The 2015 championship is closer than ever, after Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa saw off Rossi in Aragon.
MotoGP Aragon Race Report
Back on a dry track in Aragon, Jorge Lorenzo secured his sixth win this season. He is now a mere 14 points behind Rossi, with only four races to go. Lorenzo pushed hard from the beginning of the race, with the chasing Marquez eliminated in the second lap. Lorenzo is now solidly on track to beat his teammate, with Rossi’s dry pace looking slower and slower next to the Mallorcan’s lightning speed.
Lorenzo said: “I remained very concentrated and focused and it was worth it…Had I lost more points to Valentino, it would have been almost impossible to win the championship…Maybe we can win, but for sure, with Marquez around it will be very tough.”
It’s certainly crucial for Marc Marquez to claw back some points in the last four races. He recorded his fifth DNF of the season in Aragon, a crushing disappointment for the former champion. He now finds himself sitting in a precarious third place on the championship table, with only 12 points between him and Ducati rider Andrea Iannone.
After this disaster of a season, Marquez apologised to his fans: “Today I can only apologise to the team and the fans, because we were working very well and we had a very good pace all weekend. On the second lap, when braking for Turn 12, I made a mistake and lost the front…When a season is not going well for you, then nothing goes your way.”
Although he didn’t have to worry about Marquez, Valentino Rossi found himself facing a familiar threat in the resurgent Dani Pedrosa. Their battle for second place was a rewarding sight for the fans, with Rossi exhausting all his skill and energy as Pedrosa matched him at every pass.
In the end, the Doctor secured third place, a crucial result with Lorenzo hot on his heels. He said: “I try everything, I give the maximum, because for sure it is important to arrive second and lose just the five points to Jorge, but at the end Dani today was very strong.”
Dani Pedrosa did show extraordinary strength in Aragon. He didn’t let a recently dislocated shoulder stop him, pushing hard for second place against a nine-times world champion. His determination paid off, with a remarkable second place finish. The result shows Pedrosa’s consistency – let’s not forget that the Honda rider has won at least once in every premier class season he’s raced in. Not even the Doctor can beat that!
With both Repsol Honda riders fighting hard for pole position and the top two riders so close, the 2015 champion is anybody’s guess. What we can be pretty sure of is that this year’s winner will be wearing the Movistar Yamaha colours! Yamaha have snatched the Team World Championship title from Honda this year, with four races still to go. With Lorenzo’s six victories added to Rossi’s four, the team have won 10 out of 14 races this season.
How did the British riders do in Aragon?
The San Marino podium high didn’t last long for Bradley Smith and Scott Redding, the British riders finishing in eighth and twelfth place respectively. Cal Crutchlow had the best result, with his seventh place marking a 5th consecutive finish in the top ten. This was still a disappointing result for the LCR Honda rider, with technical problems holding him back.
Crutchlow kept his chin up though, saying: “Overall I am pleased to finish because I had some big moments out there where I could have gone even though I was not riding too hard. I think it was a positive weekend, we finished seventh and I have some more knowledge of riding the Honda. We need to improve, but I think today’s race can help to highlight a lot of things.”
Bradley Smith has come down from his San Marino high – he began the race in tenth and battled for sixth, hot on the back tyre of Dovizioso’s factory Ducati. However, one tiny mistake is all it takes at this level, and he fell down to eighth with 11 laps to go. This result shouldn’t disappoint the young Brit too much, though – he’s still 5th place in the table.
If Smith holds on to his spot on the table, he will have achieved a remarkable feat by the end of the season, beating the factory riders Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa. We hope he manages it, and can’t wait to see his talent blossom further in 2016.
Scott Redding’s twelfth place was much more disappointing for the EG 0,0 Marc VDS team. Problems with his bike caused him to fall down the rankings, after a brilliant performance in San Marino. Redding explained: “I had some brake issues getting up to temperature and a lot of pumping from the rear…I felt some vibration and it had an impact on rear grip…the last laps were a struggle and it was disappointing to see the times increase so much.”
The next round of the MotoGP is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan on the 11th of October. With all to race for, will Lorenzo or Rossi take the top spot? Or can Marquez dethrone them both? Is it high time Dani Pedrosa got that first race win? We’ll find out, and bring you our full race report, right here on the Two Wheel Centre blog.
What’s happened in the season so far?
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Photo courtesy of www.motogp.com
