Andrea Dovizioso rides Ducati to Silverstone win
Andrea Dovizioso |
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) became the first man to win four races this season, as the Championship challenger put on a tactical masterclass once again. In a close second but unable to make a last lap lunge was Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), with early leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completing the podium. As well as the podium finishers, the standings took a shake up as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was forced to retire.
It was Rossi who bolted off the line; the nine-time World Champion getting a lightning start from the middle of the front row and disappearing into the distance in the initial stages. Behind the ‘Doctor’, Marquez led a close five rider train with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), Vinales, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Dovizioso on the chase. Marquez suffered a huge moment early on, but the rider from Cervera remained in charge of the chasing pack.
Soon, the Dovizioso struck against Lorenzo and the group began to pull away from the ‘Spartan’, just as Rossi pulled away on his own at the front. The game of high-octane chess continued with the four in line and staying within touching distance of Rossi, until a sudden puff of smoke gave the Championship a serious shake up and Marquez was out of it.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]That left four, with Rossi then reeled in and everything looking like it would go down to the wire. And that it did, with Dovizioso able to pounce with three to go and get past his compatriot, swiftly followed by Vinales. The ‘Doctor’ tried to fight back but found the duo able to just stay clear – and the final lap was approaching.
With the concertina effect seeing the Ducati able to pull a gap and then the Yamaha able to close, it was incredibly tight as the two headed around the final 5.9km lap of Silverstone. Having played his hand to perfection, Dovizioso was able to keep the advantage to the line – taking his fourth win of the year. Vinales took second, with Rossi completing the podium. Crutchlow, not quite able to get close enough to make his move, took fourth.
Andrea Dovizioso leads |
Lorenzo had a great race to cross the line in fifth – and only 3.5 seconds off the race winning time of his teammate. The ‘Spartan’ overcame Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in the latter stages to pull a sizable gap on the Frenchman over the line as he continues to move forward. Zarco took P6, comfortably ahead of a more difficult day at the office for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team).
Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) showed his home race pace once again to take eighth, with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) equaling his best rookie result in ninth just behind the Brit. Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team), after a more difficult qualifying day, completed the top ten.
Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was hugely impressive once again for KTM, taking P11 after also getting straight through to Q2. Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) followed him home, with Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and Reale Avintia Racing pairing Hector Barbera and Loris Baz locking out the fastest fifteen.
Results
Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | 25 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 40'45.496 |
2 | 20 | 25 | Maverick VIÃ'ALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.114 |
3 | 16 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.749 |
4 | 13 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | +1.679 |
5 | 11 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +3.508 |
6 | 10 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +7.001 |
7 | 9 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +10.944 |
8 | 8 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | +13.627 |
9 | 7 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +15.661 |
10 | 6 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | +25.279 |
11 | 5 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +30.336 |
12 | 4 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +31.609 |
13 | 3 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | +31.945 |
14 | 2 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | +33.567 |
15 | 1 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | +33.901 |
16 | 0 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +43.012 |
17 | 0 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +48.683 |
DNF | 0 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 2 Laps |
DNF | 0 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 3 Laps |
DNF | 0 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 3 Laps |
DNF | 0 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 7 Laps |
DNF | 0 | 22 | Sam LOWES | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 15 Laps |
Rider Standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
1 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | 4 | ITA | 183 | Ducati Team | Ducati |
2 | MARQUEZ Marc | 93 | SPA | 174 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
3 | VINALES Maverick | 25 | SPA | 170 | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
4 | ROSSI Valentino | 46 | ITA | 157 | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
5 | PEDROSA Dani | 26 | SPA | 148 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
6 | ZARCO Johann | 5 | FRA | 109 | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha |
7 | LORENZO Jorge | 99 | SPA | 90 | Ducati Team | Ducati |
8 | CRUTCHLOW Cal | 35 | GBR | 89 | LCR Honda | Honda |
9 | FOLGER Jonas | 94 | GER | 77 | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha |
10 | PETRUCCI Danilo | 9 | ITA | 75 | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati |
11 | BAUTISTA Alvaro | 19 | SPA | 58 | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati |
12 | REDDING Scott | 45 | GBR | 45 | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati |
13 | ESPARGARO Aleix | 41 | SPA | 43 | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia |
14 | MILLER Jack | 43 | AUS | 43 | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda |
15 | BAZ Loris | 76 | FRA | 39 | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati |
16 | IANNONE Andrea | 29 | ITA | 33 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
17 | ABRAHAM Karel | 17 | CZE | 28 | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati |
18 | RABAT Tito | 53 | SPA | 27 | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda |
19 | ESPARGARO Pol | 44 | SPA | 26 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
20 | BARBERA Hector | 8 | SPA | 23 | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati |
21 | RINS Alex | 42 | SPA | 19 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
22 | SMITH Bradley | 38 | GBR | 8 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
23 | PIRRO Michele | 51 | ITA | 7 | Ducati Test Team | Ducati |
24 | KALLIO Mika | 36 | FIN | 6 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
25 | LOWES Sam | 22 | GBR | 2 | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia |
26 | GUINTOLI Sylvain | 50 | FRA | 1 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |