Marc Marquez was probably glad to be free of it all. The second round of the 2016 MotoGP term produced a compelling thirty-five minutes of entertainment that had tension, incident, crashes, comebacks, last corner drama and by the chequered flag ’46’ had done enough to motor across the line on his Movistar Yamaha to seal second place and his first trophy of ’16 and the 212th of his career.
In front of possibly the craziest fans on the calendar (and that’s saying something when the campsite bedlam of Jerez, Spain and Mugello, Italy and the sheer volume of people at Brno, Czech Republic are also on the shortlist) the second stop on the slate for MotoGP started on a slippery asphalt at Termas de Rio Hondo and stayed somewhat ‘unsteady’. The changeable climate was to blame as were the first doubts over the new Michelin control tyres. Little could be done about the rain clouds that eventually caused the MotoGP race to run in dry conditions but with damp patches on the course that is recognised as one of the fastest around. After a problem with Scott Redding’s rear tyre on Saturday Michelin moved to withdraw the medium and hard compounds and throw most of the team’s preparations over the previous two days of practice into the nearby weeds close to the vast Rio Honda lake. Cue adjustments to the timetable, extra track time and finally a shortened ‘flag-to-flag’ twenty lap dash where riders were obliged to enter the pitlane and change motorcycles within a three lap window.
Before a few edgy athletes in the MotoGP field could form-up on the grid, Moto3 and Moto2 appropriately warmed up the spectating hoards. Moto3 delivered the astonishing sight of Khairul Idham Pawi become Malaysia’s first ever Grand Prix winner by a mammoth twenty-six seconds ahead of Jorge Navarro during a race that saw the grippy Argentine tarmac dry notably (Idham Pawi used slick tyres) but also stayed treacherously moist. Riders like Niccolo Antonelli barely gained Grand Prix points while Nicolo Bulega and Romano Fenati were completely out of the running. Temperatures around the twenty-five degree mark continued to improve the track surface and in Moto2 Sam Lowes walked the box for the first time in 2016 in second place behind impressive world champ Johan Zarco. Alex Rins stayed steady in fourth while Alex Marquez was one who went over the limit of the grip on offer.
So to MotoGP. The first of Cal Crutchlow’s two crashes came on the second lap. The Brit did well to fight through to the top ten but was down into the Rio Hondo grass in the closing stages. After initially fronting the field world champion Jorge Lorenzo’s fall on lap five from sixth position was a shock. “It was a weekend to forget,” said the Spaniard who subsequently dropped from first to fourth in the fledgling championship standings. “I think it was my fault,” he added on the spill. “As a rider I didn’t feel comfortable enough to stay in the first group and I saw them risking so much. I made a mistake in the first corner, which was more complicated, it was the corner with more wet patches and I went in a little bit too wide on this particular lap and just lost the front and couldn’t continue. This is racing; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
Marquez, Rossi, the two factory Ducatis of Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone and Suzuki’s Maverick Viñales formed the leading group with the Italians coming perilously close to contact on several occasions as if providing a precursor to what would come. At mid-race distance the pitstops started. Rossi was mere metres behind Marquez as they peeled off the track together and then commenced with the bizarre hop onto their spare machines and back into the fray. ” said Rossi. Marquez attacked with a five-lap flurry of speed; the Honda bouncing and jerking as the Catalan pushed the limit. It was enough for the former champ to break away. Rossi was busy with the Ducatis until a sensational occurrence on the last corner where Iannone barrelled into his teammate and wiped them both out of the race, leaving ‘The Doctor’ to scoop second spot. “I was very happy to do the second part of the race because I was able to have a good battle with Marquez during the first part when I was strong and we started to overtake, but with the second bike I had big problems with the rear tyre, I didn’t have any feeling and couldn’t stop under braking,” he said. “I was pushing and very close to the limit.So these 20 points are very important and I’m very happy for me, Yamaha and all the team because it’s the first podium of the season, it’s a good result.”
Scott Redding broke down, losing what would be a podium spot, Viñales crashed, Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Pol Espargaro was forced off the track two corners from the flag and gave up fourth place and Eugene Laverty rode to an astonishing fourth spot for a personal best in MotoGP.
Impossible to script, hard to predict and the hype and taste of MotoGP continues to provide a tangible treat. Rossi is now following Marquez in the standings to the tune of eight points. Lorenzo is further adrift in fourth with a sixteen-point deficit. MotoGP moves north through the Americas and into the sumptuous layout of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin next weekend. What next?!
Credit Monster