Rossi extends overall lead after a thrilling dry-wet- dry MotoGP
MISANO: Valentino Rossi extended his MotoGP lead over Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to 23 points at the San Marino Grand Prix yesterday despite a strategy blunder that handed victory to Spaniard Marc Marquez.
Rossi had a record 92 000strong home crowd on their feet and cheering as he took the lead at Misano’s Marco Simoncelli circuit in eastern Italy, but the joy was shortlived in a thrilling dry-wet-dry race involving two pitstops.
With Marquez’s Honda team pitting the reigning champion to switch bikes again with 10 laps remaining, Rossi and Lorenzo – who had started on pole – stayed out.
Lorenzo eventually came in with eight laps to go and then crashed out on the next lap just as Rossi, who ended up fifth, was brought in for his switch back to a bike with slick tyres.
Britain had two riders on the podium instead of the familiar faces, with Bradley Smith second for Tech3 Yamaha after staying on slick tyres during the rain shower and coming through from 19th place. Scott Redding’s first podium was more remarkable with the Marc VDS Honda rider having to pick up his machine after a fall into the gravel on the seventh lap.
Rossi now has 247 points to Lorenzo’s 224, with Marquez on 184 with five rounds remaining.
“I was behind the Yamahas and was trying to check how was the asphalt and the tyres and I saw that Lorenzo and Valentino had big (tyre) degradation,” said Marquez.
“I said now is the time to change the tyres and when I changed then I saw that the track was completely dry, but it was difficult to understand,” added the Spaniard after his fourth win of the season and 23rd of his career.
Meanwhile, Melbourne has secured the hosting rights to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix until 2023, the Victoria state announced.
Melbourne last year signed an agreement to continue hosting the race until 2020 and Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said the state government had agreed to a three-year extension to 2023.
“There’s nothing quite like the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and the buzz it creates around our state,” Andrew said in a statement.
Melbourne has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1996, when the race was switched from Adelaide but it has became a local political issue after years of heavy financial losses, subsidised by taxpayers.
Despite posting record losses amid soaring costs and declining revenue, Melbourne has retained its place as the opening race on the calendar.
“We are very happy to extend our relationship with Melbourne,” Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said. – Reuters