MotoGP Italian Grand Prix 2015: Marc Marquez crashes out as Jorge Lorenzo wins

Victory in Italy makes it a hat-trick of wins for Jorge Lorenzo

Marc Marquez (GETTY IMAGES)

Andrea Iannone was in pole position for his and Ducati’s home round but it was a Spaniard that took the win in the hot temperatures of the Tuscan countryside, in front of over 90,000 Italian fans.

From the start, the Ducati Desmocedici of Andrea Dovizioso shot from 3rd place on the grid to take the first corner but halfway round the first lap Movistar Yamaha rider Lorenzo took the lead on his YZR-M1 and left everyone behind for the 23-lap race.

The battle for the other two podium steps was immediately on, with nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi needing to finish in at least 5th place to maintain his lead in the championship standings. He qualified in 8th position and fell to 9th on the first lap, before slowly making his way towards the front by halfway through the race.

Defending world champion Marc Marquez had a troubling weekend unable to find a top ten fastest lap in the practice sessions which resulted in him having to qualify in Q1. The top two riders from this session go through to Q2 to form the first twelve places on the grid. Marquez posted the second fastest time before pitting towards the end of Q1 but Pramac Ducati rider Yonny Hernandez put in a last minute flying lap, knocking Marquez from second place and preventing him from qualifying in Q2 for the first time in his career.

Marquez got a great start to the race after starting in 13th place, and moved quickly to 4th place in the first lap to then swap places with the Ducati’s for much of the race, putting in a fastest lap of 1 minute 47.654 seconds on his third lap. However, with six laps to go, and looking like he would take 2nd again from Iannone, he lost the front end and finished the race in the gravel with zero points.

British rider Bradley Smith was behind compatriot Cal Crutchlow in 6th place, until with three laps to go, Crutchlow crashed his LCR Honda at 120mph for the second time today, having suffered a fast crash in warm-up and a bang to the head again.

Compatriot and Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, had been leading the second pack in 5th position ahead of Crutchlow, Bradley Smith and Rossi before Marquez’ fall and Dovizioso retiring to the pits on lap 9. He was unable to keep Rossi from winning the last step on the podium though and finished in 4th position, leaving the Italians to stand on the podium with Lorenzo.

Lorenzo, who had smashed the circuit record during FP3 says: “I try to stay in first position and the gap difference got bigger quicker which was a surprise, so I was smiling in my helmet as the pace was not very good. In my career I receive a lot of surprises but this was big. From Argentina, to now have these results, although I never stop believing in myself even when I have difficulties, in MotoGP it is so close and anything can happen. There’s six riders who could win the race so we have to not underestimate any rival and keep working even more to win”.

Jorge Lorenzo celebrates victory (GETTY IMAGES)

For Iannone, both pole position and the second place on the podium were firsts in his GP career.

Iannone says: “It was a really great performance, a surprise for me as well and everyone else, but I try my best and I’m so happy to have this place on an Italian bike and in front of Italian people”

British riders Danny Kent and Sam Lowes started from pole positions in Moto3 and Moto2 respectively.

Kent, who currently leads the world standings in Moto3, dropped to 18th at one point during the race but was battling back at the front of the pack and crossed the line in second place 0.071 seconds behind Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira who took his first victory and also became the first Portuguese rider to win a grand prix.

Kent says: “There were 15 people going for that podium and I knew coming out of that last corner it could’ve been anyone’s race so I’m happy with my finish and extending the lead in the championship, which is the main thing”. Kent holds the lead in the championship standings by 46 points.

In Moto2, Tomas Luthi led the race from the start before crashing out and defending world champion Tito Rabat took the victory with Sam Lowes finishing in 4th place behind Johann Zarco and Dominique Aegerter.

Lowes says: “I really struggled to be honest, the pace was slower than practice and I struggled for grip. It’s a bit frustrating but we’re trying to improve and we’ll come back stronger. The clash with Corsi definitely cost me the podium though”

In the MotoGP standings, Rossi keeps the lead by 6 points to Lorenzo who is now equal record holder to legend Giacomo Agostini for the 4th rider with the most GP race finishes.

The next MotoGP race takes place in Catalunya, Spain on Sunday 14th June (13:00 BST, BT Sport 2).