Andrea Dovizioso dominated the San Marino GP, round 13 of the MotoGP World Championship, which was held today at the Misano circuit in Italy. At his home race, the rider from Forlì started from row 2, then overtook his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to move into the lead on the sixth lap. He held the position right until the end of the race, taking the chequered flag 2.8 seconds ahead of Marquez.
Jorge Lorenzo, who started from the front row after yesterday’s pole in qualifying, had an unfortunate race. The Spanish rider led for the first five laps and after being passed by Dovizioso, was involved in a terrific battle with Marquez. Two laps from the end, while lying second, Jorge crashed at the Quercia corner, after which he got back on his Desmosedici machine to finish the GP in seventeenth place.
It was a tough day for Michele Pirro on the third Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Test Team. Michele, who started from row 5, finished the race in fifteenth place.
Thanks to today’s win, Andrea Dovizioso moves up to second place in the Riders’ standings with 154 points, 67 from Marquez, while Lorenzo drops to fourth with 130 points. Ducati remain second in the Manufacturers’ standings with 233 points, cutting the gap to Honda to 23 points.
The next MotoGP round is the Aragón GP, scheduled to take place on 21-23 September at the Motorland Aragón circuit on the outskirts of Alcañiz.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“I wanted this win so badly, because here at Misano Ducati and I have always struggled in recent years. In the test in August however we realized that we had made an important step forward and we could be competitive in the race. We worked really well during the weekend, in very different conditions, but both Jorge and Marc are very strong here so to win I had to do a perfect race. I started off in the right frame of mind, fully focussed on the race strategy, and when I took the lead, I pulled out a small advantage and then managed the situation until the finish. I’m really pleased, because winning here at Misano was very important for Ducati but also for me. Years ago it seemed like an impossible dream, but now we’ve done it and it fills me with so much satisfaction.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 17th
“It wasn’t the race we were expecting, even though we were competitive, and I think that we could have fought for the win. Today it was much warmer than the last few days and the grip wasn’t ideal, so we had to chose harder tyres than what I usually like. I suffered a lot under braking because I was unable to stop the bike, the front was turning in on me and the situation was very difficult to manage. This was the main reason why I crashed: I had to push more than usual because I had lost too much time battling with Marquez and Andrea had taken advantage to break away. Now we have to analyze the data well to understand how to improve the bike and be even quicker in the next races.”
Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team #51) – 15th
“The positive thing about today is that Andrea won the race and Jorge fought for the win until the very end, so a Ducati 1-2 was surely on the cards. As for me, I think I ruined my race with a bad start and I crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in twentieth place. From then on it was all difficult and even though I was able to make up a few places, I began to suffer physically in the last few laps. In the end I’m pleased to see that after my Mugello crash, I’m still fast and I think that in the future we can again fight for the top places.”
Claudio Domenicali (CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.)
“Winning here at Misano has a special flavour, because we are just down the road in Bologna and we can count on fantastic support. We’re going through a fantastic period at the moment because we’ve won the last three races with both our riders. Today Andrea was simply irresistible and clear-headed on the track: he was capable of managing the race well, kept an excellent pace and pushed hard when it was necessary. It’s a pity about Jorge, who did a great race and who deserved a podium. We were close to another Ducati 1-2, with just a few kilometres to go before the finish, but in any case today we’re very happy and I’d like to thank all those who support us from home as well as all the fans who help us get through the difficult moments and everyone working at Borgo Panigale to produce this truly extraordinary bike. We hadn’t won at this track since the Stoner days, proving that Misano has always been a difficult circuit for our bikes, which are very strong in acceleration and braking. Winning here shows what a complete and mature rider Dovizioso is, but it also demonstrates the excellent overall set-up of our bike. Finally, I’d like to compliment all our engineers, and give a big consolation hug to Jorge, who for sure is pretty disappointed at this moment, as well as one to Dovi who did a really extraordinary race.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“We have to be happy both with this result and the performance of our bike. We did a great job over the weekend both on a technical level and with our riders. Dovizioso won after disputing a great race, and Lorenzo, despite his crash, did a wonderful race that thrilled me because he made some spectacular passes on other riders. To win both in Mugello and at Misano in the same season is something really special.”
Too bad there wasn’t much action in this race. Dovi had it figured out. Hats off too him. I wish Jorge could have stayed in it, but you can’t blame the guy for pushing to close the gap to the lead in the last laps: he’s got nothing to lose.
I was impressed with Rins. He had to run most of the race in map 2 (assuming he followed the communication from his team) and still managed 4th.