second on the penultimate lap, but still a very impressive ride considering how rowdy the Honda has been. Also nice gesture swapping his number around after the race to honor Salom.
“he still had to get into all sorts of erotic shapes just trying to keep Rossi honest in the race.”
Hmmm. They allow that in MotoGP? Well, okay, I suppose you’re allowed to get a bit jiggy wid’ it at your home race.
Ride of the day goes to VR. Drifted backwards at the start then passed Mr. Unpassable for the win.
Just never know, that’s racing!