It has been a great while, since August. But, yours truly, is finally back, to blogging about MotoGP! Hoping to get the second half of the season, fully blogged, for the 2016 campaign, before the 2017 season starts in March.
Rewind, to July 17th, 2016. We have 30 laps to contend with, on a wet track, in Germany, at the Sachsenring, in Saxony, Germany, for round eight of the MotoGP World Championship. Marc Marquez is on pole, after crashing in qualifying. Marc Marquez made an unforced error, and the track is greasy. The front tire compounds are a bear. Valentino Rossi qualified third. We will race in Germany until 2021. But it is unknown where the venue will be in the future. Valentino Rossi was the last rider to win here at the Sachsenring, who was not riding a Honda motorcycle. That was back in 2009.
Rossi is a good rider in the rain, having won in the wet at Silverstone in the British GP in August of 2015. Danilo Petrucci rolls off fourth, outside row two. Petrucci is a great wet weather rider, but he doesn't dig riding in the rain. Pol Espargaro is next. He finished fourth at Assen in Holland. Maverick Vinales on the Suzuki is sixth. But he, and team mate, Aleix Espargaro, are not going to be fond of the rain either. Aleix Espargaro rolls off eighth. Andrea Iannone is fifth. Three-time World Rally Champion, Sebastien Ogier is here to watch the bikes race. Dani Pedrosa rounds out the top ten, but, he was the fastest rider in the morning warmup.
Jorge Lorenzo rolls off 11th. He's never won at the Sachsenring before. Seventh on the grid is the other factory Ducati in the hands of Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso's only MotoGP win, came in Britain, in the wet, at Donington Park in 2009. Yonny Hernandez rolls off 12th. Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Ianonne, Jack Miller, and Tito Rabat, will all race a harder tire. Marc Marquez has switched back to the softer option front tire, after trying the harder tire and seeing it didn't suit the motorcycle. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is here, celebrating his 70th birthday. He's the man, behind the success of MotoGP.
Cal Crutchlow is 13th. Ducati team boss Paolo Ciabatti discusses tire strategy. Difficult to predict. Bradley Smith is 14th. Scott Redding completes an all British row five. Five minutes to the start of the race. Round nine of MotoGP, halfway through the season. Can Jack Miller win two in a row? Can Marc Marquez win his seventh straight race at the Sachsenring? The front row of the grid have all gone for the softer option front tire from Michelin. Hector Barbera is on the front row for only the second time in 112 starts. Marc Marquez, has pole. Get set, folks. It's time to bring the action!
20 bikes on the grid. Stefan Bradl, absent from his home race, after suffering a concussion in the morning warmup. The riders are on the warmup lap. Rain is in the forecast. This race will be very unpredictable. Let's have a look at post time weather conditions 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), are temperature. 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. A slight breeze is blowing. Points coming in see Marc Marquez in the lead on 145, 24 ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Valentino Rossi, and Dani Pedrosa, are third, and fourth, respectively.
Steel brakes are used in the wet. No carbon discs when it is raining in MotoGP. The halfway race of MotoGP 2016, starts, now! Hector Barbera and Valentino Rossi both get good launches off the line. Rossi almost had the preferred line into turn one, but got chopped by Marquez. Danilo Petrucci is third. Rossi goes inside Marquez. Action is hot and heavy into turn eight where Marquez wrecked in the morning warmup. Andrea Dovizioso goes by Marc Marquez into turn eight. The plunge downhill into a turn, aptly called The Waterfall, because of the rain today.
Jack Miller has gone from 16th to eighth. Petrucci tries Dovizioso. He can't pass, but has gotten by Marc Marquez. Rossi leads. Dovizioso wants to pass going into turn one again, but decides discretion is the better part of valor, at least for now. Miller is now sixth! He's made up ten spots in just a handful of laps! Never mind that. Just in one lap! Jorge Lorenzo continues to languish in 11th. Dani Pedrosa is ninth. Scott Redding has not had the start he wanted either, down in 17th spot. Rossi leads. He's won at the Sachsenring, five times. He won on the old, shorter circuit here, in 250cc competition, way back in 1999.
Dovizioso tries the inside! Nope. Not this time. Petrucci defends from Marquez, who is making a move. Hector Barbera and Jack Miller are moving up, fast! Miller sets fast lap of the race so far at 1:35.177. He is 4/10ths quicker than Valentino Rossi. Yonny Hernandez has crashed out in the last corner. Game over. He led, in the first part of the Assen race, three weeks before this one, the last time we were with you, covering MotoGP here on 2 Wheelin'. Jorge Lorenzo makes a move on Maverick Vinales, and goes to tenth. Suzuki is having a tough time in the wet. Vinales, 11th. Espargaro (Aleix), 12th. Dovizioso likes this turn seven and eight section. He's trying to go by Rossi. Can he do it? Yes! Dovizioso leads in Germany!
Rossi loses three spots in three corners, going from first, to third. Jack Miller passes Hector Barbera, for fifth. Rossi goes inside Petrucci, who has lowered fast lap to 1:34.929. We've got one, long 14 wheeled bike here, with the top seven riders running nose to tail. Petrucci makes a move in turn 12! This is Rossi's favorite spot to overtake. Petrucci is a demon on the brakes, and goes inside Dovizioso! It is not game over for Yonny Hernandez. He's back on track with his spare bike. Hector Barbera and Jack Miller scrap for position, as do Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Iannone. Scott Redding passes Jorge Lorenzo.
Dovizioso is fastest on track at 1:34.252, while Petrucci musters a 1:34.285. The riders are now settling into a rhythm, setting the tone for this race. Dani Pedrosa is a four-time winner here at the Sachsenring, and has come second, the last two years. Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding are fighting for position, too. Jack Miller slides inside Marc Marquez for fourth. Hector Barbera is applying the blowtorch to Marquez as well. Petrucci lowers fast lap to 1:33.865. Riders on soft tires, as the track dries, are getting too much heat in their tires. They want rain, to cool their Michelin tires down. Working lap seven of 30. The rain has stopped. Rossi closes on Dovizioso.
Marquez runs wide, and opens the door for Hector Barbera. No dice. He doesn't slam the door in his face, but he pushes it closed, gently, shall we say. Marquez is the rabbit. Barbera is the hound. Pedrosa tries Ianonne into turn eight. Not this time. Next corner, though, he gets it done. We aren't even 1/3rd of the way home, and Rossi is reeling in the two Ducati's. Barbera passes Marquez and both are in hot pursuit of Jack Miller, the Aussie. Cal Crutchlow has moved up to tenth. Crutchlow squeezes past Pol Espargaro. Aleix Espargaro, now passes Jorge Lorenzo into the first corner. Maverick Vinales is all over the Yamaha. Lorenzo is the meat in a Suzuki sandwich.
Petrucci is running the hard front Michelin while Dovizioso is on the softer front tire. Miller is two seconds behind Rossi now. We see a big time three way battle ensuing between Scott Redding, Andrea Iannone, and Cal Crutchlow as well. Redding tries the inside, and Crutchlow wants to make it three wide, but wisely won't do it. Crutchlow is coming as we are 1/3rd of the way through this race. 2/3rds still to go. Oh dear! Danilo Petrucci, is down and out here at the Sachsenring! Game over, as he's wrecked in turn three. The front end tucked in, early into the corner, and down he went.
Petrucci is back on track, but out of contention for a win. Marc Marquez plows through the gravel trap, too! He gets it wrong in turn eight. Andrea Dovizioso leads here at the Sachsenring. He leads Valentino Rossi by 1.6 seconds. As we look at the championship table, Marquez leads on 152 points, over a tie for second, 29 points in-arrears, with Lorenzo and Rossi equal on 123 markers. Dani Pedrosa is fourth, 55 points back, on 97. Hector Barbera makes the move on Jack Miller for fourth. Barbera and Miller are fighting for a podium place, with Petrucci's exit from the race. An interesting gamble, reported from pit lane. Loris Baz now has intermediate tires, fitted to his motorcycle.
Petrucci is in the lane with a mechanical issue. His bike is on fire. So, he'll have to bail off that bad boy ASAP. The bike is indeed on fire, so the pit crew slams it with the extinguishers. Petrucci is back on his way, on the spare bike, thinking, "good thing I had a spare!" Barbera and Miller are closing on Rossi, and Andrea Dovizioso, leading, wants his second career MotoGP win. In turn seven, there is a dry line. But, as they get to the bottom of the hill, there's a stream of water. Conditions are starting to get iffy. Mechanics are prepping the spare bikes for intermediate, wet/dry conditions.
Oh no. Trouble for Andrea Iannone. Scratch that. He's coming in to change to the spare motorcycle. He is the first bloke out on intermediate tires. There's 16 or so laps to run. These intermediate tires won't last too long. It's more about how much heat can be built up into the tires as you ride the bike. With intermediate rubber, you should be more concerned about a patch of tarmac that is too wet, as opposed to being on a full wet tire and thinking, "oh no! I'm on a spot of track that is too dry!" Hector Barbera, could be headed for second place, if he can get the drive down the straightaway, and shoot past Rossi.
Barbera has the preferred line, on the inside. He's brave enough on the brakes, to make it stick. Rossi's pit crew has the spare bike with the intermediate tires ready to go. Loris Baz is only the second rider to switch to intermediates. The track begins to dry. In motorcycle racing, only the rider makes the decision. It's not like he has pits to bike radio. The pit crew can communicate among themselves on the radio. But, the rider, it's all in his mind, and his eyes, for what he sees on his motorcycle out on the track. Look for damp patches so the rain tires don't overheat and begin to chunk.
Dovizioso leads Barbera, who is also speeding away from Rossi. Cal Crutchlow is the fastest chap on the road, having taken fifth spot, from Dani Pedrosa. Crutchlow cut a 1:34.7 and is the only rider in the 1:34 bracket right now. Dovizioso has experience. He has won in MotoGP. He was a world champion in the old 125cc class, and a runner-up finisher in the old 250cc class. Lap 15. We are exactly halfway through this motorcycle race. Iannone has intermediate tires on both ends of his bike. Iannone is running about five seconds slower than Dovizioso. Dovizioso's latest lap time = 1:35.620. Iannone's latst lap time = 1:40.597.
Hector Barbera could get his first MotoGP podium. Loris Baz has a problem. Game over for him. Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller are 8/10ths of a second apart. Baz had a front intermediate and a rear slick! No wonder he trashed one of his tires! Tire choice and gambling on it, are going to determine the outcome of this race. Your top fifteen riders right now are:
1. Andrea Dovizioso
2. Hector Barbera
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Jack Miller
5. Cal Crutchlow
6. Dani Pedrosa
7. Scott Redding
8. Marc Marquez
9. Alvaro Bautista
10. Pol Espargaro
11. Maverick Vinales
12. Eugene Laverty
13. Aleix Espargaro
14. Jorge Lorenzo
15. Tito Rabat
'
Towards the rear are Bradley Smith, Andrea Iannone, Loris Baz, and Yonny Hernandez. Dovizioso is off the racing line, looking for water to cool his tires. Riders have swarmed the lane now, to switch over, and Marc Marquez is one, to switch to his spare bike with the dry setup on it. Medium compound tires for Marquez, using an intermediate front, and (gasp), a slick rear tire! Talk about rolling the dice! Andrea Iannone is out on intermediates. Bradley Smith now comes in to change bikes. He has intermediate front and rear tires. Rossi is also on two intermediates. Cal Crutchlow is steaming along right now, making a move on Jack Miller. Crutchlow, up to fourth!
Twelve laps left and Pol Espargaro bites the dust. He's crashed out. The difference now between intermediate and full wet tires is a full second or so. Check that. Espargaro is back in the race. Espargaro had the front end wash away, and slid on his bum, all the way down the pavement. Rossi is being told to pit. Box, box, box, this time. Whoa! Marquez has thrown caution to the wind, with two slick tires on both ends of the Repsol Honda! Scott Redding has two intermediate tires. Eugene Laverty has also pitted. Andrea Iannone resets fastest lap, on the intermediate Michelin's! 1:33.816! Will Rossi pit? Will Dovizioso dive for the lane?
Oh dear. Neither of them pit. Both carry on in the race. Wow! Rossi will make the decision. The team is only saying, by putting "box" on the pit board, "we're ready when you are." Marquez, on slicks, resets fastest lap, bringing it down, to 1:31 dead. 1:31.055. Marquez is running five seconds a lap quicker than the leaders. Prepare for a grandstand finish! Marquez sweeps by Jorge Lorenzo. He's on slicks. So, he's the bravest chap out there at the moment. Rossi is still on intermediate skins here. There's a local yellow flag, too, somewhere. Tito Rabat has ditched his bike, and crashed out. These leaders are still steaming along, having not come into the lane yet.
Rossi's spare bike is in the lane. But, "The Doctor" wants to stay out. We look at Dovizioso's front tire, and on the left side, the thing is shredding to pieces. Marquez is cooking. He's six seconds a lap faster, than the blokes who keep their wet tires. Maverick Vinales, serviced and sent. Ditto for Alvaro Bautista and Tito Rabat. Yonny Hernandez, now in the lane. A couple riders have gone to slicks. Dani Pedrosa is one. Barbera, Crutchlow, and Miller are running together, as we get down to crunch time here in Deutschland. Crutchlow passes Barbera. Is this whole pack, going to stick it out, and throw caution to the wind? Pit stops? No mas. Rossi goes around again. Dovizioso's crew says "box" on his pit board. Last lap for Dovizioso was a 1:35.3.
Marquez is flying. New fast lap of 1:28.525. Cal Crutchlow has made it to third spot. He tries Rossi, but holds his spot. If any of the front runners come in, Marc Marquez will inherit the lead of this race. Rossi, dives for the lane. Crutchlow, and everyone else, is in. Miller rolls the dice and goes for the lead. Is Miller in the catbird seat for another win? Dovizioso and Rossi are serviced and sent. Crutchlow did likewise. Marquez lowers fast lap to 1:28 flat! 1:28.002. Crutchlow runs wide. Marquez is up to second, behind Miller. Miller's caveat, is that he's on full wet tires, and Marquez was seven seconds faster than rider #43. Miller is going to gamble on this one.
Dovizioso now has an intermediate front Michelin, and rear slick. Rossi has two intermediates. Crutchlow should be on full slicks. Marquez is faster still! 1:26.750! Lorenzo is headed for the pits. The pace gap between the slicks and the intermediates is beginning to show, as Andrea Iannone was a full three seconds slower, than Marquez. Scott Redding is shown third now. Slicks is the way to fly here. Rossi has two intermediates on his Yamaha. Miller has pitted for slicks. Five laps left. Andrea Iannone and Hector Barbera are battling hammer and tongs here. Dani Pedrosa is also right there. Intermediate tires are useless because once the track begins to dry, you go to slicks. No questions.
Four laps remain. Crutchlow is a second behind Dovizioso. With Marquez whistling off into the distance, Rossi is going to take a hit in points. Marquez leads Lorenzo by 48, 170-122. He leads Rossi, by 58, 170-112. Pedrosa is fourth, not a factor, on 96 points as things stand before we finish here in Germany. Scott Redding will be second, scoring his best ever MotoGP finish. Crutchlow and Dovizioso are scrapping. These two were team mates, in years past, both for Tech 3 Yamaha, and for the factory Ducati squad. Cal Crutchlow has not had a podium since Argentina 2015. Crutchlow, fastest lap. 1:26.539.
Marquez will win this race by a country mile. Crutchlow wants to move at turn 12. Nope. Crutchlow down the inside at turn 13. Give the spot to Cal Crutchlow. Did Dovizioso miss a shift? Crutchlow runs a 1:27.686. Scott Redding best be ready for a fight in these closing laps. Crutchlow finished second to Marquez here in Germany, in 2013. Dovizioso had to back off, because he was wide and on a damp patch. Dovizioso has fallen to fourth since the track dried out. It wasn't long ago that Marc Marquez was half a minute behind. But now, he's way ahead of his rivals. It's the final lap. Crutchlow is all over Redding like a rash. Redding slams the door in Crutchlow's face. One lap left here at the Sachsenring.
Two Brits, side by side down the straight! Crutchlow gets past Redding. Pedrosa, Rossi, and Barbera, scrap for sixth. Crutchlow is whistling off into the distance, and leaving Scott Redding in his tire tracks. But, that being said, Redding is being hounded by Andrea Dovizioso. Dovizioso wants third away from Redding. Up the inside, and through goes Dovizioso, just before turn 12. Marc Marquez wins for the seventh successive time, in Germany.
#93 Marc Marquez ESP. Honda
Crutchlow equals his best ever result in second. Redding is third and furious after running out of grip. Iannone comes fifth. Dani Pedrosa beats Jack Miller. Valentino Rossi, Hector Barbera, and Alvaro Bautista, have completed the top ten followed by Eugene Laverty and Maverick Vinales. The gamble paid off! Jorge Lorenzo, had no chance, and was not in contention all day. One point, in 15th. Marquez leads by 48 points. Next race, Austria at the Red Bull Ring. Stay tuned for that.
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