Dani Pedrosa took the win at Rossi’s home race, making him the 8th different winner this year!
MotoGP San Marino Race Report
Before this weekend’s race, all eyes were on a certain Italian rider whose back garden was only 8 miles away from the track at Misano. The legendary Valentino Rossi was at home for the MotoGP San Marino, with a special Blues Brothers helmet and stands packed with yellow-clad fans.
Sadly for the fans, it wasn’t Vale who lifted the top trophy in Misano. The victor in this round was Dani Pedrosa, who had the honour of being the 8th different winner this season. That hasn’t happened since the first year of MotoGP in 1949!
The rest of the podium was taken up by the usual suspects, with The Doctor in a satisfactory second place. His teammate Jorge Lorenzo was back on form in third place – frustrating the best efforts of Marc Marquez in fourth.
Pedrosa Perfection
Pedrosa is remarkable when he’s at his best. We saw that last season, and have been treated to his talents again in 2016. In fact, Pedrosa has won at least one race in every MotoGP season he has competed in. That’s an amazing record, especially when competing against so many other champion racers.
Eight might just be Dani’s lucky number, as he started from eighth on the grid to be the eighth different winner in 2016. He slipped past his Honda teammate Marquez, wrestled the Yamaha team out of the way and kept a flawless rhythm for the perfect finish.
Pedrosa helped appease Rossi fans with a sportsmanlike humility: “I just tried to focus on my rhythm…I wasn’t thinking about the win, but then I realized I could catch Valentino…It’s been hard and it’s super to give my fans, team and family and friends something back for their support.”
It Was All Yellow…
Although Pedrosa did his best to cast some shade, the Rossi yellow still shone brightly in the stands. Yellow smoke filled the air as Valentino Rossi celebrated his podium place as if it was a win. Fans still got to see their idol lifting a trophy – and drinking from his shoe like Jack Miller in Assen. (Whatever floats your boat Vale!)
Rossi kept up the pace from his start in second, taking the lead for a while before Pedrosa zoomed past to keep him in second place. Though it wasn’t exactly the result he (or the hordes of yellow flag-wavers) wanted, it was still a good show from the Doctor and earned him valuable championship points.
Rossi wasn’t bitter about the result, but praised Pedrosa’s riding: “After Pedrosa arrived he was just faster…But it was a great race and a very good weekend. Other than just the championship, it’s always great to beat Marc – because you know if you have, you’ve done a very good job.”
Of course, the Doctor couldn’t resist a little dig at his main rival Marquez. The gap between them is rapidly narrowing with five races to go: there are now 43 points between them. That’s not an impossible gap for a nine-time world champion. If Rossi gives 100% for the last five races, he might just pull it off. Fingers crossed, Vale fans!
Better Luck for Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo began the MotoGP San Marino in pole position, looking stronger than the last two rounds and ready for a comeback. He led the early laps, but wasn’t quite fast enough to match the two in front. Gaining third place and 16 points, he’s obviously found his mojo again.
Lorenzo had mixed feelings about the result: “I tried all race to close the gap but today wasn’t my day. They were faster and I just have to accept it…so I can’t be very happy but I can’t be really disappointed because I’m on the podium and I did my best today.”
In other news: Maverick Vinales came fresh off a win last week and took a very tidy fifth place behind Marc Marquez. Andrea Iannone was off with an injury and Michele Pirro, the Honda test rider, replaced him with a respectable seventh place finish.
Here Come The Brits…
Yes folks, it’s time for us to see how our own British riders did in the MotoGP San Marino. There was slightly less excitement this week, with Sam Lowes completing just seven laps before crashing out. That’s a shame after last week’s brilliant performance, but he will have another chance in Aragon to replace the recovering Bradley Smith.
Cal Crutchlow can’t dazzle us in every round, but he did finish inside the top ten with a decent eighth place. He spent most of the time tussling with Michele Pirro’s Factory Ducati, and some pesky visor trouble held him back.
Crutchlow reflected on a difficult race: “In the race I had some problems with the visor in my helmet…We’re not so happy with the result, but I think it was good to finish the race and get some more miles under our belts and now we look forward to going strong in Aragon.”
Scott Redding didn’t manage to get into the top ten, but he did at least take away one point for Octo Pramac Yakhnich. Better luck next time, Scott!
When is the next MotoGP race?
We’re sorry to say that there will be a short break before the next round. Boo! The next race is at Aragon on the 25th of September. This will be Dani Pedrosa’s home race – so perhaps he should let Rossi win in the interests of fairness!
What do you think? Leave us a comment below. And one more thing: If you’ve missed any MotoGP action this year, we’ve got you covered with our Racing News blog posts on every MotoGP race this year.
Photos courtesy of Motogp.com.
