As we get ready to get underway at Catalunya, the tire compounds will be soft and medium. We have a revised track layout after Luis Salom's fatal accident. The bikes are on their sighting lap. We have a revised chicane at turns 13, 14, and 15, which is the configuration, normally used by the Formula 1 cars when they race here at Barcelona. Left, right is how the chicane works. Going through turn 16, you carry more corner speed into the apex, and this increases the top speed down the straightaway. Because of high temperatures, the majority of the MotoGP grid will use hard tires on both the front and rear of their motorcycles. In qualifying, Andrea Dovizioso ran 347 kilometers an hour (217 miles an hour!) Yikes!
Dani Pedrosa will use a medium rear tire as well Tito Rabat. The Tech3 Yamaha's have medium tires on both ends of their motorcycles. Marc Marquez had a tremendous performance last time out at Mugello in Italy. Dani Pedrosa, has won in all three classes of motorcycle races here. After Luis Salom's death on the Friday, it was hard for riders to put their leathers on. But, now, this race, is what Luis Salom would have wanted. The Moto2 and Moto3 races have already happened. Stay tuned, for those highlights in the next few days. Hector Barbera will start eighth on the grid. Scott Redding says his job will be to save tires. Tire conservation will be critical. 25 laps scheduled for the MotoGP race at Catalunya.
Maverick Vinales is fifth in the championship. He is sixth on the grid, where he finished at Barcelona, last year. The entire weekend has been turned on it's ear with the setups, tires, and electronics on the bikes, now that the track has been reconfigured. Cal Crutchlow starts seventh. Jorge Lorenzo has an amazing record here at Catalunya, finishing first or second every year between 2009 and 2013. Lorenzo has four wins in 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2015. Lorenzo is the championship leader in MotoGP, currently. Eighth place in Andrea Ianonne. Danilo Petrucci will start ninth in this race. Andrea Dovizioso starts tenth, and has had issues with arm pump, both at Mugello, and here, at Catalunya. Cal Crutchlow is seventh.
Scott Redding rolls off 11th. Next to him, Pol Espargaro. Pol Espargaro, has to stay cool. This is a big race for him, and he will will race for KTM next year, alongside Bradley Smith. Aleix Espargaro, Pol Espargaro's brother, he is unsure of his MotoGP future. He will not be back with Suzuki next year and could be headed to race for the factory Aprilia squad. He rolls of 13th today. Bradley Smith will start 14th, and again, he and Pol Espargaro are going to move together, to KTM. Michele Pirro starts 15th. Yonny Hernandez is next up. It looks like Loris Baz will be back in the next race at Assen in Holland. More details, coming, at the end of this race report.
Sixteenth on the grid, Yonny Hernandez. Eugene Laverty rolls off 17th. The Irishman is currently tenth in the World Championship. Germany's Stefan Bradl has had five top ten finishes on the Aprilia. Jack Miller starts 19th and has had two wrecks this weekend, unfortunately. The BMW M2 safety car, pulls away. What will happen here in Barcelona? Everyone on the second row of the grid, is all on hard tires. On the front row, it is all the same, except for Dani Pedrosa using a medium rear tire. Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, and Marc Marquez, are on the front row, with Marquez, on pole. Round seven of the MotoGP World Championship, comin' at ya', next!
21 riders will contest this race, on a lovely Mediterranean afternoon. In the modern four stroke engine era, here at Catalunya, it is eight wins for Yamaha, four for Honda, and two, for Ducati. We look at current track and weather conditions. 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, and 46 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. The track temp is hot, and the riders are worried about how the tires will hold up. This is why use of the harder option rear tire, will be critical. Who do the hot conditions favor? Honda, has struggled in the heat.
Maverick Vinales has had issues with wheel spin in hot conditions, ever since he started racing in MotoGP with Suzuki, last year. Some riders have had issues launching their bikes out of the starting blocks, as that is where we are, now, ready to get the MotoGP Catalunya race, underway. This race, will be a tribute, to Luis Salom, a favorite son of MotoGP, who in the near future, could have been a MotoGP star, himself. May he Rest In Peace. Some minor problems before we set sail as Hector Barbera was not in the right grid slot. But now, we are ready. Turn up the volume. MotoGP, in Spain, is go!
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo makes a good getaway. Dani Pedrosa, does likewise. Andrea Ianonne gets a good start and Pol Espargaro also has a look up the inside. Jorge Lorenzo is already stretching a lead out on the rest of the field. Valentino Rossi drops three places on the start. He goes from fifth to eighth. Maverick Vinales is the lucky chap in fifth this time. Dani Pedrosa moves inside Andrea Ianonne. The Honda's have to stay in touch with Lorenzo this whole race, or, it will be Lorenzo's race to lose. Valentino Rossi moves to sixth passing Hector Barbera and looking to do the same to Maverick Vinales, headed for turn ten. No way through for Rossi this time. Pol Espargaro has made a pass on Hector Barbera.
Through the Formula 1 chicane they come, to complete lap one at Barcelona. Rossi goes inside Vinales and picks off two spots. Can he make it stick? Rossi is being hounded by Vinales. Rossi's Yamaha does not have the horsepower to compete with the Ducati or the Suzuki, but, he is the king of the late braker's and makes that move work. Vinales runs too hot into turn ten and loses ground. Hector Barbera and Cal Crutchlow drop down the order, as on lap two, Rossi sets the first fast lap of this race. 1:46.165. Meanwhile, Bradley Smith is in 21st, caboose on this field. Smith is a full three seconds slower than the leaders.
Jorge Lorenzo is starting to eke out an advantage on his rivals. Rossi passes Pedrosa on the inside. Rossi has charged back into the top three now. Maverick Vinales also passes Dani Pedrosa and Pedrosa won't give up easily. Vinales tries Pedrosa into turn one. No dice. With Maverick Vinales and Dani Pedrosa scrapping for position, this allows Rossi to pull away. Vinales runs wide and here comes Pedrosa right back past him. Into turn ten, it's side by side stuff between Pedrosa and Vinales! These two seem to be out for blood today. Then again, cooler heads could prevail. Vinales gets snookered and can't make his move stick!
Andrea Ianonne on the Ducati, he could swallow Vinales' Suzuki in one big gulp here. Lorenzo, Marquez, Rossi, the top three. Deja vu? New fast lap from Rossi at 1:46.102. Rossi is 3/10ths up on the leading duo. These top three riders all have the hard Michelin tires. Vinales lowers fast lap now, to 1:45.971! Rossi moves inside Marc Marquez. Rossi passes the Repsol bike through the Repsol corner. How ironic. Rossi is on fire! He's won here at Barcelona, six times. Pedrosa continues to fend off the challenge of Maverick Vinales. There's nothing in it between the top three riders and their motorcycles.
Rossi takes the lead from Jorge Lorenzo into turn one! Rossi holds the advantage! How will Lorenzo and Marquez respond? Marc Marquez gets around Jorge Lorenzo for second. Poor old Bradley Smith. He's entered the pits, and it could be game over for the Tech3 Yamaha rider. He may look forward to moving on to Aprilia, next year. Slamming onto the brakes in turn ten, Marquez hangs onto the handlebars of his Honda MotoGP bike for dear life. Lorenzo just can't keep up with these two blokes at the front. Dani Pedrosa is fourth, 1.1 seconds in-arrears of Lorenzo. Marquez meanwhile, runs his personal best lap of this race at 1:46.204.
As we move further into this race, tire degradation on the Michelin rubber could become a real Achilles heel for many riders. Bradley Smith, game over. He sits in the pit box, wondering what might have been. Dani Pedrosa and Maverick Vinales have caught Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo is 9.10ths of a second slower than Rossi at this stage. Dani Pedrosa takes advantage of his medium option Michelin rear tire. But, how much longer will it hold up? Pedrosa uses the slipstream on Lorenzo to try and nail him on the brakes into turn one. Will Lorenzo make it a fight? The answer is... no! Lorenzo is dropping like a stone.
Maverick Vinales is all over Lorenzo, but can't get the job done. Bradley Smith has retired due to transmission problems, but only the computer data, will reveal the exact malady with that Tech3 Yamaha. The computer software that monitors tire temperatures and performance cannot adjust itself anymore and has to have input from the pit crew. Andrea Ianonne runs sixth and is under pressure from Pol Espargaro. Marquez has not let Rossi escape, as Maverick Vinales tries a move on Jorge Lorenzo. He thought he was through, but not for long. Lorenzo makes the move, cutting back on the outside line.
Vinales runs wide through turn three, letting Lorenzo come back. Pedrosa and Marquez put in their personal best laps. 1:46 flat for Marquez and 1:46.3 for Pedrosa. Vinales is right on Lorenzo's rear wheel. The trouble for Lorenzo is, he cannot carry anything like his normal corner speed through these turns. Rossi leads Marquez by 3/10ths of a second. Vinales is still hammering away at Lorenzo and trying to set up a pass. Vinales is right on top of Lorenzo. Rossi leads as we continue to watch this scrap between Lorenzo and Vinales. Rossi leads now, but if Marquez by some chance, wins this race, he would retake the points lead in the MotoGP World Championship.
Lorenzo holds off Vinales into the braking zone for turn one. Marquez and Pedrosa are separated by 2.3 seconds. Vinales passes Lorenzo another time. "The Doctor" leads, and needs a remedy after his engine let go in Italy last time out. Vinales has dispensed of Jorge Lorenzo seemingly for good, by now. Rossi and Marquez remain 1-2. Vinales is cruising away from Jorge Lorenzo at the moment. Andrea Ianonne, meanwhile, is just 1.7 seconds behind Lorenzo. Yonny Hernandez has to relinquish a spot as he ran afoul of the chicane at turn 13. Cal Crutchlow is holding off Andrea Dovizioso. These two were team mates at both Tech3 Yamaha and at the factory Ducati squad.
Marquez has come within 3/10ths of a second of Rossi. Cal Crutchlow is holding off the charge from Andrea Dovizioso as mentioned. Dovizioso had arm pump issues at Mugello. Vinales has been a full second faster than Lorenzo. We watch Rossi and Marquez. At one time, they were friends. But now, they are bitter rivals. There could still be tire drop off to keep an eye on. Cal Crutchlow is still eighth ahead of Andrea Dovizioso. A battle has now formed for tenth place between Danilo Petrucci, Hector Barbera, and Aleix Espargaro. Rossi and Marquez are right together as we come up to complete another lap.
Ten laps to go in Barcelona. It is amazing how Rossi now leads, because at the start, he was iced by the Ducati's. Marquez continues to keep Rossi honest. Andrea Ianonne is now catching Jorge Lorenzo and in fact has caught him. This should demote Lorenzo to sixth. Oh no! Andrea Ianonne runs right into the back of Jorge Lorenzo and sends both riders tumbling out of this race! Game over! Lorenzo will be team mates to Ianonne at Ducati, next year! This doesn't bode well for that relationship! Ianonne is OK, but Jorge Lorenzo, he's hot! This is entirely Ianonne's fault. He stood the Ducati on it's nose and ran into the back of the Yamaha!
This is a carbon copy of when Ianonne took Andrea Dovizioso out at Circuit of the Americas, back in April. He torpedoes Lorenzo off the motorcycle. Ianonne tries to apologize. Lorenzo pushes him away as if to say, "hey man, I'm not talkin' to you!" The marshals will review this one after the race, no doubt. Apologies, in all this excitement. Jorge Lorenzo will team with Andrea Dovizioso at Ducati next year. Not Andrea Ianonne. Marquez, knee down, has the front end of the motorcycle wash away on him. He's lucky he didn't fall!
Aleix Espargaro and Yonny Hernandez both head for pit lane. Game over for those two. If Marc Marquez stays second, he will lead the championship with Lorenzo retired from this event. Marquez gets a little tail happy into the corner. At this time of the race, the crew is putting this message on the pit board. Engage brain! Exclamation point. We watch the earlier incident, from onboard Lorenzo's bike. Ianonne, coming, coming, coming... he's there and, bam! Ianonne's rear wheel was a foot up in the air. He knew that he was going to career straight into Lorenzo's motorcycle.
Stay away from Jorge Lorenzo. He's got to be a mad bull in a China shop right now. Aleix Espargaro retires due to an absolutely destroyed rear Michelin tire. Dani Pedrosa runs third right now. Seventeen bikes remain in competition. Let's have a look at the remaining dozen behind the two leaders. Pedrosa, Vinales, Pol Espargaro, Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci, Hector Barbera, Alvaro Bautista, Jack Miller, Scott Redding, Stefan Bradl, Tito Rabat, and Eugene Laverty. Two more riders are still running and those are Michele Pirro, and Yonny Hernandez.
Will we have less drama for these last five laps? There's nothing in it between the two leaders. Marquez is flying, hitting 323 kilometers an hour, at the end of the front straight. That's 202 miles an hour, on two wheels! 1:47.359 for Rossi. 1:47.371 for Marquez. Oh my! Marc Marquez is going to go for the lead into turn ten! Marquez tries the block pass, but runs wide, and Rossi says, "thanks a bunch!" and passes him back. This is the showdown. Rossi vs. Marquez in Spain. Marquez will try drafting past Rossi down the straight!
Marquez is almost by him, and he'll try to fight on the brakes! Rossi sticks the pass in turn two and holds the edge. Shades of Rossi vs. Lorenzo here at Barcelona in 2009. Marc Marquez closes back up on Valentino Rossi. It's not over yet. There's one line and one line only through the new final chicane. Three laps to go. Marquez is close. Will he slipstream past Rossi? He's making his move, now! Marquez slams on the brakes, and slides the bike like a dirt track racer. Marc Marquez has the lead, but Rossi isn't giving up! Rossi fights back, and can't quite get on the outside! Marquez is sideways and he fends off Rossi.
Marquez holds station in the lead. Rossi not close enough. This has nothing to do with a world championship. This is two guys who do not like each other in the least. Both want to be number one. There's a meter or so between the Honda and the Yamaha. The fans in the grandstands here at Barcelona are going berserk. Rossi lines Marquez up at 215 miles an hour on the straightaway. Rossi up the inside. Rossi passes for the lead into turn one. Who has kept the grip in their tires? Out of turn three, Rossi begins to gap Marquez. The pit crews for Yamaha and Honda can barely watch. Can Rossi make the decisive break on this penultimate lap?
Marquez runs wide in turn seven. Is this Rossi's race to lose? This race could be over, ladies and gentlemen. Final lap. Rossi is 7/10ths of a second clear of Marquez. Rossi has this race, in the bag. Marquez knows he's only going to get 20 points out of this, and could get back into the points. Rossi's race to lose. The crowd goes nuts. "The Doctor" wins ten races in Barcelona!
#46 Valentino Rossi ITA. Yamaha
What a motorcycle race! Marquez, Pedrosa, Vinales and Pol Espargaro complete the top five. Joy for Rossi. Despair for Lorenzo. Cal Crutchlow gets sixth, and gets his first top six in almost a year. Alvaro Bautista finishes eighth on the factory Aprilia. Michele Pirro gets the final point. Phew! Catch your breath after this one, folks! Marc Marquez leads the world championship. But, this is Rossi's victory.
Hector Barbera finishes 11th, but will get a penalty for cutting a corner. Marc Marquez now leads the points by ten over Jorge Lorenzo. The next event in MotoGP, that has happened, the legendary Dutch TT at "The Cathedral" of motorcycle racing, at Assen, in Holland, and also, the German Grand Prix, at the Sachsenring, which takes place, today, (Sunday, July 17th). Thos races are coming up soon, on 2 Wheelin'. So long, from Spain.
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