MotoGP 2020: Danilo Petrucci wins French MotoGP

 A wet race at Le Mans saw Danilo Petrucci take the top spot. He finished 2.1 seconds ahead of Moto2 World Champion Alex Marquez, who delivered a wonderful ride to finish P2 having started from P18 on the grid. The final podium spot was taken by Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), followed by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), and Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) finished P9 and lower.

The race was delayed due to the thick grey clouds over the track and tensions climbed in the time between the sighting lap and the race being declared wet, which made it a completely unfamiliar territory for two top riders – Quartararo and Mir. The riders could come at any time to swap to their dry-weather bikes. Miller and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) had a lightning start but it was an early end for Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as he crashed at Turn 3. The front was soon a Ducati 1-2-3.

Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was battling with Quartararo and eventually found a way past, with the Frenchman dropping back down the order at a rate of knots. Crutchlow and Bradley Smith maneuvered their way past Quartararo before Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was through at Turn 13. Oliveira and Quartararo were wide though and shooting through was Alex Marquez, the Repsol Honda Team rider producing a stunning first opening few laps in his first wet MotoGP race to get into P8. 

A quick Championship check with 18 laps to go saw Quartararo in P11 and Mir sitting P19, with Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) also outside the points – a golden opportunity for Dovizioso and Miller, as well as the rest to get themselves right back in the 2020 title hunt.

German MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Marc Marquez completes a decade of dominance at the Sachsenring after cruising to a 4.5 second victory at the 2019 HJC Helmets Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland; the reigning Champion makes it 10 wins in a row in Germany to beat Maverick Vinales and Cal Crutchlow.

Marquez was sluggish off the line and it looked like he would get swallowed up heading into Turn 1 but the number 93 was last of the late brakers to dive back into the lead. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) slipped back from second to sixth at the start as Vinales, Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Rins and Crutchlow all got past the Frenchman. And then, Quartararo race ended at Turn 3. The rookie went to get back past Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci on Lap 2 but the front of his Yamaha washed away from him as the 20-year-old crashed out of a race for the first time this season.

Marquez was in the groove as the seven-time Champion showed exactly why the Sachsenring is his playground. The Repsol Honda man wasn’t powering away at a rapid rate, but a tenth a lap on Laps 8 and 9 saw his lead go up to 1.5, but then the hammer was well and truly down. Lap 10 saw Marquez go 0.4 faster than Rins as the gap rose above the two-second barrier and from then on, there was no stopping the nine-time Sachsenring winner.

The battle for the second and third steps on the podium was on though. Crutchlow was shadowing Vinales who in turn was sitting a second back from Rins, with the gap remaining constant between the trio as we passed the mid-stage of the race. At this point, the battle for fifth place was also hotting up as Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Petrucci were going head-to-head with fellow GP19 rider Miller, Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aleix Espargaro.

Catalan MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez dominated the Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona, after a crash for his Honda teammate Jorge Lorenzo took Andrea Dovizioso and the two factory Yamahas out of the race. Lorenzo, who had charged from 10th on the grid to join the lead battle, fell at the sharp Turn 10 left-hander while trying to pass Maverick Vinales, taking down his compatriot, as well as Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi in the process.

Marquez overtook pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo off the line, but yielded to a fast-starting Dovizioso at Turn 1, and was soon also briefly overtaken by Vinales. Having regained second place, the championship leader pressured Dovizioso, and snuck past the Ducati man on the second lap at Turn 10. At that same corner, Lorenzo committed down the inside of Vinales for third place but hit the deck on corner entry. His bike clattered into Dovizioso rear, and the resulting crash removed both Vinales and Rossi – who had gone wide to avoid the pile-up - from the race.

The crash left Marquez on his own up front, and promoted Ducati's Danilo Petrucci to second place, the Italian unable to keep pace with the Honda man but managing to fend off both Suzuki's Alex Rins and Quartararo, who had been as low as ninth after the opening lap. On the 10th lap, Rins launched his bike down the inside of Petrucci at Turn 1, briefly getting ahead but running wide on exit, allowing Petrucci to sweep around the outside of Turn 2.

Rins recovered to fourth, passing the fading Pramac Ducati of Jack Miller on the final lap, with Miller keeping the other Suzuki of Joan Mir at bay at the line. Pol Espargaro was the lead KTM in seventh, while his works teammate Johann Zarco rounded out the top 10, the pair split by LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami and Avintia Ducati's Tito Rabat. Aprilia's Andrea Iannone, Tech 3 KTM's Miguel Oliveira and Suzuki wildcard Sylvain Guintoli completed the list of 13 finishers.

Italian MotoGP 2019: Danilo Petrucci takes maiden victory

Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci secured his maiden MotoGP victory on home soil at Mugello after edging out Marc Marquez at the conclusion of a thrilling Italian Grand Prix. Petrucci held on in a tense showdown, beating Honda rider Marquez by only 0.043 seconds on the drag to the finish line, with Andrea Dovizioso making it two Ducati’s on the podium in third.

It marked the first win on his 125th start in the premier class for 28-year-old Petrucci, who replaced Jorge Lorenzo at the factory Ducati team for 2019. Petrucci led much of the second half of the race after he hit the front of the field at the start of the 11th lap of 23, as a pack of five riders broke clear of the rest following a chaotic first half.

Dovizioso, Marquez, Alex Rins and Jack Miller all followed in Petrucci's wake, but the Pramac rider crashed out of fifth spot. Petrucci briefly ceded the lead to team-mate Dovizioso at San Donato at the start of lap 20, but the less experienced Ducati rider was able to wrestle back the advantage later that lap at Scarperia. Dovizioso was able to draft back ahead to lead the final lap, but found himself squeezed by Marquez - who benefitted from a double tow on the outside and Petrucci on the inside.

In the morning, Petrucci rode a 1min 46.056sec lap, surpassing the previous record achieved by seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi last year. Dovizioso established a new outright speed record in MotoGP, clocking 356.7km/h in the third practice, to overtake the mark of 356.5 km/h also achieved at Mugello last year.

French MotoGP 2019: Marc Marquez wins

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez of Honda secured another win this season after a dominant run in the 2019 MotoGP French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The Japanese factory team secured its 300th premier class win, 53 years after taking Jim Redman took it’s first-ever at Hockenheim. While Marquez made a strong run right from the opening lap, it was Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso who showed immense grit through the race to finish at P2, despite some close competition with teammate Danilo Petrucci in the final stages. Dovizioso fended off Petrucci by 0.158s to take second, while Pramac Ducati's Jack Miller and Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi rounded up the top five.

The 2019 French GP opened with Marquez on the pole with Petrucci second and Miller third, while Dovizioso started from P4. Petrucci had the better start but it was Marquez who had the better line on the first turn and took the race lead. Meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli if Petronas Yamaha and Pol Espargaro of KTM had moved up the order while Dovizioso was pushed down to seventh ahead of Honda's Jorge Lorenzo. Petrucci tried passing Marquez once again on the opening lap but failed at it and was soon pushed down to fifth fading away after the initial run. The move allowed Miller to shine who was now hot on the Honda's tail.

The Pramac rider finally found an opportunity to pass Marquez on Lap 5 pushing the latter to P2. The Honda rider was looking to re-take what was lost and opportunity and Marquez finally found the gap two laps later as Miller ran wide allowing the seven time world champion back in the first place. It was no looking back for Marquez from hereon who started to build the gap by over a second on Miller.

By the halfway point, Dovizioso was climbing his way back to the top and was placed third behind Miller. The factory Ducati rider passed his teammate soon after and was now battling to retain P2 with Miller and teammate Petrucci breathing down his neck. Marquez was a good 3 seconds off by now, almost impossible for the Ducati riders to catch at this pace. With five laps remaining, Petrucci managed to pass Dovi to take P2 but couldn't hold on for long and ride wide on the Dunlop chicane handing the position back to the rider.

It remained a close encounter for the Ducati’s at the chequered flag, while Marquez was 1.984s clear of Dovi in his third victory of the season. Finishing behind Miller and Rossi were Espargaro and Morbidelli, while Yamaha teammate Fabio Quartararo took P8. LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow finished ninth while Argentina GP winner Alex Rins of Suzuki took P10.

Lorenzo finished 11th after running in top 10 for most of the race, and was followed by Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and KTM rider Johann Zarco. Tech3 KTM rider Hafizh Syahrin finished 14th followed by teammate Miguel Oliveira. Suzuki's Joan Mir was the last of the racers to complete in 16th place after falling on the warm up lap.

Czech MotoGP 2018: Andrea Dovizioso wins at Brno

Andrea Dovizioso withstood a three-bike scrap to claim victory in a thrilling Czech Republic Grand Prix. Dovizioso fought off teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez to win in his 100th race for Ducati, his first victory since the season-opener in Qatar five months ago.

Valentino Rossi pipped Cal Crutchlow for fourth place, with Danilo Petrucci, Johann Zarco, Dani Pedrosa, Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Iannone completing the top 10. Jack Miller worked his way up to 12th place at the finish, his healthy race pace unable to overcome a lowly grid position after crashing at a crucial phase of qualifying.

Rossi took a rare holeshot to lead the field into Turn 1 before the pole-winning Ducati blasted back past a few corners later. The field had already been trimmed by three by that point. A crash at the back into Turn 3 ended Maverick Vinales’ tough weekend, with Stefan Bradl and Bradley Smith also in the gravel. The latter’s crash ended a dismal day for KTM, who’d already lost Pol Espargaro to a broken collarbone after a crash in the warm-up.

Marquez extended his lead despite finishing third, his margin at the top of the standings now 49 points over Rossi, with Dovizioso now third a further 19 points adrift. The championship heads to the Red Bull Ring next weekend for the Grand Prix of Austria.

Italian MotoGP 2018: Jorge Lorenzo wins 1st race of Season

Jorge Lorenzo secured his first MotoGP victory since he joined Ducati in dominant style in the Italian Grand Prix, while Marc Marquez points lead took a hit as he crashed. From second on the grid, Lorenzo surged into an early lead at Mugello ahead of home polesitter Valentino Rossi, with Marquez moving up to third place on the opening lap from sixth with a robust pass on Danilo Petrucci's Pramac Ducati at Turn 2.

Honda rider Marquez then picked off Rossi's Yamaha at the start of the third of 23 laps at the first corner, San Donato, before putting pressure on leader Lorenzo. But on the fifth lap, Marquez lost the front end coming into the Scarperia right-hander, sliding into the gravel trap before remounting.

That left Lorenzo leading Rossi and the second works Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso, who then moved into the runner-up spot on lap 7 at the Casanova-Savelli switchback. At this point, Lorenzo held a slender advantage of 0.7 seconds, but as the race progressed, the Spaniard was able to maintain his pace, pulling out a lead of 1.5s by the 13th lap. The three-time MotoGP champion was able to reel off the remaining 10 laps and ultimately secure his first win since Valencia 2016 and the 45th of his premier class career by a margin of 6.3s.

Dovizioso looked safe for second until his pace slumped dramatically in the closing laps, but he was able to hold off third-placed Rossi by just 0.259s and complete a Ducati 1-2. Rossi's third place came the hard way, as the 39-year-old was forced to overcome Suzuki pair Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins as well as Petrucci. Rins was fifth ahead of Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), who moved ahead of Petrucci with three laps to go. Front row starter Maverick Vinales came eighth on the second works Yamaha, resisting a challenge from Nieto Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista, while Johann Zarco was an anonymous 10th on the Tech 3 Yamaha. Completing the points scorers were Pol Espargaro (KTM), Hafizh Syahrin (Tech 3), Tito Rabat (Avintia), Bradley Smith (KTM) and Franco Morbidelli (Marc VDS Honda). Marquez ended up 16th of 17 lead lap finishers, 12 seconds behind Morbidelli.

French MotoGP 2018: Marc Marquez extends his lead

Marc Marquez reeled off his third win on the bounce in the French MotoGP as home favorite and pole sitter Johann Zarco crashed out. Marquez took his 38th win in the top category unchallenged from Danilo Petrucci with Italian veteran Valentino Rossi in third.

Zarco had the home fans at Le Mans’ Bugatti circuit dreaming of a rare French win after his record setting pole but the Yamaha Tech star slid out of contention on lap seven. Australian Jack Miller was impressive to finish fourth, after starting the race from seventh on the grid.

In the middle order, Jack Miller on the second Pramac Ducati passed Lorenzo to take fourth. The Ducati rider though wasn't going down without a fight and tried hard to hold on to fifth, despite increasing pressure from Dani Pedrosa of Honda. The Honda rider managed to nudge past Lorenzo into fifth with six laps to go. Lorenzo eventually finished sixth, ahead of Maverick Vinales on the Yamaha. The Yamaha rider made a strong come back in the second half of the race after dropping to 11th midway.

Zarco had the home fans at Le Mans’ Bugatti circuit dreaming of a rare French win after his record setting pole but the Yamaha Tech star slid out of contention on lap seven. The win allowed Marquez (95 points) to extend his lead in the championship to 36 points over Maverick Vinales, who sits in second place on 59.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Japan

Andrea Dovizioso claimed his fifth victory of the season and closed the gap to championship leader Marc Marquez to 11 points in a thrilling race at Motegi in the 2017 MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan.

The Ducati rider overtook Repsol Honda's Marquez on the final lap, and the pair were battling to the last corner in one of the great duels in recent memory. Danilo Petrucci completed the podium as he came in third, 10 seconds down from the leading pair, while Italian veteran Valentino Rossi crashed out in the wet.

Marquez made a fantastic start on a soaking wet track in Japan, taking the lead from the off having been third on the grid. However, he could not hold on to the front spot, and it was actually Ducati's Petrucci who led the way for much of the race's opening half. Marquez and Dovi then hit the front with 11 laps of the race remaining, and it became clear the winner would be one of the title contenders.

A thrilling game of cat-and-mouse then ensued between the pair with Italian Dovizioso first taking the lead from his Spanish competitor on the 19th lap. Marquez then re-took the lead with three laps to go, and heading into the final lap, it looked as though the defending world champion would have enough to claim victory. The pair will resume their championship battle in Australia in a week's time.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Italy

World Champion Marc Marquez of Spain won the San Marino MotoGP in slippery conditions to join Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso at the top of the world championship standings. Marquez, on a Honda, finished ahead of Italy’s Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci on a wet track with Dovizioso, also on a Ducati, finishing third.

Both Marquez and Dovizioso have 199 points in the world championship standings with five races left in the season. It was a 59th career win for Marquez, who started from third on the grid and took the lead from Petrucci on the final lap to secure his 33rd win the MotoGP category. The top three in the title race lined up on the front row but it was Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo who got the best start from the second row. But Lorenzo was one of several riders to come off his bike in the slippery conditions along with fellow Spaniard Hector Barbera.

Petrucci battled with the reigning champion and Marquez finally pounced on the last lap to notch up a 25-point haul. Earlier, Swiss rider Dominique Agerter (Suter) won the San Moto2 Grand Prix ahead of Kalex duo Thomas Luthi of Switzerland and Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin, to claim his second career win. Italy’s Romano Fenati of Honda defied driving rain to claim his eighth career win in Moto3. In a race hampered by numerous falls and skids off the track, Fenati finished ahead of Spanish world champion leader Joan Mir and Italy’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, both also riding for Honda.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Germany

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has taken an incredible eighth win in a row at the Sachsenring, extending his run from the 125 World Championships to another year of the premier class – with all those wins from pole. It was anything but easy, however – with German rookie Jonas Folger pushing the reigning Champion on home turf throughout the race in a stunning ride to his first podium. Dani Pedrosa completed the podium to get back in contention following a more difficult Dutch GP.

Marquez took the lead into Turn 1 from pole, with teammate Dani Pedrosa slotting into second as Jorge Lorenzo sliced through from P6 on the grid to third, pushing Danilo Petrucci and Jonas Folger back. Marquez and Pedrosa began to pull away in the lead as Folger charged through to get himself into third - and then started threatening the Repsol Honda duo in the lead. Choosing his moment, the German rookie then took Pedrosa and prepared to attack Marquez – pushing through soon after and below lap record pace.

With Petrucci through on Lorenzo into fourth, it was the ‘Doctor’ Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who struck next, with the number 46, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Petrucci then battling for fourth as Pedrosa began to drop back from the lead duo. Folger then headed wide and Marquez took the opportunity, but couldn’t shake the German.

Vinales came out on top in the battle for fourth, limiting his losses after a poor qualifying performance. Rossi came home fifth, while Dovizioso had to settle for eighth. The standings make for tremendous reading ahead of the summer break. We're in for a thrilling climax to the 2017 season when the action returns in the Czech Republic next month.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Netherlands

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi won his first race for more than a year, as he came through to take victory in a thrilling MotoGP Netherlands Grand Prix. The veteran hadn't savored glory since the 2016 Catalan Grand Prix, but he showcased all his experience in spades at Assen, as he held off Ducati's Danilo Petrucci in an absorbing battle. Defending world champion Marc Marquez came home in third place for Honda.

Rossi's team-mate Maverick Vinales crashed out, allowing Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso to take the lead of the championship by four points; the top four riders in the standings are now covered by just 11 points. It was Johann Zarco who started the race on pole having produced a storming qualifying performance. The rookie eventually didn't finish in the shakeup for victory, losing ground due to a misguided tactical switch and coming home in 14th spot.

Another rider who endured a disappointing day was Vinales. After enjoying a blistering beginning to the season with his new team, the young Spaniard has lost momentum in recent weeks and paid the price for losing balance at Turn 17 with 14 laps to go. With the duo out of contention, some more seasoned competitors were juking it out at the front in pursuit of the victory, with Rossi moving through into first position. Petrucci was keeping the Doctor on his toes, though, as the pair engaged in a fascinating tussle.

Indeed, as the heavens threatened to open and drizzle sprinkled across the Assen circuit, the riders needed to be careful. Eventually, it was the duo aforementioned who handled the conditions the better, as they pulled away from the rest of the field. The Italians each held the lead in the final stages, as they each pushed their bike to the limit in pursuit of the win. World Superbikes rider Alex Lowes paid tribute to another great Rossi performance, who has now won 10 times at the Assen circuit.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Italy

Ducati Andrea Dovizioso won his second consecutive MotoGP race, turning in an imperious performance to clinch the Grand Prix of Catalunya. After starting in seventh place, Dovizioso moved through the field seamlessly, eventually overtaking Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa who finished second and third.

It was a day to forget for the Yamaha riders, as Valentino Rossi came home eighth and world championship leader Maverick Vinales was only good for 10th. Off the line pole-sitter Pedrosa preserved his advantage, but there was a hairy moment for Marquez further back in the field, as he came into contact with Danilo Petrucci off the line. Marquez recovered and eventually moved into third. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo took the lead from Pedrosa, who looked vulnerable early on.

Lorenzo started slipping down the order, and Dovizioso went the other way. The Ducati man showed excellent pace to recover from seventh on the grid. Having won the Italian grand prix last time out, Dovizioso showed a lot of confidence and was quickly onto the two Honda drivers up front. The Italian was on course for back-to-back victories at this stage, as he laid down the gauntlet for a Honda response. Marquez responded, as he retook second spot and kept the gap steady for a spell.

As the race entered the final stages, Dovizioso built a gap over Marquez. The Ducati rider enjoyed the moment, coasting over the line ahead of the Honda pairing. There is no doubt Dovizioso is in the form of his career. Prior to last week's triumph at Mugello, he had secured only two wins in nine years in MotoGP. He'll have his eyes on the world title as well now. Dovizioso is just seven points behind Vinales in the standings. With his tail up, the Ducati man will feel confident of overhauling that deficit in a fortnight's time, when MotoGP heads to the Netherlands.