Sunday, 24 April 2016

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Spain

All Weekend the leading three were in a league of their own. Rossi, Lorenzo, and Marquez had filled the top three spots of almost every practice session and lined up next to each other on the front row of the grid. The three biggest names in MotoGP were alongside each other once more and everything in practice had indicated that there was almost nothing to choose between them.
As is typical of the Spanish GP, the grid was packed with mechanics, guests and officials but the riders did their best to block it out and run through their race plans. With all three on the same hard front and medium rear tyres, managing tyre life could very well decide the race but those concerns would came later. Race can’t be won in the first corner, but they can certainly be lost.

Across the line they went as the second lap began as the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP pair stretched their lead. Marquez attacked Pedrosa into Turn 6, running wide as his line was blocked. Through Turn 9 Lorenzo launched a similar attack on Rossi, the Italian holding off his teammate as the Hondas clawed back the gap with Marquez now in third.

After a terrible start to the race, lannone set about making up for lost time and quickly got past Pol Espargaro and ran away with seventh place. This would be one of the last battles of the race as the field stretched out, only a handful of riders within a second of each other. For the 113th time in his career and the 87th time in the premier class, Valentino Rossi pulled a wheelie across the line to celebrate victory. Behind him Jorge Lorenzo took his 100th premier class podium finish and Marquez was able to keep the lead of the championship, his lead reduced slightly to 17 points.

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