MOTOGP
2017 FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 14 / SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2017
CIUDAD DEL MOTOR DE ARAGON / ALCAINZ, SPAIN
P50
crowd of more than 70,000
fans at the relatively remote
location an hour's drive from
Zaragoza.
But they were surely
mightily impressed also by
Rossi. He held second until
just before half distance,
fending off a determined
Marquez and finished only
a half second behind his
fourth-placed Movistar
Yamaha teammate and pole
starter Maverick Vinales.
The day started under a
cloud. Literally. Dense fog
delayed morning warm-up
by more than an hour, with
all sessions cut to just 15
minutes and with rain spoil-
ing free practice on Friday.
This left everyone even
more short of setup time,
and made tire choice even
more difficult. Especially
when the MotoGP race at
2:00 p.m. was held in the
hottest conditions all week-
end.
Vinales had claimed an
assured pole, ahead of
Lorenzo and Rossi, with
the Repsol Hondas on row
two, which was led by Cal
Crutchlow's independent
LCR Honda.
Front tire choice was
almost universal for the me-
dium; rear more mixed with
eight riders taking the soft
rear, including both Ducatis
of Dovizioso and Lorenzo,
as well as Rossi. Only Mar-
quez and Crutchlow chose
It was only in MotoGP that
these changes didn't involve
the lead. By then, after a
couple of false starts and
the usual narrow escapes,
Marc Marquez had taken
control. By then also his
Repsol Honda teammate
Dani Pedrosa had come
through to underline the
win. With Marquez's closest
title rivals Andrea Dovizioso
(Ducati) and Maverick Vina-
les (Movistar Yamaha) finish-
ing seventh and fourth, re-
spectively, it was a valuable
afternoon for Honda and for
the defending champion.
With long-time race
leader Jorge Lorenzo
(Ducati) third, an all-Spanish
podium may have pleased a
