Lorenzo pips Marquez right on the line in Italian MotoGP
Yamaha ace steals victory in the shadows of the post past fellow Spaniard, while pole-sitter and nine-times world champion Rossi encounters engine trouble in Mugello
Jorge Lorenzo overtook Marc Marquez at the line to win the Italian MotoGP on Sunday, as home favourite Valentino Rossi retired with a mechanical problem.
The pace was not very fast, so I couldn’t escape like I wanted to
Spaniard Lorenzo took the lead from pole-sitter Rossi at the first corner, but nine-time world champion Rossi bowed out early after his bike failed him when he was looking primed to make a pass.
Instead it was down to Marquez to pressure world champion Lorenzo, and he took the lead from his compatriot on the final lap, only to see the Yamaha man steal the victory metres from the finish.
After a week in which riders have been swapping teams for next season, outgoing Ducati rider Andrea Iannone had a horrific start for the home team.
He and teammate Andrea Dovizioso had only finished two races each going into this week, and neither ever looked like challenging for the lead at the Mugello Circuit.
That meant that the home crowd had their hopes pinned on 37-year-old Rossi, but those went up in smoke with 13 of 23 laps still to go.
Championship leader Lorenzo made the most of the opportunity to claim his third win of the season and second in a row, to extend his advantage in the riders’ standings over Honda’s Marquez to 10 points.