MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 7/JUNE 14, 2015
CIRCUIT OF CATALUNYA/BARCELONA, SPAIN
P110
But in his third race back he was
best of the rest, and "feeling a
bit stronger every race. Now we
need to work on improving the
bike," Pedrosa said.
Marquez was naturally muted,
after repeating his mantra that
"when you are at the limit, it can
happen." Significantly it was in
the braking area where it went
wrong: which the renewed
strength of the rivals have shown
to be the RC213V's weakest
area.
How quickly can Honda solve
the problem?
Meanwhile, several other
crashes demonstrated how
treacherous the track was, as
97,000 fans basked in sunshine
and enjoyed the spectacle of
three fine races.
Dovizioso fell out of a strong
early third; Monster Yamaha's
Pol Espargaro also fell. CWM
LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow
was knocked off on lap one for
a third successive race crash;
Pramac Ducati's Yonny Her-
nandez and Power Electronics
Honda's Nicky Hayden also
tumbled. And finally also pole
starter Aleix Espargaro on the
Ecstar Suzuki, late in the race,
from a strong fourth.
This last crash almost spoiled
a joyful weekend for the returned
Suzuki squad, with not only pole
but also second on the grid for
class rookie Maverick Vinales;
who rescued flagging spirits with
a strong ride to sixth. The front-
row start had meant little, with
both bikes simply swamped off
the start line.
The race began as have the
last three: Lorenzo taking a
strong start and leading into the
first corner.
Marquez was right up close
and pushing, then Dovizioso, Pol
Espargaro, and Rossi past Brad-
ley Smith on the other Monster
Yamaha by the end of the lap.
Rossi was one place higher
next time round, and about to be
promoted to third as Marquez
went flying at the end of the
back straight. The chase was
on, the tension unremitting. And
when Dovizioso had a rare race
crash two laps later, there was
Marc Marquez' (93)
misfortune continued,
nearly touching the
back of Lorenzo (99)
and crashed out of
the race.
