MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4/MAY 4, 2014
CIRCUIT DE JEREZ/JEREZ, SPAIN
P40
"I had just a little bit of despera-
tion in the last lap to stay in front,"
Rossi said.
Marquez made a flying start
from his fourth pole in a row to
the 27-lap, 74-mile race; but Ros-
si bullied his way into the lead at
the Dry Sack hairpin at the end of
the back straight.
"I knew his intention was to
slow down the race so he could
control the pace," said Marquez.
"Riding behind him I realized that
I could go faster, so I tried to over-
take him as soon as possible."
Which was at the next hairpin
at the other end of the lap. From
then on he pulled away steadi-
ly, by better than four seconds
before half distance. He had
enough of a lead to wave at the
crowd with his leg on the final
lap, and still win by 1.4 seconds.
Rossi was steadfast. Lorenzo
had started badly with a wheelie
off the line, but finished the first
lap third, ahead of Pedrosa.
The trio stayed together until
Lorenzo started to fade slightly
at half distance, almost a second
adrift, later blaming neither his
tires nor his bike but "my physical
condition."
