World of Sport: Motogp; European F3; IMSA; NASCAR Cup; DTM; Blancpain Endurance
MOTOGP MUGELLO (I) JUNE 3 ROUND 6/19
There was an odd atmosphere at Mugello last weekend after Jorge Lorenzo took a long-awaited first Motogp win with Ducati, at the 24th time of asking. It was a vintage Lorenzo performance, as the Spaniard grabbed the lead at the first corner and held on for the entire 23-lap distance.
But it was a bittersweet victory, as it looks highly unlikely that Lorenzo will be part of the works Ducati line-up for 2019.
Instead, Danilo Petrucci looks set to line up alongside Andrea Dovizioso next season, after Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali expressed regret following the previous round at Le Mans that the Lorenzo gamble hadn’t paid off.
On Thursday at Mugello, Lorenzo reminded Domenicali that he is not merely “a great rider” but a “champion” – and on Sunday he demonstrated exactly why he was able to rack up three titles and 44 wins on Yamaha machinery between 2008 and ’16.
It was Lorenzo’s old Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi who made the running during qualifying, grabbing his first
Motogp pole since October 2016 in front of his adoring public at the end of a thrilling pole shootout by just
0.035 seconds from Lorenzo.
But come race day, Lorenzo wrested immediate control, vaulting ahead of
Rossi at the start. Two laps later, points leader Marc Marquez followed through into second, after making what could charitably be described as a ‘robust’ pass on Petrucci at Turn 2.
Lorenzo’s life was made rather easier on lap five, when Marquez lost the front end of his works Honda and crashed at the Scarperia right-hander. That elevated Rossi back into second, but he was soon passed by the second works Ducati of Dovizioso.
For a while, it looked like Dovizioso was well-placed to challenge his team-mate for a second consecutive Mugello win. But, unlike in the previous race at Le Mans, Lorenzo kept a constant pace and gradually eked out a gap as the contest entered its latter stages.
After the race, Lorenzo explained he was able to avoid a repeat of his descent down the order at Le Mans thanks to the arrival of a revised fuel tank that gave him more physical support aboard the Desmosedici, preventing a drop-off in stamina over the race distance.
It was a modification Lorenzo had been requesting for some time – but it appears to have come too late. “My future is already decided, and this result will not change it,” said an emotional Lorenzo, who is likely to return to the Yamaha fold in 2019 on a satellite machine.
“A part of me is sad because I know that with this bike I could have fought to be world champion, which is why I came here. Now it’s too late. There is nothing to be done. I kept telling people inside the team to believe in me, to bring me what I asked for. They have done it, but too late.”
Dovizioso clung to second place, six seconds down on Lorenzo at the chequered flag, after being caught by Rossi in the closing laps. Rossi managed to break free from a frenetic scrap late on against Petrucci’s Pramac Ducati and the two Suzukis of Andrea Iannone and Alex
Rins to take third, recording his third podium finish of 2018.
But, as Rossi admitted, the Yamaha still isn’t ready to win again, with its pace in the second half of the race still not up to scratch. Maverick Vinales, who slumped to eighth from third on the grid, backed up his team-mate’s assertion, while Le Mans poleman Johann Zarco also had a low-key run to 10th on the Tech3 bike.
After Marquez’s early exit, top Honda rider at the finish was the LCR bike of Cal Crutchlow, who finished sixth, behind the two Suzukis and ahead of a fading Petrucci.
The other works Honda of Dani Pedrosa was an early casualty, the Spaniard crashing out on lap one – and taking Crutchlow’s team-mate Takaaki Nakagami with him – after starting a dismal 20th on the grid, his worst-ever Motogp starting spot.
Despite his crash, Marquez continues to lead the standings by a healthy 23 points, with Rossi taking over from Vinales as his closest pursuer.
You can’t help but wonder where Lorenzo – the last person to take the crown other than Marquez – could be had Ducati been more responsive to his needs earlier in the season. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if it was starting to have second thoughts about parting ways with him.