Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1131259
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P66 BY MICHAEL SCOTT PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE M arc Marquez is the last rider who needs races to be given to him. And Jorge Lorenzo is the last rider who would vol- unteer such a gift. But that's how it happened, at their home GP in Catalunya. It was only the second of 24 laps when new Repsol Honda rider Lorenzo triggered bedlam, taking out not only himself but Marquez's three greatest championship rivals in one go. After a less than easy run up to the race, Marquez had just taken the lead, into the notori- ous tight turn 10 at the end of the fast back straight—the scene of no less than 40 of 73 crashes during an incident-packed weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The title leader was ready to unleash his strategy. The only rider on the soft rear Mi- chelin, he planned to exploit his strength in the early laps, then control the race from the front. That is what he did, without knowing how much easier the job had been made. "I only knew that Dovizioso was out because I told my pit to signal only about him," he said later. Mission Winnow Ducati rider Andrea Dovizio- so had taken the early lead, his holeshot device giving a flying start from the second row. There was mad jostling behind him for a frantic lap and a half, with Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha) for once quick off the line and second at the end of lap one, ahead of Marquez and Lorenzo, after the first solid start of his Honda career. Marquez was quick to second and nipped inside an unexpectedly slow Dovi into turn 10 for the second time. Then it all kicked off. Lorenzo was coming through inside, and admitted his mistake, losing the front on entry. He clipped Dovi's back wheel, and his bike slid into Vinales. Rossi on the outside was driven wide and was already off the track when he hit the sliding Honda and crashed. Lorenzo apologized profusely to the other riders, but said, "It is very difficult to go all race without making a mistake." Teammate Marquez stuck up for him, saying that while Lorenzo was on the right line and simply lost the front, Dovizioso and the others were wide, and that is why they were hit. Victims Dovi, Rossi and Vina- les were variously outraged. Rossi simply said, "It's racing. It can happen." But Vinales was calling for punishment—a back of the grid start. Close behind, Jack Miller had a grandstand seat. The Pramac Ducati rider had taken a fly- ing start from the fifth row. "I saw Lorenzo going down the inside white line…he was so late on the brakes, there was no way he was going to make the corner, too. And Rossi as well, he was heading for the grandstand." The others were just innocent victims. ROUND 9 / JUNE 14-16, 2019 CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA / CATALONIA, SPAIN Marquez MARC BARCELONA. HELPING MORE