MotoGP: Valentino Rossi Takes Marquez Down In Argentina

Marquez crashes out after a spectacular battle with Rossi!

We could only sit back in awe on Sunday and think, ‘What the hell just happened?’ as Valentino Rossi took to the podium for his second win of the season. The Doctor is back and he is not going anywhere! Rossi started the race back in eighth on the grid, with Marquez in pole position and brimming with confidence after his victory in the USA. It seemed unthinkable that Rossi could claw his way through the pack and take down the young champion, but the unthinkable happened before our eyes as Marquez crashed out in lap 23. Showing his characteristic fighting spirit, Marquez immediately got up after sliding off the track and onto the grass. He ran for his bike, determined not to be defeated, but his Honda couldn’t be resurrected and he was unable to finish the race. This means that he is now 30 points behind Valentino Rossi in the championship standings and has some catching up to do in Spain on May the 3rd. Fans expecting Dovizioso to challenge Rossi again were disappointed, but once again Dovizioso ended up in second place after keeping up the pace on the Ducati GP15. He is now six points behind Valentino Rossi and must be starting to get a thirst for victory by now. We’ll see if he can finally catch up with the champions in Spain!

So, how did Rossi do it? The Doctor’s years of experience definitely showed as he played the long game. Coming into second place on the 14th lap with a five-second gap behind Marquez, he crept up on his rival by shaving off a little bit of time each lap, to eventually end up neck-and-neck with the Spaniard. He may have been helped by high track temperatures, having opted for the extra hard Bridgestone rear tyre to give him that extra endurance which Marquez’s hard tyre lacked. With 2 laps to go, the battle of champions that we had been waiting for came to a dramatic end as Rossi overtook the young Spaniard and Marquez decided not to let him! Rossi commented: “When I arrive, it was a shame that he crashed, but for me he made a mistake because Marc is a rider who will always go all-in…It was a shame as it could have been a good battle to the end.” Marquez’s determination is what makes him a champion, but his refusal to let Rossi overtake him cleanly was a little reckless, and ended up doing the young Spaniard more harm than good. He clipped Rossi’s Yamaha as the Italian pulled out ahead of him and ended up sliding off into the grass along with his bike. Will Marquez’s fighting spirit be trumped by the Doctor’s expertise this year? We’ll have to wait and see.

The other high point in Argentina for British fans was seeing our own Cal Crutchlow stand up there on the podium for CWM LCR Honda. He held the trophy high with pride, after seeing off Ducati’s Andrea Iannone to finish in 3rd as the top placed satellite rider. What was a stroke of bad luck for Marquez, ended up being a blessing to Crutchlow as he had held a solid fourth place right up until the crash. Crutchlow was, of course, pleased with the result after a hard weekend: “Unfortunately Marc crashed, and we benefitted and took the podium. This is racing, we fought hard all weekend long, I enjoyed it thoroughly and I think it paid off.” Bradley Smith also did well as he finished in 6th for Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Scott Redding managed 9th, securing his first top 10 finish of the season with the extra hard rear tyre proving a good choice in his final lap battle with Maverick Vinales. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time we’ll see a British rider on the podium this year, and we’ll be cheering on Cal Crutchlow on May the 3rd.

Photo courtesy of www.motogp.com