FIM MotoGP World Championship
Misano World Circuit, San Marino
September 14, 2014
Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 28 laps, 44:14.586
2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -1.578 seconds
3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -4.276
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -5.510
5. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -11.771
6. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -18.999
7. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -23.100
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -36.458
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (DUCATI), -38.480
10. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -45.878
11. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), -54.765
12. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -56.775
13. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -62.734
14. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (FORWARD YAMAHA), -73.546
15. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), -75.948, crash
16. Leon CAMIER, UK (HONDA), -80.760
17. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), -86.422
18. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), -1 lap
19. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), -1 lap
20. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), -1 lap, DNF, crash
21. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -22 laps, DNF, crash
22. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-APRILIA), -27 laps, DNF, crash
23. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), -28 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 18 races):
1. Marquez, 289 points
2. Pedrosa, 215
3. Rossi, 214
4. Lorenzo, 177
5. Dovizioso, 142
6. Pol Espargaro, 98
7. TIE, Aleix Espargaro/Iannone, 92
9. TIE, Bradl/Smith, 74
11. Bautista, 64
12. Redding, 54
13. Crutchlow, 47
14. Aoyama, 43
15. Hernandez, 38
16. Abraham, 33
17. Nicky Hayden, 29
18. TIE, Colin Edwards/Michele Pirro, 11
20. Parkes, 7
21. TIE, Di Meglio/Petrucci, 4
23. De Angelis, 3
24. TIE, Laverty/Barbera, 2
26. Camier, 1
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
The Doctor Performs a Misano Miracle
Misano Adriatico (Italy), 14th September 2014
The many thousand Valentino Rossi fans gathered at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli had their dreams come true today as their Movistar Yamaha MotoGP hero delivered a perfect race to take victory for the ‘Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini’. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo came home in second to make it a perfect Yamaha one-two finish.
The Doctor made his intentions clear from the off with a flying start to move up from third to second into the first corner, tucked in behind teammate Lorenzo. An early attack by rival Marc Marquez was quickly dealt with and then with 25 laps to go he was able to pass Lorenzo to lead the race. Championship leader Marquez followed soon after and remained within half a second of Rossi until with 19 laps remaining he lost the front trying to keep up and crashed out, taking himself out of contention.
From that point the Doctor was unstoppable, building a gap of over two seconds to his chasing teammate, he held command of the race to the finish line to take his first race win since Assen last year, and Yamaha’s first MotoGP win of the season.
Teammate Lorenzo flew from his pole position on the grid to grab the holeshot into turn one, with Rossi following right behind. Having opted for the harder front tyre option he was unable to make a break and hold off Rossi in the early laps. Having seen rival Marquez crash out in front of him he then delivered a trademark Lorenzo race of consistency, holding his lap times a little over two seconds behind Rossi whilst gradually building a gap to Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso battling for third behind him. He crossed the finish line over four seconds ahead of them to take his seventh podium of the season and complete the Yamaha one-two finish.
Rossi’s 25 point score adds to his total to make him the first MotoGP rider ever to reach over 5,000 career championship points. He now sits on 214 in third position in the standings, just a single point behind Pedrosa in second. Lorenzo takes 20 points to bring him to a total of 177 in fourth position, 35 ahead of Dovizioso in fifth.
Valentino Rossi
1st / 44’14.586 / 28 laps
“I’m very happy for sure because it’s very special to win here in Misano in front of all the crowd and my family and friends. I’m very proud. I made it five years after the last time here, in the same way, fighting with Jorge. During the practice it looked like our Yamaha worked very well so we had a small advantage. I tried to the maximum and so I knew we could fight for victory, I knew for sure I would have to battle with Dani and Jorge and Marc. I tried to push from the start and at the end it was great to have the win more than one year later from my last. I always work hard and never give up and trust that days like this can happen. I have to say thank you to Yamaha, to all my team, to all my friends and all the crowd who support me, especially here in Misano.”
Jorge Lorenzo
2nd / +1.578 / 28 laps
“It’s been a tough race for me because we finally took a risk with the harder tyre. I’m happy with another podium but a bit disappointed because we thought we could fight for the victory. Right at the beginning, despite a good start I felt the front tyre didn’t give me the confidence to lean and also on braking. In Brno we risked also changing the tyre and the result was good but here we struggled much more. For me it was impossible to get the victory. Even if I tried to push at the maximum, when I saw Marc crash, I knew Valentino had a better pace today. Valentino had a perfect weekend at home and he deserved the win, it’s unbelievable at the age of 35! I’m also happy for the team because it’s been a long time without a 1-2. All the Yamaha guys are working really well and the bike is more competitive race by race. I would like to win too but we will have to wait.”
Massimo Meregalli
“I think we did an awesome job, we didn’t start the weekend properly on Friday and struggled a lot. When the sunshine came out, we immediately sensed that Sunday was possibly going to be our day. The pace we showed on Saturday and in this morning’s warm up were a good signal. For me Vale made an impressive race, he put a lot of pressure on Marc, he crashed as he was trying so hard, but I think today Vale was unbeatable. Jorge chose a hard front tyre as yesterday he had a really good feeling with it. The circumstances were ok for that tyre spec but it didn’t work as he hoped. In the end first and second is an amazing result, I need to thank everybody, from the first to the last team member, we worked hard all season, unfortunately we couldn’t win before but for sure we are going to taste this victory today as we deserve to.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Pedrosa takes podium as Marquez slips-up and finishes 15th
It’s been a difficult weekend for the Repsol Honda Team in Misano but Dani Pedrosa managed to take third place and has now finished in the top five at the last 17 successive races. Championship leader, Marc Marquez, made an uncharacteristic error on lap ten and lost the front. He was able to restart but only managed to climb back to fifteenth and take one Championship point.
After a promising start, Marc steadily progressed up to second, after battling with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. Dani dropped back to seventh from his fifth spot on the grid, but also made his way through the traffic and was up to fourth by lap eight. However, as Marc pushed to try and stay with race leader Valentino, he made a small mistake and lost the front in turn four at a fairly low speed, with the bike spinning out. He was able to pick the bike up but had trouble getting it started again. Finally race marshals arrived and managed to bump start him, but by this point the pack had disappeared.
Marc pushed hard to catch the back markers and was able to match the lap times being set by the from runners, but the distance was too great. He crossed the line in fifteenth and took a single Championship point. Dani meanwhile managed to hold off the aggressive Andrea Dovizioso for twenty-five of the twenty-eight laps finishing 1.234 seconds in front of the Italian and marking his 200th points scoring finish in Grand Prix racing, becoming just the fourth rider of all-time to reach this impressive milestone.
Marc maintains his lead in the Championship, but the gap is now decreased to 74 points over second place Dani, with Valentino now just 1 point behind him.
TEAM QUOTES
Dani Pedrosa
3rd – Championship Standing: 2nd – 215 points
“Today’s race was a very difficult one, and it was hard to do any more. Marc attempted to keep up with Valentino and Jorge but eventually he crashed trying – they were very strong here. This race also saw many problems for us with the front and rear, so there was little that we could do. From the opening laps I lost a lot of time in traffic, and that affected my entire race. I tried to do the best I could and still had difficulty sticking with Dovizioso, because he also lapped very quickly; eventually we were going as fast as the Valentino and Jorge. Now we have to take the positives from this weekend and hope that for the next race at Aragon, which is a track that I like, we have a better feeling and have a better race.”
Marc Marquez
15th – Championship Standing: 1st – 289 points
“I’m happy with how today went, despite the crash due to my first mistake of the season, because yesterday I did not think that I would be capable of sticking with the Valentino and Jorge. They had a little bit more pace, and today we were able to get fairly close to them. I saw the possibility of fighting with Valentino for the victory, but that was not possible in the end because of the mistake; I was riding over the inside of the rumble strip and that meant that I lost the front. Luckily I was able to rejoin the race, continue with a good pace and score a point that could always come in handy in the future.”
More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:
Result of the season. Abraham holds his first win in Open class
Almost four years, Karel Abraham did not have on the head cap with laurels dedicated for best riders. After the Misano race it is not true anymore. The Czech rider of MotoGP finished on eleventh position in Misano, but at the first place, he gained trophy for the fastest rider of Open class and he stand by side by the best MotoGP riders of the race.
Karel Abraham
“Almost four years, Karel Abraham did not have on the head cap with laurels dedicated for best riders. After the Misano race it is not true anymore. The Czech rider of MotoGP finished on eleventh position in Misano, but at the first place, he gained trophy for the fastest rider of Open class and he stand by side by the best MotoGP riders of the race.”
Marco Grana, Cardion AB chief mechanic
“This is fantastic day! For Karel as well as for me and also for the team. From the middle to the end of the race Karel made a fantastic job. He was improving his best lap time from lap to lap and he overtook Ayoama within few laps. We tried to completely change the setup of front fork to find the solution of a front grip. And I must say we did very good choice. This result comes after two years of very hard work. I must express our thanks to Honda representatives, who give us the chance to show what we can do. Now we are looking forward to the next race to confirm our shape from Misano.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
At Misano Iannone fifth and Hernandez closes the top ten
Pramac Racing Team ends a positive weekend at Misano. Andrea Iannone equaled his best result of the season and finished the race fifth and so did Yonny Hernandez, ending tenth.
At the start Andrea Iannone was overtaken by Rossi (winner of the day) and Marquez. He managed to keep the fourth position until the seventh lap when after a slight contact with Pedrosa he was passed by Pedrosa andDovizioso too. Andrea ended the race fifth after the crash of Marquez. The first few laps were difficult for the Italian rider, but was able to find a good rhythm, almost the same as the riders in front of him. This race is a good preview for the last races. In the overall standings Andrea is at 92 points like A. Espargaro.
Yonny Hernandez was the author of a good race that has allowed him to bring home some points and finish in the top ten. From the start Yonny has fought with Crutchlow and A. Espargaro for the tenth position he eventually gained also thanks to the crash of the Spaniard. Yonny is satisfied with his performance in general and is pleased to have obtained consistent results. Now ready for Aragon to be repeated!
Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)
“I knew I could not fight with Jorge and Vale, I tried anyway. With a full tank it was hard to ride. Unfortunately I found my rhythm a bit late because at the end I was riding on the same times as Dani and Dovi. Andrea’s bike was slightly faster than mine and was able to stay up with Pedrosa. My engine was not at its full potential but we knew it before the race that he had a less power. I am satisfied with this result, it is our lowest distance from the first rider this year and this confirm’s the improvements. It’s a good result and it’s a good thing for the future.”
Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)
“I’m thrilled to be able to finish in the top ten again! I had a good race with Crutchlow and I managed to stay with him until the tires started to drop. I have to work hard on the final part of the race and the tire life. This was a great weekend for me, I want to thank my team for all the work they have done. I can not wait to arrive at Aragon: there it will be a year that I race with the Ducati and Pramac Racing Team. “
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Good 14th place for De Angelis in front of the home crowd. Unlucky race for Espargaro
It was a race two sides for the NGM Forward Racing Team at Misano with Alex De Angelis finishing 14th in front of his home crowd, while it was an unlucky race for Aleix Espargaro, who crashed on the very last lap when he was in 8th place.
Started from the third row, the Spaniard pushed hard from the beginning as he is used to do, but since the first laps he realized that there was something wrong with the rear. The bike was moving a lot and he lost some positions. In the second part of the race, he was able to recover, despite he was struggling a lot with the rear. He was in 8th position on the last lap, when he suddenly lost the rear with no warning and he crashed, fortunately without consequences.
It was a good race for Alex De Angelis, who finished 14th in front of the 55,000 spectators (over 88,000 in the weekend) who attended the San Marino and the Riviera of Rimini Grand Prix. Despite a painful wrist, he was able to manage the race and getting some good points for the championship.
With today’s result, Espargaro leaves Misano in 7th position in the championship but he is confident to recover in Aragon in 2 weeks time.
Aleix Espargaro
“Since the beginning of the race I realized that there was something wrong with the rear. I had less grip than this morning in the warm up and I struggled a lot. I managed to stay in 8th position but on the very last lap I suddenly lost the rear without warning. I’m really sorry”.
Alex De Angelis
“I’m happy because I could manage my rhythm throughout the whole race. Despite a painful wrist and the issues we had under braking, I tried to stay with Redding and recover positions. I pushed but I didn’t want to take too many risks as the priority was to finish the race and get some points, so I’m satisfied. Now it’s important to recover with the wrist to arrive in Aragon in the best shape”.
More, from a press release issued by Scott Redding’s publicist:
Scott Redding: Disaster is the word of the weekend!
Misano, Italy – 14 September 2014: Scott Redding rode to a credible 14th place finish to add to his championship points tally, despite encountering a problem with the rear brake just three laps into today’s Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini at Misano.
The 21-year-old Briton lined up on the grid determined to finish as the top production Honda rider for the fifth time in a row, but missed out on this goal when the rear brake issue forced him off track. Redding quickly re-joined, but was then forced to compensate for the lack of rear brake, a particular problem through the faster turns at Misano where it is used to settle the bike in the turn.
Redding managed to work his way past the riders ahead of him, but his hopes of battling with the slower factory bikes were dashed, and he eventually took the chequered flag in 14th position.
Scott Redding // 13th
“Disaster is the word of the weekend for me. Sometimes this happens, however infrequently, but today’s race only proved to me that Misano was definitely one of these weekends. My start was not great but I wasn’t too concerned, as I knew it was not going to be possible to go with some of the factory bikes today. I just wanted to finish as top Open Class Honda once again and I was in a pretty good position to do that. I was feeling good, but then I had a problem with the rear brake three laps in and that forced me off track. After that the bike was difficult to ride, especially through the faster turns where I use the rear brake to keep the rear tyre on the track. At one point I was considering returning to the pits, but then I decided not to give up, worked my way past Laverty, Camier and De Angelis after finding a good rhythm on the bike, even though I was pretty much on the limit all the time. After three crashes I’m just happy to finish the weekend in once piece! Now we need to focus on the coming races because, despite the problems, the feeling with the bike did improve over the course of this weekend.”
More information and high resolution images are available on Scott’s website at www.scottredding45.com.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:
BRADL FAILS TO FINISH THE MISANO GP
Misano, 14 September: without any doubt the LCR racer Stefan Bradl was hoping for a different race at the crowded Misano circuit with more than 54.000 fans celebrating Valentino Rossi’s extraordinary victory. Bradl failed to challenge the front riders as he fell out in lap seven. As happened in Mugello, the German was not able to perform as expected but he luckily escaped unhurt from the accident and will be back in action at Aragon circuit in less than two weeks.
Stefan: “I am very disappointed because we crashed in a very good situation. The race was good from the beginning because I took a good start from the forth row. I saw that I was faster than Aleix Espargaro but it took a while to pass him. Finally I made it and managed to close the gap with the front group quickly but suddenly, in turn 13in a left corner, I lost the front. I am very sorry because the whole Team made an excellent job this weekend especially for Lucio. We could have done a good job finishing in 5th or 6th place because our lap time was quite fast”.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Dovizioso scores excellent fourth place in the TIM San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix, taking the flag just five-and-a-half seconds down on winner Rossi. Crutchlow finishes ninth
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) produced another fine performance today at Misano in the TIM San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix to finish fourth at the flag. The Italian rider, who started from row 2 of the grid after qualifying sixth yesterday, was fifth at the end of the opening lap behind fellow Ducati man Andrea Iannone and was then passed by Pedrosa on lap 4. Both riders moved ahead of the Pramac man on lap 8, and after Marquez’s crash, they found themselves in a battle for third. Constantly setting quick lap times, Dovizioso remained right on Pedrosa’s tail until the final lap, but he was unable to pass the Honda rider and had to settle for fourth ahead of Iannone, who was fifth at the flag.
Team-mate Cal Crutchlow, who started from row 5 with thirteenth-quickest time, finished the San Marino GP in ninth place after a good scrap with Bautista, Aleix Espargaro and Hernandez.
Dovizioso’s final gap from the winner Valentino Rossi was 5.510 seconds.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 4th
“I am so happy, I did a really great race! This weekend was actually quite a difficult one and I didn’t believe I could do such a race. I’d like to thank all the team because we are working so hard to try and make up the gap to the leaders, and slowly but surely we are succeeding. A gap of five seconds at the flag is like a dream, I didn’t think it was possible today. We’re not yet close enough to fight with the front runners and we still have to grit our teeth for the entire race. I tried to grab third place from Pedrosa until the very end but today I was really over the limit in certain parts, so fourth was OK!”
Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 9th
“Rather a disappointing result considering I felt we could have competed a bit better with some of the riders in front of us this weekend. I never had a good feeling at the start of the race with a full fuel tank and couldn’t stop the bike so well. Once the fuel load went down, we started to get a bit faster, but I made a lot of mistakes in the race, maybe ten seconds worth. Around lap 20 I felt I had a problem with the tyre so I had to slow down for two laps and check and then once I got going again I was doing my fastest laps in the race. Pity, hopefully we can have a better race weekend at Aragon.”
Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)
“We are very satisfied with Dovizioso’s race! Today at Misano we managed to reduce the gap from the winner to five and a half seconds, and that is a very important result for us. Even Iannone finished the race in fifth place with a reasonable gap and both riders did a great race. Days like today fill us with more motivation and optimism, and we will continue to work hard all together to cut the gap to the frontrunners.”
More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:
Aoyama finishes twelfth despite lack of rear grip
DRIVE M7 Aspar rider enjoys excellent first half to race but has to consolidate in latter stages
Jorge Lorenzo started from pole position at Misano today but there proved to be no stopping Valentino Rossi from rolling back the years and taking a popular victory in front of his home crowd. Rossi gave chase to Lorenzo in the early laps, with Marc Márquez also battling for the lead until a crash on the ninth lap, before passing him and opening up a crucial advantage to seal victory on home soil for the first time since 2009. Lorenzo secured a Yamaha one-two for the first time this season, with Dani Pedrosa holding off Andrea Dovizioso for the final podium position.
Hiroshi Aoyama has taken big steps forward this weekend to overcome the issues he suffered at Silverstone, the Japanese rider setting a constant pace in the low 1’36s that looked certain to seal him the honour of finishing as the top ‘Open’ category rider. However, in the second half of the race the DRIVE M7 Aspar rider lost front grip and was eventually overpowered by Karel Abraham in the fight for eleventh position overall. Leon Camier also struggled for front grip throughout the race today and despite making up three positions in an explosive start he narrowly missed out on the points in sixteenth.
12th Hiroshi Aoyama: “It was a pretty tough race but my team did a great job with the set-up of the bike and I was able to push it hard from the start. Unfortunately in the second half of the race I lost a lot of grip from the front tyre, which hadn’t happened all weekend so I didn’t expect it. I tried to ride around the problem but by the end of the race I was losing half a second per lap. Abraham was able to catch and pass me and even though I tried to pass him back it was impossible. Despite all that we can be optimistic because we improved this weekend in comparison to Silverstone.”
16th Leon Camier: “I was happy with the start but I need to talk about my riding style with the technicians and work out why I am wearing out the front tyre so quickly. I put a lot of load on the front and it was tucking in every corner from the start of the race. The higher track temperatures today and a full tank wasn’t a good combination. I need to keep working hard to understand this bike and I need to learn how to manage my speed in corner entry. Obviously I have had to take on a lot of new things in a short space of time but I would still like to be faster. We encounter different tracks and different conditions every week but I need to find a way to be more consistent.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Remarkable Rossi claims first win of 2014 as Marquez crashes
The home crowd went wild at Misano on Sunday as Valentino Rossi took his first victory since Assen last year, with Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa also on the podium, whilst Marc Marquez finished 15th after a crash.
Nine time World Champion Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took the lead in the early laps after getting in front of pole man Lorenzo and then asserting his authority in an early battle with Marquez. On the 10th lap Marquez went down at Rio corner when in second place and whilst he restarted his RC213V he could not achieve more than a solitary point.
Rossi kept the hammer down at the front to eventually win by 1.578s and reach the milestone of 5000 Grand Prix points in style. It is the 107th victory of Rossi’s remarkable career.
Lorenzo rode with determination to take another podium result and finished in second place for the fourth successive race.
Coming from fifth on the grid, Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) took his ninth podium finish of the season in third place, crossing the line 1.234s ahead of the hard working Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team).
It was another good ride for Dovizioso in front of the home crowd as he got the Ducati across the finish line 5.5s behind winner Rossi. Likewise, Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) impressed in fifth place with another solid result.
Rookie Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) rode well again to secure sixth place, 4.1s ahead of his teammate Bradley Smith.
Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) completed the top ten.
Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) was an early crasher, as was Danilo Petrucci (Octo IodaRacing Team). Di Meglio suffered a displaced fracture of fourth and fifthth metacarpus of his left hand and will require surgery. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) also fell out of the top ten. Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) crashed on the final lap. All the riders other than Di Meglio were uninjured.
Moto2™: Unstoppable Rabat takes the glory after catching Kallio
Tito Rabat extended his Moto2™ World Championship advantage to 22 points with victory over second placed teammate Mika Kallio at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with Johann Zarco in third place.
Pole man Kallio made a fantastic start and built up a 1.5s lead by the second lap but Rabat kept his Marc VDS Racing Team colleague in his sights, the Spaniard biding his time and overtaking the Finn with eight laps to go.
Rabat has now taken seven wins in 2014, three of those triumphs in successive races – and he is in a strong position at the head of the standings with five races remaining. For Kallio this is his ninth podium of the year, meanwhile, with his strong run of six consecutive rostrum results keeping him still within touching distance of Rabat.
Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing) rode a lonely race to third, two seconds adrift of Kallio at the line and just under two seconds ahead of fourth placed Maverick Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40).
The top ten was completed by Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert), Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team), Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team), Axel Pons (AGR Team) and Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia).
Jonas Folger (AGR Team) was given a ride through penalty for failing to drop one position after exceeding track limits, finishing 19th after running in seventh position.
Miroslav Popov (Montaze Broz Racing Team) had an early off, but was able to rejoin until he suffered a second crash several laps later. Azlan Shah (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) also crashed and rejoined for 32nd place. Ricky Cardus (Tech 3) and Riccardo Russo (Tasca Racing Moto2) both crashed and could not rejoin. Nico Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2) was forced to retire with a technical problem on his return to racing.
Moto3™: Brave Rins overcomes Marquez in Misano battle
Alex Rins took victory in the Moto3™ race at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, with Alex Marquez and Jack Miller joining him on the podium.
Despite requiring a medical check after sustaining heavy contusions on both legs in a Warm Up crash, Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) produced an excellent ride to win for the second round in succession and strengthen his title credentials.
Standings leader Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) returned to the podium, but saw his championship lead reduced to nine points – to Marquez – with five races to go. The Australian crossed the line just over 3.4s behind race winner Rins. Miller’s advantage over third placed Rins in the table is now 20 points.
Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team) finished a second off the podium with Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3) close by in fifth.
Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing), Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold), Andrea Migno (Mahindra Racing), Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) and Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) rounded out the top ten.
Matteo Ferrari (San Carlo Team Italia), Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Nilkas Ajo (Avant Techno Husqvarna Ajo), Gabriel Rodrigo RBA Racing Team) and Scott Deroue (RW Racing GP) all crashed out of the race. Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing) was up in third before a high side saw him crash and remount, finishing 22nd. Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Andrea Locatelli (San Carlo Team Italia) were forced out with technical problems. All riders were not seriously hurt, though Hanika had a finger injury assessed in the medical centre.