Valentino Rossi has pole for the San Marino Grand Prix. Now, Valentino Rossi is the hometown hero who was fastest in the morning warmup. Marc Marquez will start fourth and if he wins he will tie Mick Doohan for the most wins in a season.
The Misano circuit is located near Rimini in San Marino, opened in 1972, and is dedicated to the memory of Marco Simoncelli, killed in a crash in 2011. 28 laps scheduled. Jorge Lorenzo is the most successful rider here. Rain fell in practice. But, not in qualifying, and it's nice for today's race. The track is nestled in town with a lot of houses around.
Marc Marquez has tied Valentino Rossi's single season record of eleven wins. Remember, he can also tie Mick Doohan, who set his record in the glory days of the 500cc Grand Prix championship back in the 1980s and '90s. Marc Marquez could clinch the championship next time out in Aragon, Spain. But, if Marquez is going to win today, he will have to get by Valentino Rossi. Rossi has his own office and merchandising business.
VR46 produces Rossi's merchandise, but also does it for Dani Pedrosa, Marc Marquez, Cal Crutchlow, and Scott Redding. T shirts, hats, and mugs, are the most popular items. If Rossi finishes fourth or better today, he will become the first Grand Prix motorcycle racer to score 5,000 points in his career. In qualifying, we saw only the third different rider to claim pole. Pol Espargaro outqualifies his brother Aleix.
Andrea Dovizioso tried his best, but he could only muster sixth. No Repsol Honda's on the front row. They're off the front row for the first time since Catalunya in June, 2013. Andrea Ianonne makes his third front row start of the year. Jorge Lorenzo has his first pole of the season, and the first for the Yamaha factory team. Leon Camier will start once again, in place of injured Nicky Hayden. We're ready to race in Italy, folks.
The bikes form up on the grid for what could be the race of the year. Ready? Good. Let's do this. Go! At the start, Cal Crutchlow gets a good start and so does Valentino Rossi. Lorenzo leads. Marquez gets a good start. It's a Yamaha 1-2 right now. Andrea Dovizioso is up there, too. Lorenzo wants four wins. Mike DiMeglio falls. Game over. They fly into Tramonto for the first time. Then into Vurvone, one of the quickest corners in MotoGP.
Rossi is right with Lorenzo. This is like one, long, six-wheeled bike, with the three in line through Rio corner. 50 years ago yesterday, Phil Read won in 250cc racing on a Yamaha for their first win in 1964. Jorge Lorenzo has the hard compound front tire. Marc Marquez is chasing Valentino Rossi. This is a good race so far. Fast lap for Lorenzo. Marquez wants by Rossi, but no. Marquez goes up the inside, but no.
Into turn seven, Rossi fights back for second spot. The crowd is going berserk. Jorge Lorenzo extends his lead. Tramonto and Curvone again. Andrea Ianonne and Andrea Dovizioso battle. Remember, they'll be team mates on the factory Ducati team next year. Fastest laps being set already. Too busy to figure out the times as Rossi is attacking Lorenzo and passes for the lead! How long will he lead? Rossi and Lorenzo are absolutely going at it hammer and tongs.
Rossi takes the lead and Marc Marquez is third. This is the best chance for Rossi to try and win. Marquez goes back to second. Dani Pedrosa is fifth, splitting the Ducati's. Tons of fastest laps going down. Coming into Quercia, this battle is hotter than ever. Rossi, Marquez, Lorenzo. Rossi leads the way into Curvone. Rossi has not won since Assen last year, and has not won here in Italy in five years, since 2009.
Honda has very strong braking and a great seamless transmission. Yamaha needs to improve on those parts of their motorcycle. Ianonne is holding his own right now. Rossi still leads this race. Beautiful weather in Italy today, too. Yonny Hernandez, Karel Abraham and Hiroshi Aoyama occupy lower spots, just outside the top ten. Andrea Dovizioso is running well, too. Valentino Rossi continues to lead his home Grand Prix. 21 laps left yet. Settle down a little bit, boys.
Dani Pedrosa shoves his way by Andrea Ianonne, opening the door for Dovizioso to pass. Stefan Bradl has crashed out. Game over. Lorenzo does not want the gap to get too big, because then he won't have a chance. Rossi leads, with Marquez hanging on to second spot. Marc Marquez has lost the front end, gone down, and stalled the bikle. He laid the bike down. He's desperately trying to restart the bike, as Valentino Rossi is whistling off into the distance. Dani Pedrosa is third.
Marquez is not going to win today, chaps. Rossi is ahead. He has not won in Italy for a long time. This is an all Yamaha situation, as we are nearly to halfway in this event. Marc Marquez is way down in 20th spot. No way will Marquez win today. That was a weird wreck. But, Rossi might have a chance. Don't speak too soon, though. Has Lorenzo got anything left in the locker? Alex de Angelis might get a point in his home race.
Rossi has a special helmet design with hand prints, and the paw prints of his two dogs. Marc Marquez is going to continue to push. He's not in contention, but he'll keep trying. Andrea Dovizioso wants by Dani Pedrosa for third, putting in his personal best lap. Alex de Angelis (from San Marino), is 15th. Danilo Petrucci, is out. Watching the start, Dovizioso had a great one, and we look at super slow motion replays, which are absolutely awesome.
Jorge Lorenzo is closing on Valentino Rossi. Lorenzo has three straight wins here. Everyone wants to see a Rossi victory. We're not quite halfway here, blokes. Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Ianonne, and Bradley Smith, while Alvaro Bautista, and Cal Crutchlow, also battle with each other. Yonny Hernandez battles Aleix Espargaro. Marc Marquez won't win the title in Spain. We'll have to wait and see if he can do it in Japan.
Now, Rossi might have an issue. He slid the Yamaha a bit. We see Ducati catching Honda and Yamaha. Dovizioso wants by Pedrosa. This is getting intense as Rossi continues in P1. We continue watching Dovizioso and Pedrosa's scrap. We have about ten laps to go now. Giacomo Agostini is watching this race from the Yamaha pit. Jorge Lorenzo has won at Misano for the last three years. But, even he might not do it today. Dani Pedrosa runs his personal best lap. Marc Marquez is still 20th.
Cal Crutchlow slides wide getting on the brakes too late. He loses a spot to Aleix Espargaro. Rossi takes a lot of curb out of turn 15. Andrea Ianonne remains fifth. Scott Redding is the third customer Honda with Hiroshi Aoyama and Karel Abraham running ahead of him. Seven laps to go now. Lorenzo isn't making inroads on Rossi. Marc Marquez is passing backmarkers, going by Broc Parkes and by Hector Barbera. Can Aleix Espargaro pass Alvaro Bautista?
Pedrosa is still leading Dovizioso, and is running as quick as the Yamaha's at the front. Four laps left now. Stefan Bradl is OK after his wreck, and the bike is back in the garage. Bradl will run for Forward Racing Yamaha next year. Marc Marquez is trying to pass Michael Laverty for 17th on the Paul Bird Motorsports bike. Rossi is going to add to his total of winningest rider in MotoGP. Jorge Lorenzo is still second.
Giacomo Agostini and Lynn Jarvis look on. Jarvis is Rossi's crew chief. Trhough Tramanto, Rossi will get his 107th Grand Prix win today. The riders are leaning 61 degrees into the corners. Two laps to go. This will be Rossi's second win since coming back to Yamaha. Rossi is 35 years old, but he's still got it. Jorge Lorenzo will have to settle for second. One lap to go for Valentino Rossi, coming out of Misano corner.
Half a lap left now through to La Quercia for the final time. #46 is going to win for the first time at Misano in five years, and he's going to win for the first time in over a year since Assen, Holland, last year. This is it. Rossi is going to do it! Rossi wins!
#46 Valentino Rossi ITA. Yamaha
It is also Yamaha's first win of 2014! Wow! What a race! By the way, Marc Marquez, picked up one point, finishing 15th. The next race is in Spain at Motorland Aragon in Aragon, Spain, in two weeks.
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