MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 7/JUNE 14, 2015
CIRCUIT OF CATALUNYA/BARCELONA, SPAIN
P114
>>ZARCO EXTENDS LEAD
Johann Zarco started from pole,
and finished first. What happened in
between was unusually intriguing for
the one-make/hybrid class—the po-
dium three decided only on the final
two laps, with high drama.
The last lap was also the first time
that the Frenchman led the race,
which had been dominated by de-
fending champion Tito Rabat on the
EG Marc VDS Kalex, under serious
pressure from class rookie Alex Rins
on the Paginas Amarillas Kalex.
Points leader Zarco had played
a waiting game, moving into fourth
before half distance, then perfectly
timing his final attack.
His Spanish rivals helped a bit,
both faltering under the pressure.
Rins (who had set a new record on
lap two) ran wide on the penultimate
lap, letting him into second; then
Rabat did the same on the last lap,
letting Zarco through for his first win,
but also ceding second to race-long
rival Rins.
Rabat had qualified third, with AGR
Kalex' Jonas Folger between them,
but the German was punted wide into
the first corner by Zarco, who had
in turn been pushed out by a deter-
mined Sam Lowes on the Speed Up
machine.
Lowes would take the lead from
Rabat on lap two, with Technomag
Kalex' Dominique Aegerter in close at-
tendance. Rins was fourth, but would
vault up to second as Rabat regained
the lead from the English rider on lap
five.
From there the two Spaniards
were engaged, Rins taking over for
two laps at half-distance. Lowes was
by then starting to lose touch; and
Aegerter had fallen back into the next
group, where Luis Salom on the other
Paginas Amarillas Kalex had been
heading Zarco.
The last-named now escaped, and
gradually closed a gap of around a
second to Lowes, outbraking him for
third at the start of lap 14.
Soon he was in touch with the
leading pair, and the stage set for a
shoot-out.
Rins slipped first; Zarco was
second. Then he took first on the last
lap; Rabat ran wide trying to defend
himself, and dropped to third. The
rostrum was reshuffled.
Lowes was safe in fourth; Salom
now battling for fifth with Thomas
Luthi on the Derendinger Kalex. They
swapped several times, Salom taking
the place by less than half-a-second.
By now Folger had battled his way
back through from 14th to seventh.
He had finally outpaced a lively gang,
where Franco Morbidelli on the
Dani Pedrosa rounded out the podium.
