After taking the checkered flag with a comfortable gap over his Yamaha teammate, Maverick Viñales won the Argentina MotoGP event earlier today. Viñales has a perfect 50 points in the championship, having won each of the first two races of the year.
Behind Viñales, a fierce battle ensued between Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and Cal Crutchlow (Honda), with Rossi ultimately taking second place, and Crutchlow finding the last spot on the podium.
It was a difficult day for several stars, as Factory Honda teammates Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa both crashed out, as did Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati). Marquez crashed early in the race while leading, and Lorenzo went down in the first corner after being hit by Andrea Iannone’s Suzuki.
Defending champ Marquez has already dug a huge hole for himself in the championship, as he is now tied for 8th position with only 13 points following a fourth place finish at Qatar and a DNF today. Here are the full results from Argentina:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 172.6 | 41’45.060 | |
| 2 | 20 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 172.4 | +2.915 | |
| 3 | 16 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda | Honda | 172.4 | +3.754 | |
| 4 | 13 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 172.2 | +6.523 | |
| 5 | 11 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 171.6 | +15.504 | |
| 6 | 10 | 94 | Jonas FOLGER | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 171.4 | +18.241 | |
| 7 | 9 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 171.2 | +20.046 | |
| 8 | 8 | 45 | Scott REDDING | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 170.9 | +25.480 | |
| 9 | 7 | 43 | Jack MILLER | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 170.9 | +25.665 | |
| 10 | 6 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 170.8 | +26.403 | |
| 11 | 5 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 170.8 | +26.952 | |
| 12 | 4 | 53 | Tito RABAT | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 169.8 | +41.875 | |
| 13 | 3 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 169.7 | +42.770 | |
| 14 | 2 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 169.7 | +43.085 | |
| 15 | 1 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 169.7 | +43.452 | |
| 16 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 169.5 | +46.219 | ||
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | Ducati | 171.6 | 11 Laps | |||
| 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 171.5 | 11 Laps | |||
| 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 171.8 | 12 Laps | |||
| 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 168.1 | 14 Laps | |||
| 42 | Alex RINS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 164.8 | 14 Laps | |||
| 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 171.8 | 22 Laps | |||
| 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati Team | Ducati | 0 Lap | ||||
See more of MD’s great photography:
Maverick VIÑALES is the best rider
I totally get how if Iannone is in a crash the presumption that he was at fault just is automatic. It is hard to imagine that Lorenzo took out Maniac Joe, but he did. I don’t have as much optimism about Marquez’ ability to salvage this year as many of the rest of you do, but it will be fun to watch him try. Dovi appears able to compete, Crutchlow is able to compete. We may not get 9 winners this season, but it should get shaken up a bit.
Lorenzo’s Ducati hit Iannone’s Suzuki – Not the other way around…………..
Um. Does anyone know if Rossi and/or anyone else used “the tire”?
Watching Vinales on the Suzuki last year, I thought this could happen if given the “right” bike. But 2 races don’t make a season. We shall see. Rossi probably won’t be sending him a Christmas card this year. But maybe a burning bag of dog s%#t on his front porch.
Did you watch this race video, to the end, including the trophy presentations on the podium? All three including Rossi, Crutchlow, and Vinales, got along splendidly, like best friends.
Right now its fun and games. If this trend continues, Rossi will do what he has always done. Treat him like he has the plague. Look at Rossi’s past. He’s done it a few times before before.
On a different note, I would like to thank Dirck for continuing to provide us with this consistently excellent site. In addition to all the real-world ride reviews, including the best photography on the interwebs (it’s not even close), these comments sections also produce some of the best race discussions on the net.
Dirck, forgive me if this question has already been asked and answered, but have you ever considered adding dedicated discussion forums to this site? Perhaps there could be one forum set up for bike reviews, another for industry news and rumors, another for racing, and still another for general motorcycling discussions. Heck, we could even have one set up just for Norm G. and his legions of Alpinestar-clad acolytes: “NATCORK and Other Wilford Brimley-Inspired Moto-Acronyms and Aphorisms.”
Seriously, a section for discussion forums is the only thing this site lacks. I suspect that many of your regular contributors would greatly appreciate the additional user-friendliness of such forums, plus they would serve as a cool sort of daily stop-in/virtual parts counter for water cooler talk among the MD lifers here.
Anyway, just a thought.
Thanks again for the great site.
Thanks for the kind words. Funny you should ask … we have a Forum section on its way.
I know I certainly appreciate how good this site is and how thought provoking the mostly civil conversations are. I have come to value the opinions of many of the regular posters, even if I don’t always agree with them. Considering the posters here cover a 60 year span it’s amazing how close we are on so many subjects yet so far apart on so many others.
My complaints anout this site would center around the crazy moderation thing, how you can click on a new reply, but if it’s to a response to a post to an older comment how it won’t go right to it, and how you have to read every post several times to see if any new comments were added to other peoples comments.
But still top notch site that I have come to daily for years ( does that make me an MD lifer? Lol)
Yes, it does. You are definitely one of the lifers here.
🙂
If I’m a gonna be a lifer, this is the place to be.
Thumbs up on the forums!!
(Trpldog arrives to Vietnam)
re: “If I’m a gonna be a lifer, this is the place to be.”
look, it’s pretty basic here. you stick with me, you learn from the guys who’ve been “in country” awhile you’ll be alright… now, go shake down your gear, see the platoon sergeant and draw what you need for the field, if you’re hungry…? Dirk’s got steaks burning right over here.
oh, and two standing orders in this platoon, #1 take good care of your MotoIQ. #2, try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed. (Lt. Dan with cigar in one hand, roll of toilet paper in the other)
Nice try, Dirk. I know it’s really you. 😉
Agreed, great reviews, opinion posts, and one of the few troll-free places left on the internet!
re: “Heck, we could even have one set up just for Norm G.”
FISTPUMP…!!!
http://tinyurl.com/kl9ft4d
(insert “Leaping Lorenzo” podium image here. you know, from back when he had a snowball’s chance of winning something)
What was your comment the other day regarding Dani? Cruel but funny at the same time?
Echo that on your Lorenzo statement above
I would be careful to annoit maverick the championship after just two races. It is a long season with momentum shifts and MM can rip off wins back to back faster than probably any rider out there. .
Since both Marquez & Pedrosa suddenly both went down inexplicably, I’m thinking there’s a handling issue on their new Hondas that their crew doesn’t understand how to overcome yet. Crutchlow has complained his same Honda handles like crap but somehow he was able to keep it upright this race. If Marquez isn’t able to win @ Cota next we’ll know the Honda has an issue even Marquez can’t overcome.
The Honda may not dance around corners the way the Yamaha does, but I don’t think this was the issue in Marquez and Pedrosa crashes. Looking at the slo-mo, there seems to be a corkscrew type of camber in those side-to-side corners. Both riders went hot into the first corner then initiated lean on the second while cresting that small camber transition. To me this is pilot error even if the Hondas are less forgiving.
I agree. You know there are bumps there. You have to be more vertical before hitting those bumps and getting on the gas or the brake. I would argue that the circuit should tear up the corner and rebuild it for motorcycles.
re: “Marquez & Pedrosa suddenly both went down inexplicably”
NOT inexplicably.
re: “I’m thinking there’s a handling issue on their new Hondas that their crew doesn’t understand how to overcome yet.”
yup it’s called DMF (Dodgy Michelin Fronts) we’ve seen this movie.
correct… that corner provides a lot of rolling bumps and both riders were pushing. You could see as was mentioned in slow mow that that back and forth with full braking caught them out. Something you know about as a racer / rider and have to ride around or simply not PUSH in that corner. He had a practice crash there as well.
Too back, but it will bake the rest of the season pretty stellar with him riding in a take no prisoners mode!
TX might make him healthy again!
And Dani has just passed Zarco and had set the fastest lap the previous lap and was pushing to try and catch up with Rossi who was running third.
Unfortunately, as we saw a couple of seasons back, when MM is in “take no prisoners mode”, i.e. trying to make up a points deficit, he tends to overcook things and crash. So my instinct is that he will do exactly that. As long as the Yamaha avoids the dreaded mechanical DNF, I just don’t see them being denied the title this season.
Jorge screwed up, can’t blame Iannone. Dovi had some bad luck. The British announcers were especially good today for all 3 classes. Great show.
Honest. No hyperbole. If I owned Dorna, I would charge that British announcer a huge financial fee each time he uses the word “absolutely,” which he screams “AAAAB-so-LEEUTE-LY!” Add moderate dynamic compression, and it’s painful on a good audio system.
Jorge didn’t screw up. He had back luck too. It’s the kind of thing you see a couple of times in every Mot2 and Moto3 race. Racing that close, there’s no time to react.
Didn’t screw up huh? Seems like he was doing quite well at Yamaha. He screwed the pooch.
wonder what it’s like to watch the whiz kid racking up wins on your old bike, while you are digging trenches or racing back markers.
Now he knows what Rossi felt like for those 2 years.
Thoughts on the championship following the winter tests and the first two rounds of racing…
Vinales is downright scary, in that he looks to have the potential to turn this season into a Johnny Rea-on-a-Kawasaki WSB year, or something like #93’s 2014 season of utter dominance. So far, nothing has fazed #25. He’s been the fastest at every track, regardless of the conditions. He also doesn’t look like he’s taking many chances or pushing past his comfort zone. He looks relaxed and fully under control. He looks like he can go faster, if need be.
Like I said…scary.
Marquez suddenly finds himself fighting an uphill battle against a younger opponent, which must seem deliciously fitting to everyone else in the paddock. Marc has never lost in America, and this next race in Texas is already nearly a do-or-die proposition for his championship chances. If Vinales shatters his aura of invincibility in America, look for an increasingly desperate #93 to revert back to his reckless, win-it-or-bin-it ways of 2015.
I expect Marc to bounce back and take Austin, but wouldn’t be surprised to see everything unravel there for him in response to the pressure exerted on him by #25.
Meanwhile, #46 just continues to roll along, still his usual fast, consistent self, at least come race day, anyway. The rest of of the paddock has to be thinking, “Wtf?! Again? The guy didn’t ever make it straight into Q1, and now this? Won’t this old man ever go away?”
It really is remarkable, the way Valentino can struggle so mightily every session, right up until that defining moment when he needs to pull a fast lap out of his ass just to afford himself a decent chance on Sunday. Then, once the flag drops on race day, it never seems to matter where he’s gridded. Whether he’s on pole or shuffled back into the third row, he always manages to avoid any major early-scrum mishaps, and soon he’s right there at the pointy end of the spear. Every race, rain or dry, fast track, tight track, tires be damned. Every race. It’s simply uncanny.
And he’s doing all this despite clearly not getting along with the front end of his 2017 M1. At his current pace he won’t beat Maverick, but if he finds that last bit of missing feel, hey, there he is once again, the most consistent rider and most dangerous threat to the series points leader. If Maverick runs into any difficulties, #46 is poised to pick up the pieces. Even if Maverick doesn’t fall off, Valentino is already right there with him. The way Rossi is going, Maverick may need a flawless season in order to hold him off.
Speaking of falling off, how are things going in Gigi Land? Dovi remains the King of Hard Luck, piling up crash after crash that wasn’t his fault, while #99 looks like he’d rather be somewhere, anywhere, than sitting astride that bedeviling red bike as his old blue bike and every other red bike makes mincemeat of him.
He will eventually find himself on that bike, but only in an Andrea Iannoni manner of too little, too late. Plan on a lot more very bad finishes and DNFs from #99, sprinkled in amid the occasional flashes of brilliance. The one thing Lorenzo needs right now is the one thing he doesn’t have, which is his former teammate’s confounding ability to zip cleanly through congested traffic at the beginning of a race, rendering moot his mid-pack starting positions. When Jorge starts mid-pick he usually ends there, or worse, and he’s going to start mid-pack a lot this year.
Besides the obvious comet streaking across the sky that is Maverick Vinales, the other star of this early season so far is Johann Zarco. He is clearly the real deal. He is not intimidated by the moment, or by anything else. He is also stupidly fast. More importantly, he’s willing to hang it out and ride raggedly when needed, which goes against his reputation as a methodical, cautious, precise technician, along the lines of an Andrea Dovizioso.
Nope. Zarco has a bit of #93’s assassin spirit mixed in with his placid facade. He’s a monster, and will only get better as he cements his place in the MotoGP hierarchy.
Dani? Invisible as always. He’s like the taupe wallpaper of MotoGP. Think Alvaro Bautista, with a better bike and fewer crashes.
The guy I’m still waiting on is Andrea Iannoni. Before all is said and done, he’s going to make some noise in this championship. He always does, and he’s shown signs of life this season, too. If only he wasn’t such a meathead, that guy would be straight-up terrifying.
Taking last season into account, along with what’s gone on so far this season, it looks like the four guys who will be there just about every weekend are Vinales, Rossi, Marquez, and Crutchlow. I might also add Zarco, and maybe Dovi, if only #04 didn’t have such buzzard’s luck, but definitely those first four guys will be the main players.
There are three key questions that must be answered, which will determine the outcome of this championship…
-Will the pressure of Vinales’s ascendancy force Marquez into do-or-die mode, which will result in spectacular racing but also Marc’s undoing?
-Will Vinales run into any trouble whatsoever, anywhere?
-If #25 doesn’t run into any trouble and remains as consistently fast and productive as he’s been so far, will #46 find what’s missing and pick up the extra bit of confidence and speed necessary to beat his teammate?
” The one thing Lorenzo needs right now…” is a setting package that makes new Ducati behave exactly like his old Yamaha.
Interesting take on Zarco. I’ve read lately that he’s a clinician more than an assassin. I didn’t get to watch him much in moto2.
Even if Jorge was still on his old Yamaha, it wouldn’t have made a difference these first two races. He still would’ve started mid-pack and remained mired in traffic, because both race weekends were plagued with poor weather. Ever since his horrific wet-weather highside crash a couple/few years ago that broke his collarbone and shattered his confidence, the moment Lorenzo pokes his head out of his trailer and sees anything but blue sky and puffy white clouds the guy simply checks out mentally and throws in the towel that weekend.
like a groundhog, but all summer long…
Well stated and about right I think.
Q: Will the pressure of Vinales’s ascendancy force Marquez into do-or-die mode(?)
A: no.
you can’t force the kid into what is already his DEFAULT SETTING.
re: “He’s like the taupe wallpaper of MotoGP.”
OMG, that is both brutal and hysterical at the same time. lol
I agree that ‘do-or-die’ is Marc’s default setting, but last year he showed the maturity necessary to resist his usual inclinations. I think we saw the first sign yesterday that the arrival of #25 as a serious threat may trigger #93’s desire to abandon last year’s more prudent tactics and throw caution to the wind. Notice how hard he was pushing to make an immediate break, and contrast that mindset with that of Vinales’s in Qatar, and again in Argentina. Vinales knew he had the pace, but he opted to settle in and avoid pushing it early in the race, confident that the leaders would come back to him in due time.
This level of maturity at such a young age is what makes Maverick particularly scary, and it’s what allowed Marc to secure the title last season. The difference is, and it’s like you said, it’s not Marc’s default setting, whereas I believe this is exactly how #25 is wired.
Thanks VLJ for taking the time to do such a nice post.
Until he bit it, Marquez looked exceptionally strong. I think they’ve figured something out with the bike setup that will see the young champ raining on Vinales parade in races to come. Those two are going to push each other to the limit and beyond. Heck that might give Rossi his best chance in a while to win the title so long as he remains fast and consistent which never seems to be a problem for Rossi.
Zarco is certainly a clinician… whose patients mysteriously die on the operating table. I think the only people that wouldn’t describe him as an assassin are the ones who didn’t really follow him in Moto2. He’s just more of a knife guy where someone like Marquez prefers drive-by shootings. Of all the racers in all of the classes last year, I probably enjoy watching Zarco race the most. I didn’t know if that dynamic style of his would transfer to MotoGP intact, and I am glad to see it did. As a big fan of his, I hope to see him on a factory bike in a couple of years. I suspect Repsol Honda will have an opening.
I agree with you about Iannone. His skills are underappreciated in my opinion. Like Marquez, he has a knack for getting on an uncooperative bike and doing amazing things with it. With a proper weapon, he’d be chasing the championship with the rest of them. Suzuki will sort things out enough that we will see Iannone on the podium more than once this year I think.
Ducati wants their winglets back. And their $14 million.
Iannone certainly has the talent and fire to contend for a championship, given competitive equipment. I don’t know, however, that he has the necessary gray matter between the ears. He seems too impetuous, too imperious, too much of a loose cannon. Winning a MotoGP title often as not requires equal parts speed and smarts; Iannoni appears to have an abundance of the former and a decided lack of the latter, which will likely prevent him from ever fulfilling the promise of his potential.
Honestly, I think his apparent lack of gray matter is more a reflection of his bike, not an inability to come up with and commit to a race day strategy. If you ride a factory Honda or Yamaha, a rider can afford to play the patience game. If you ride any other bike – and you want to win – you have to swing for the fences every single time. You’re not going to win the championship, so the top of the podium is the only shot at glory. I think Iannone would appear to be a “smarter” rider if he were on a bike that could win championships.
behold beholders, what Texas Jeremy (Burgess) has just articulated using 107 words is nothing less than…
(wait for it)
the Law of NATCORK.
see, TXJ gets it.
Great post – agree with pretty well everything you said.
One question – what was up with Crutchlow’s comments re “managing the situation” and lights on his dashboard? Is that a traction control problem or some other issue?
On Zarco – I can’t think of another rookie in recent memory who has run in the top 5 in the first 2 races of his MotoGP career except for MM. I expect good things from him including challenging for the title.
VLJ – May be one of the best comments ever!
Must be said. Valentino, he be the GOAT.
One more time. Valentino he be the GOAT.
Well, the MotoGP GOAT yes. Before then?? Its up for debate.
One more time – “VR is the second fastest rider in his team”.
It’s been quite a while now. A decade? Maybe that’s why he went to Ducati – to be the number 1 rider in a team again.
Quite a while? A decade, you say?
Try again. It’s only been about six months. If you will recall, not only did Rossi finish ahead of his teammate last year, but also two of the last three seasons, and it very easily could (should) have been a clean three-for-three sweep.
+1, if Marquez hadn’t gotten into Rossi 2 years ago, he’d have won the championship.
I think you mean if Marquez hadn’t gotten into Rossi’s head 2 years ago, he would have at least had a chance to win the championship.
“and Lorenzo went down in the first corner after being hit by Andrea Iannone’s Suzuki”
I thought I saw Lorenzo run into the back of Iannone.
You’re right, Lorenzo hits Iannone
Yep, no way to blame Iannone for that one. He was on line and accelerating normally when Lorenzo inexplicably ran into him from behind.
Yep, no way to blame Iannone for that one. He was on line and accelerating normally when Lorenzo inexplicably ran into him from behind.
Your version is correct, the article is not.
Could not be happier for Maverick Vinales.
I viewd MM’s solo crash about a dozen times. The best I can tell is MM totally lost concentration for a fraction of a second, like he was not even on the bike, followed by his low side. Maybe too much braking force when he started his lean?
I suspect MM felt mental pressure of Vinales behind him, especially after MV’s competence in Qatar. From my perspective it appears MV has, more so than any other rider, an icy steeled spirit for mortal helmet to helmet combat. I suspect Repsol’s Honda team noticed the same, hence MM’s motivation to make his insurmountable lead, followed by the crash. Maybe MM rightly views MV as having too much advantage in a passing duel.
I’m happily surprised to see MV eliminate any chance of MM sleeping his way through the next decade of MotoGP Championships!
It was great to see the three podium winners have such a good time together in celebration. Can’t remember it being like that with MM or Jorge Lorenzo up there (remember him?).
I loved the announcers line when Lorenzo was walking back to his garage ” Lorenzo looks like he just won the lottery, but lost the ticket”. Lol
Yeah, that was a “cracking good” one liner!
re: “Lorenzo went down in the first corner after being hit by Andrea Iannone’s Suzuki.”
maybe what he meant to say was Andrea DOVISIOSO went down after being hit by Espargaro’s Aprilia…?
dunno…?
Correct… the Lorenzo Iannone deal was nothing more then 16 bikes being jammed in a corner with similar projectories and them accidently touching. Watching Patruchi holding Pedrosa up for 1/2 the race… priceless.
Craig – Hearing the riders cry about it afterwards was almost as good.