Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) scored a storming victory in today’s sun-blessed San Marino Grand Prix, the former 125cc and 250cc World Champion coming from behind to win his first race of the season and his 29th MotoGP success. He also gave Honda its fourth victory from the last six races to increase Honda’s lead in the Constructor’s World Championship.
Dani Pedrosa, Marc MarquezzoomDani Pedrosa, Marc Marquez Dani PEDROSAzoomDani Pedrosa
Team-mate and World Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) finished fourth in the tense, tight race to take a 43-point lead into the last five of 18 races. The 2013 and 2014 MotoGP World Champion continued his brilliant consistency with his 13th-point-scoring ride from the 13 races so far. The 23-year-old is the only rider across all three Grand Prix classes – MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 – to have scored points at every race.
His result also played its part in the Repsol Honda Team’s 26-point advantage in the MotoGP Teams’ Championship.
Thirty-year-old Pedrosa was in irresistible form, making his way through from an eighth-place start, picking off the riders ahead of him to claim his first win since Sepang, last October. He was also the eighth different winner in the last eight races, a feat never before achieved since the dawn of Grand Prix racing in 1949.
Building his way into the race, Pedrosa overtook Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) for the lead on lap 22 of 28 and from there maintained a scintillating pace to finish 2.8 seconds ahead of Rossi. Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) was third.
Pedrosa’s result moved him back into fourth overall, following a challenging earlier part of the season during which he visited the podium twice. The Spaniard’s win was partly built on set-up improvements made during last weekend’s British GP which allowed him to set a fast, consistent pace throughout the Misano race.
His ride also showed the recent gains HRC engineers have made with electronics set-up, while his improved feeling with the latest Michelin tires was also a factor.
Marquez had been confident of challenging for a race win but midway through the race realized that he could not fight with the leaders. He was pleased enough with his pace, which was similar to FP4 but soon saw Pedrosa could go even faster.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) had a tough race to eighth place, struggling with vision issues caused by sweat on the inside of his visor that caused him to miss his braking marker at the end of the front straight. The 30-year old was confident he could have placed inside the top six, had it not been for his vision issues.
Rookie Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) crashed on the second lap, spoiling his chance of scoring more points. The 2014 Moto2 World Champion returned to pit lane for repairs and then posted some promising times toward the end of the race.
Still struggling with injuries sustained at last month’s Austrian Grand Prix, Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) withdrew from the 13th race of the season before the start. The Australian cracked a vertebra and broke a bone in his right hand at the Red Bull Ring. Tge hand injury made it too difficult to deal with Misano’s numerous heavy braking points and tight corners.
In the Honda-powered Moto2 race, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Forward Team Kalex) claimed a memorable maiden GP victory in front of a jubilant home crowd after coming out on top of a thrilling battle with Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex).
Rins, still recovering from a recent shoulder injury, was able to ascend the order during a chaotic first few laps and establish an early advantage, only for a resolute Baldassarri to reel him in.
Finally the Italian teenager expertly dived past the Spaniard at Quercia corner. But title-challenger Rins retaliated, knowing that every position may have a crucial significance in the championship outcome. At one point he nearly tagged Baldassarri’s rear wheel and had to run off track. The 20-year old was nonetheless content to rejoin in second place to close Johann Zarco’s (Ajo Motorsport Kalex) championship lead to three points.
Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex) came home third, six seconds behind the race winner, after showing potential race-winning pace in practice. The Japanese rider was unable to get his front tire up to working temperature in the early laps and by the time he had upped his pace the leading pair was out of reach.
Pole-sitter Zarco was a frustrated fourth, just under nine seconds behind the race winner. The Frenchman was the early leader, only to slip down the order when embroiled in a frantic battle with Baldassarri, Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten Kalex), the latter two eventually finishing fifth and sixth.
Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia Kalex) was seventh, ahead of Jonas Folger (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) and Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0.0 Marc VDS Kalex).
In the 23-lap Moto3 race, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW) came within two tenths of second of repeating his 2015 Misano win. The rider from nearby Rimini was locked in a race-long duel with championship leader Brad Binder (KTM), and despite his best efforts at the final corner he was unable to make his way past for a popular home win.
Bastianini nonetheless achieved his best result of the season and overtakes Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) for second overall after the Spaniard fell from a podium position.
Jakub Kornfeil (Drive M7 SIC Racing Team Honda NSF250RW) made his experience count by winning a tight fight for fifth place. Impressive rookie Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) again showed flashes of the speed that make him an enticing proposition for 2017 with a fine ride to seventh. Hiroki Ono (Honda Team Asia Honda NSF250RW) was ninth, one place ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda NSF250RW), who completed the top ten.
The MotoGP paddock now has one weekend in which to catch its breath before the Grand Prix of Aragon, on September 25.
Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez
Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st“It was a great race, and it has been a long time since I have had these feelings. The performance I put in today surprised even myself, because I had not expected to go so fast; we were fantastic. The key was the pace; I was able to fight my way through, especially in the final part, and being consistent allowed me to catch the riders at the front. It’s very nice for me to take victory again, after all the effort made by those who have been with me in this challenging season so far: my family, my team and my fans. It has been very difficult, so I’m very happy for all of them. Today I enjoyed myself, although I was a little worried about the choice of front tire because I had not used it in hot conditions. In the end we were focused and everything went very well; it was an opportunity of which we had to take advantage and I think we have achieved a great victory.”Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 4th“Today’s race was perhaps not one of my better days. I went out with great desire and I felt strong, able to recover the ground I had lost on the first few laps and close in on Valentino and Jorge. Then I saw I had problems with the front tire, because I was losing it a lot. When Dani passed me, I tried to follow him, but I saw that it was more likely that I would crash than finish on the podium, so I concentrated on finishing the race. We have to keep improving, but the positive thing is that we only lost a few points on a weekend that had been good but that we weren’t able to capitalize in the race. Now we are very motivated for Aragon.”Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda: 8th“First and foremost I ran across turn one five times during the race, simply because sweat was on the inside of my visor and I couldn’t see a thing from lap eight onwards. I usually have a sweatband but it moved into the wrong position and sweat was dripping everywhere. This is essentially why we were dropping back. I would have had a better race but I couldn’t see anything. In the race, I used the medium front tire. We were struggling with the front of our bike all weekend. We tried our best to fix it but essentially we were losing too much time in sector three, and I couldn’t get the time back anywhere else because I didn’t have confidence in the front.”Tito Rabat, EG 0,0 Marc VDS: 17th“I made a very good first lap but then made a mistake. I braked too hard, lost the front and could not save it. The footpegs were broken, so my thanks to the team for quickly fixing this problem. I re-joined and settled into a good rhythm in the group with Petrucci and Bradl who finished in the top twelve and I learnt a lot of things riding with these guys. Now I will focus on the next race at Aragon.”Jack Miller, EG 0,0 Marc VDS: DNS“Misano is a much more physically demanding track to ride than Silverstone and my right hand has been getting worse each day. Every time I got off the bike the swelling was more. It’s not painful, but I was lacking power in the hand and you need to have that here for the hard braking areas. I thought long and hard about it last night, but it simply wasn’t safe for me to ride a 28-lap race with this problem. Now I am focused only on recovery and getting back on the bike as soon as I am fully fit again.”
Honda Moto2 Rider Quotes
Lorenzo Baldassarri, Forward Team: 1st“It was really an amazing thing to have won here the first time, in the circuit dedicated to Marco Simoncelli. It’s really a special day with my fan club coming here on a special date that we commemorated with our livery. It was a fantastic race, I still cannot believe it, I realized that Rins had gone off when I crossed the line. Thanks to everyone: my team, to Giovanni, the VR46 Riders Academy, to my family and to those who came to cheer for us this weekend.”Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40: 2nd“Now I am just three points behind Zarco in the championship. It is nothing! This race was difficult for me all the race. My left shoulder started to hurt and in the last two laps Baldassarri overtook me. He was very strong through this race. I’m happy for this and we’re looking forward to the next race at Aragon, where we will try to fight again.”Takaaki Nakagami, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia: 3rd“It’s a big disappointment because all the race I was competitive. All through practice I thought we had a chance for victory here. In the first and second lap I didn’t have any feeling on the front. I went back to ninth or tenth and thought the race was over. I just tried to recover and move up the order. Alex and Baldassarri had gone away. I tried my best to close the gap but by the end of the race my front tire was completely finished. toward the end I saw Zarco was three seconds and I realized it was better to finish third. A podium is nice. Congratulations to Baldassarri and Alex on their races today.”
Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes
Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing Moto3: 2nd “Binder maintained a good pace throughout the race, and today he really made the difference. When I was following him closely, maybe it could appear that it was easy for me, but only because I didn’t want to pass him in the long straight to not break the rhythm: by doing so we were able to open a gap on the other riders. Later, in the final stages of the race, I passed Binder to take the lead, but then he was good to pass me again, winning the race. Too bad only for the final attack: I felt strong enough in the last corner, and after his pass I was already thinking to fight back on that corner. Brad was good to close the inside line though, and it was not possible to pass. Now I’m second in the championship: Binder is far away, so the goal is to keep the second position, but as long as we have a possibility, we will always try to attack, till the end!”Jakub Kornfeil, Drive M7 SIC Racing Team: 5th“Today I went into the race with a winning mentality. I really wanted to fight for the podium. Unfortunately the way the race went this became more and more difficult. During a race there is always one moment where the leading riders want to pull away and I missed this; at this time I was in fourth place and fighting with Locatelli and he passed me. This was the most important moment during the race and the reason why we didn’t finish on the podium today. Nevertheless I enjoyed it a lot today; I had some good battles and the bike was working very well, so I’m very happy for this. We just need to stay where we are and keep up the hard work. Thanks to team and all the people who came here to support me.”Aron Canet, Estrella Galicia 0,0: 7th“I am physically very tired because of the heat and the rapid pace that we have had in the race. At first we struggled a bit and that is what we have to improve for the remaining races. We know that if we improve our starts we can fight in the top group, like Mir and Bulega. Today we were a bit behind the front group, but the important thing is that in the final laps with used tires we were able to ride with a good rhythm and take back some positions. We say goodbye to Italy with a seventh place, within the top ten and we have also been at the front, so we’re going to Aragon happy and with our objectives met.”
Lorenzo BaldassarrizoomLorenzo Baldassarri
MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2016
Round 13: San Marino Race
MotoGP Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team)
2 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
4 Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team)
5 Maverick VIÑALES (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR)
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team)
7 Michele PIRRO (Ducati Team)
8 Cal CRUTCHLOW (LCR Honda)
9 Pol ESPARGARO (Monster Yamaha Tech 3)
10 Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
11 Danilo PETRUCCI (OCTO Pramac Yakhnich)
12 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
13 Hector BARBERA (Avintia Racing)
14 Eugene LAVERTY (Aspar Team MotoGP)
15 Scott REDDING (OCTO Pramac Yakhnich)
Moto2 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI (Forward Team)
2 Alex RINS (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
3 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
4 Johann ZARCO (Ajo Motorsport)
5 Franco MORBIDELLI (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
6 Thomas LUTHI (Garage Plus Interwetten)
7 Hafizh SYAHRIN (Petronas Raceline Malaysia)
8 Jonas FOLGER (Dynavolt Intact GP)
9 Sandro CORTESE (Dynavolt Intact GP)
10 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
11 Marcel SCHROTTER (AGR Team)
12 Xavi VIERGE (Tech 3 Racing)
13 Luca MARINI (Forward Team)
14 Ratthapark WILAIROT (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
15 Jesko RAFFIN (Sports-Millions-EMWE-SAG)
Moto3 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Moto3)
3 Joan MIR (Leopard Racing)
4 Nicolo BULEGA (SKY Racing Team VR46)
5 Jakub KORNFEIL (Drive M7 SIC Racing Team)
6 Andrea LOCATELLI (Leopard Racing)
7 Aron CANET (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
8 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
9 Hiroki ONO (Honda Team Asia)
10 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO (Gresini Racing Moto3)
11 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
12 Juanfran GUEVARA (RBA Racing Team)
13 Livio LOI (RW Racing GP BV)
14 Jules DANILO (Ongetta-Rivacold)
15 Andrea MIGNO (SKY Racing Team VR46)