LUCO DI MUGELLO: Jorge Lorenzo overtook Marc Marquez at the line to win the Italian MotoGP yesterday, as home favourite Valentino Rossi retired with a mechanical problem.
Spaniard Lorenzo took the lead from pole-sitter Rossi at the first corner, but nine-time world champion Rossi bowed out early after his bike failed him when he was looking primed to make a pass.
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Instead it was down to Marquez to pressure world champion Lorenzo, and he took the lead from his compatriot on the final lap, only to see the Yamaha man steal the victory metres from the finish.
After a week in which riders have been swapping teams for next season, outgoing Ducati rider Andrea Iannone had a horrific start for the home team.
He and teammate Andrea Dovizioso had only finished two races each going into this week, and neither ever looked like challenging for the lead at the Mugello Circuit.
That meant that the home crowd had their hopes pinned on 37-year-old Rossi, but those went up in smoke with 13 of 23 laps still to go.
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Championship leader Lorenzo made the most of the opportunity to claim his third win of the season and second in a row, to extend his advantage in the riders’ standings over Honda’s Marquez to 10 points.
“The pace was not very fast, so I couldn’t escape like I wanted to,” said Lorenzo. “I tried a crazy move, and my bike was quite fast, so I could take the win off Marquez and I won this unexpected victory.”
Iannone, who confirmed that he will be joining Suzuki next year after Ducati chose Dovizioso to partner the incoming Lorenzo for next season, battled back well to take a podium finish from what had been a very encouraging week.
“I am a bit disappointed. The clutch slipped and the bike started with a big wheelie,” said Iannone. “The podium in Italy is very good but I had the potential to fight for the victory.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2016.
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