MotoGP Catalunya was overshadowed by the tragic death of 24-year-old Luis Salom, Moto2 rider.
MotoGP Catalunya Race Report
The first thing we’d like to say here at Two Wheel Centre, is that our thoughts are with the family of Luis Salom. The 24-year-old Moto2 rider sadly passed away on Friday, after a crash in Free Practice. This was such a shock for the whole sport, and the incident is still being investigated.
Luis was praised by commentators and riders as a dedicated, emotional young man whose sheer joy on the Qatar podium earlier this year was a sight to behold. A full tribute to Luis Salom can be found on the here on the MotoGP website.
With the blessing of Salom’s family, it was decided that Sunday’s races would go ahead. MotoGP Catalunya then became a different event entirely, with a new track layout avoiding Turn 12 (where Salom crashed). This turn was replaced with a sharp and difficult chicane, testing the bikes to the limit.
This was the F1 layout, and relatively untested by MotoGP riders. Teams scrambled to understand the new track in extra testing, and Marc Marquez battled through to achieve a pole position start. Hector Barbera also had an impressive qualifying session on the new track, earning his first top six start since 2012.
Who made it to the Catalunya podium?
Well, the magnificent winner this weekend was Valentino Rossi, whose tyres lasted in 50° track temperatures to take him across the line in first place. The top three was completed by orange-clad Honda riders, with Marc Marquez in second and Dani Pedrosa in third.
This was Rossi’s 1st win at MotoGP Catalunya since 2009, the 7th time that he has taken top spot at this track. With the new track layout throwing everybody off, this was always going to be a race dominated by the more experienced riders. A brief tussle with his teammate Lorenzo and a thrilling battle with Marquez saw Rossi hold his pace until the end, fending off Marquez right up to the final lap.
The crowds were ecstatic as Rossi crossed the finish line, and they roared every time he passed the orange Honda of the chasing Marquez. Despite the fact that this was a Spanish race track, as the commentators pointed out: “Every race is a home race for Valentino Rossi.”
The Doctor himself was clearly pleased with the exciting race: “The race was great! Though the start was not fantastic, I was strong enough to come back, do some good overtaking and arrive in front…At the end I was ready for the battle, which was a good one, with a lot of overtaking and I was ready to give it a try. You can’t wish for a better race, I think.”
More Maniac Madness!
Of course, the story wasn’t that simple. Rossi had this incredible chance to push hard and take the victory largely because the threat of Jorge Lorenzo wasn’t hanging over him. After falling back dramatically due to tyre grip, Lorenzo had a hammer blow of bad luck and crashed out in the 17th lap.
The culprit for Lorenzo’s crash was – wait for it – Andrea Iannone. A shocking lack of control saw him zoom up to the back of Lorenzo, try to pass him on the wrong side and make contact, causing both bikes to go tail over handlebars and both riders to slide out onto the gravel.
Both riders got up and Iannone immediately rushed over to explain to Lorenzo, who was having absolutely none of it. After taking his teammate out in Argentina and being dropped by Ducati, Iannone clearly hasn’t finished causing chaos yet. This was the second time that the world champion has been forced out of a race with zero points this season.
Lorenzo’s take on the incident pulled no punches: “It’s unbelievable that Iannone made this mistake again and when he did, instead of saying “sorry” he asked me if I had an engine failure…There is always one rider that doesn’t understand the risks and that his actions can seriously injure the other riders.”
Here’s what the disgraced Ducati rider had to say for himself: “I am very sorry for what happened with Lorenzo…I can only say that I could do nothing to avoid it…unfortunately I made contact with him and we both crashed. It might seem that I came in too fast and that I wanted to pass him but that’s not the way it went…”
It’s difficult to know who to believe, but it certainly looked like Iannone was once again pushing his ‘Maniac’ nickname too far. Ducati will be incensed and relieved at the same time – incensed that a valuable chance for points has been taken away, and relieved that they won’t have to put up with Iannone’s antics next year.
As for Iannone himself, Race Direction have determined that he will start from the back of the grid in Assen in two weeks’ time. Let’s hope he can restrain himself next time he wants to make a dodgy pass!
A Honda 2-3 gives Marquez the edge
Marc Marquez was a thrill to watch this weekend, making the most of a difficult track on his factory Honda. The young Spaniard crept up through the field and stalked Rossi mercilessly, sitting on his back wheel until the last five laps. That’s when he struck, the two riders passing each other time and time again to the delight of the fans.
Despite trying his hardest, Marquez wasn’t quite able to ride perfectly and slip past his rival. He did gain enough points to return to the top of the table though, with 10 points separating him and the world champion Lorenzo.
Dani Pedrosa salvaged a good result from this difficult weekend, with a third place finish. He fought off a sustained attack from the young Suzuki rider Maverick Vinales, but this wasted his tyres too much to challenge for second. He rode a lonely race in the final laps, holding his pace to take third.
Pedrosa paid tribute to Salom in his comments: “I’m happy to get back at the front and return to the podium, and to do so at home but on the other hand it’s been a difficult weekend for what has happened. Luis’s family wanted us to continue, and we gave our all for him and for them…”
The most impressive thing we’ve seen this weekend though, without a doubt, was a healing moment between Marquez and Lorenzo. With their petty squabbles seeming insignificant next to the death of a fellow rider, the two opponents shook hands in public. It was touching to see the return of sportsmanship between the Italian and the Spaniard, and a great boost to the sport of MotoGP.
Marquez said: “It has been a hard weekend for all the riders, but in the end I think that together we paid tribute to Luis Salom with the Sunday that he deserved. It was a nice race with Valentino…Another thing that’s important for motorcycle racing is that Valentino and I shook hands; it was probably the weekend and the right situation to do so.” Well said, Marc!
Two weeks to wait until Assen – why not catch up with the season so far?
The next round will be on 26th of June in Assen, with Valentino Rossi having dominated the Dutch GP so far.
If two weeks is too long (it certainly is for us!) then check out the Racing News section of our blog for all the race reports of the season so far, as well as BSB and Taz Taylor news. We’ll be back after MotoGP Assen with our next race report.
