Submitted by Jared Earle on
Race report follows.
A poor start for Marc Marquez from pole position put him in sixth position halfway round the first lap. The Ducatis of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso led Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda through the first few turns as Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi took care of title leader and world champion Marc Marquez.
On the second lap, Jorge Lorenzo, having passed Dani Pedrosa, forced his Yamaha past both of the Ducatis in one overtake to grab the race lead. Andrea Iannone, on a Pramac Ducati that he admitted was a factory bike, held off Dani Pedrosa's challenge until the fourth lap when Pedrosa took his place behind Lorenzo, setting the fastest lap on his way.
Marc Marquez passed Valentino Rossi for fourth place and got into a tough battle with Andrea Iannone for third place, with the pair bashing fairings on a couple of corners, swapping places four times until Marquez was able to vanquish his opponent and throw him back to Rossi for him to deal with. Rossi wasted no time passing Ianonne and returned to chasing Marquez.
On the sixth lap, Dani Pedrosa caught and passed Jorge Lorenzo for the lead and set about building a lead as the race settled into the consolidation phase. Twelve laps in, however, Valentino Rossi closed on Marc Marquez and started probing for a weakness, having a better pace than the Honda man. Over the next lap, the pair fought and the veteran passed the upstart champion and made it stick. Marquez kept on Rossi's tail, but he dropped back after missing a few apexes that suggested his tyres weren't up to the fight.
Seven laps remained, and apart from Dovizioso passing Iannone and being passed back a few laps later, the race looked settled, but on the last lap, Jorge Lorenzo, breaking from the tradition of copying the Honda men's tyre choice, choosing a softer tyre that he felt soaked up the bumps better, started closing in on Pedrosa.
It was not to be, however. The streak has ended and it was ended at the hands of Dani Pedrosa. Jorge Lorenzo took second place with Valentino Rossi in third. Marc Marquez took fourth place and his bike was immediately locked in the Repsol Honda garage away from prying eyes as Honda's engineers had to figure out what happened.
Dani Pedrosa is now thirteen points clear of Valentino Rossi in the title chase, and has reduced Marc Marquez's lead to a still impressive seventy seven points, while Marquez can relax in the knowledge that the media will no longer be troubling him with questions about the streak.
Results:
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Bike | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 42'47.800 |
| 2 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | +0.410 |
| 3 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +5.259 |
| 4 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | +10.454 |
| 5 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | +17.639 |
| 6 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | +17.834 |
| 7 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | +23.819 |
| 8 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Forward Yamaha | +29.621 |
| 9 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | +30.364 |
| 10 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Honda | +37.639 |
| 11 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Honda | +55.604 |
| 12 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | +56.727 |
| 13 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | +56.908 |
| 14 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Honda | +1'04.135 |
| 15 | 2 | Leon CAMIER | Honda | +1'04.902 |
| 16 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Forward Yamaha | +1'20.666 |
| 17 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Avintia | +1'24.282 |
| 18 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | Avintia | +1'27.436 |
| 19 | 23 | Broc PARKES | PBM | +1'38.867 |
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ART | 2 Laps | |
| 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Ducati | 15 Laps | |
| 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 16 Laps | |
| 70 | Michael LAVERTY | PBM | 16 Laps | |
| 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 17 Laps |
Comments
Amazing.
Didn't expect that.
Indeed
Nobody expects the Spanish substitution!
Gracias a Dios
Now the commentators will have to find something else to exercise their brain cells and pump up the hysteria.
It was always likely to be some kind of set-up issue or crash which would end the streak, since the Honda is clearly a far superior machine - and so it should be, considering all the corporate power and money spent on it. The #93 Honda was quicker down the straight than either 99, 46 or 26, so engine power wasn't the problem.
Not a bad race - it would have been icing on the cake if a Yamaha or Ducati had vanquished the monster, but it was a pretty close run thing at the flag.
Pity the championship was done and dusted long ago.
Such nonsense. If you look at
Such nonsense. If you look at the season as a whole there is absolutely no reason to think Honda have the 'far superior' machine. You do Yamaha a big disservice by stating that. The bikes each have their strengths and weaknesses but this race among a lot of others really show how close together these bikes are. Honda may have a slight edge overall but not nearly enough to migitate rider skill.
And Ducati? They're definitely improving.
Exhibit A
Honda - 11 wins - some by a country mile
Yamaha - 0 wins
Ducati - 0 wins
Come on!
The truth is not that simple and you know it.
Very true
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/207745/1/rossi-marcs-wins-the-rider-min...
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Occam's Hairpin
'Bike or Rider' is one of life's great conundrums - on a par with the existence or non-existence of a Creator.
IMO it's hard to deny The Doctor has made an accurate diagnosis - but others will deny it until their last breath.
An accurate diagnosis?
Really? The Doctor has made an accurate diagnosis?
When he won on a Honda, it was him, not the bike. When he won on a Yamaha, it was him, not the bike. When he won on a Ducati it was....
Oops.
Bike or rider
In my opinion it is Always depending on both, rider & bike, if the rider isn't good you won't win, if your bike is crap you won't win either. The mistake Rossi made is that he always tries to put Biaggi down, still now he feels the need to mention Biaggi to make him feel good, also the reason that he doesn't understand why it is now Marquez who should be the difference, compared to him not being the difference, shows for me a little bit of frustration that he feels he does not get the credits he feels he deserves.
Sorry about that
My mistake
"Poor old Valentino Rossi"
Seems like another MotoGP star is starting to believe the whole world is out to get him. ;) And still throwing barbs at Biaggi after all these years, I honestly wonder whether Biaggi even cares anymore? Biaggi went through the wringer, had a severe career realignment (thanks to pi$4ing off the Big H), grew up a bit, had a kid, won a couple more world titles (ok, second string, but none the less), bowed out a champion at a pretty significant age. I don't know the guy but it seemed to me that he mellowed, had a better outlook on life and his career (ok, face slapping Melandri was an amusing reversion to the mean). Seems like VR could learn something from him. Has the world not worshiped and loved you enough Valentino, really?
Feats of narcissicism
Go find a nice quiet spot and read Rossi's comments again.
All the top riders have extreme narcissistic personality disorders, and you're surprised #46 is still sniping at Biaggi?!? Of course Biaggi cares - these MotoGP heroes are really hypersensitive toddlers with long memories and feet of clay.
In any case his principal complaint is against journalistic hyperbole. He's probably not referring to this site - more likely to the Italian and/or Spanish press. For all you and I know, Spanish journalists are currently claiming #93 is the genuine GOAT and could win the championship on a Vespa. Any toddler would sulk about that.
The man in the arena
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt.
Moderator's edit: Added source and link.
No matter
What is all this garbage about actually? Roosevelt/ Putin,Cameron/ Obama.
Back to the race and the game we love. I was pleasantly surprised by the result.
Marc did what he had to do and Dani, well done Little Big Man.
The works Ducat's 17seconds back in a dry race? They are chipping away.
As ever, the Moto3 race is where its at from the armchair.
High time Ducati resurrected the 250 Desmo and entered the most exciting class. Give one to Miller and another to Binder.
TR put it a bit more
TR put it a bit more succinctly this way:
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Must say, I was rooting against MM, now I can only hope JL catches VR before the end of the season.
Tows
Wonder if Marquez will have a second thought on towing Ducati's now, after Ianone gave him a bit of a dust up?!
Was thinkng the same, and
Was thinkng the same, and I'll bet MM shows the non-aliens a bit more respect in the future. He may not have to worry about them long term (race distance), but he sure as hell needs to concern himself over the first few laps. No one likes being dissed, and it is a great motivator...
Honda test Brno (Marquez - Pedrosa) 16.7.2014
http://youtu.be/TMd5i70LKwA