The Doctor added a 114th
victory to his career win tally with an emphatic triumph in the Grand Prix of
Catalunya, despite falling as low as ninth on the opening lap. Rossi fought off
Marc Marquez in their first proper bar to bar tussle since Sepang last year,
this time, not only did they make it to the chequered flag unscathed, but the
fierce rivals even shook hands afterwards sharing genuine smiles.
Dani Pedrosa finished just a few
seconds in arrears to round out the podium, all donning matching black shirts carrying
a tribute to fallen Moto2 rider Luis Salom, whose death in a practice crash on
Friday cast a pall over the meeting. Jack Miller claimed the best finish of his
MotoGP career so far with a smart and speedy ride from the back row of the
grid, fighting his way into 10th on the last lap.
But for reigning world champion
Jorge Lorenzo, the day was a disaster. Lorenzo rocketed into the lead from the
start and looked pissed to turn in another of his trademark lights to flag
demonstrations. But the No. 99 Yamaha failed to creep more than a few bike
lengths ahead of the pack, a charging Rossi dispensing with his teammate before
the end of the seventh lap. From there Lorenzo sank like a stone, appearing to
be struggling for grip from his Michelin front tyre.
Andrea Lannone added to his misery
by crashing them both out of the race on the Lap 17. Marquez kept within a
second of Rossi once they hit the lead and began to close in as the halfway
point neared. Marquez now leads the standings once again, 10 Markers ahead of
Lorenzo while Rossi sits a further 12 adrift in third.
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