A hectic start to the third round of the MotoGP at the COTA saw Movistar Yamaha Jorge Lorenzo lead going into the first corner but went wide allowing Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez, Movistar Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso to go through.
Lorenzo fought back and was in second place however he wanted first from Marquez but again went wide, this time, allowing Marquez and Rossi through. Marquez led down the straight and then it was anybody’s chance to gain second as Lorenzo, Rossi, Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone (Ducati) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) all fought; Rossi came out of this the worst as he went backwards as they travelled down the straight and then to add insult to injury Team Suzuki Ecstar rider Aleix Espargaro overtook leaving the Italian in seventh.
Dovizioso was now in second chasing Marquez who led. Aleix Espargaro overtook on the inside of Pedrosa allowing him to gain fourth at the end of the first lap. At the beginning of the second lap Dovizioso managed to lead into turn one, however, he went wide allowing Marquez to go back through and regain his lead.
Avintia Ducati rider was the first one to crash out of the MotoGP race at the COTA on turn one of lap two, he was able to re-join the race.
It was Marquez ahead of Dovizioso and Lorenzo sat in third ahead of Aleix Espargaro. Rossi overtook Pedrosa to claim fifth but Pedrosa retaliated straight away. Marquez’s pace continued to improve as he managed to set the fastest lap however he was still not near the lap record.
As we entered lap three the front end of Rossi’s M1 folded underneath him and he crashed out of the fast turn two. He was unable to rejoin the race and sat on the tyre wall bemused wondering what went wrong.
Eighteen laps remained and LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow was on the move gaining a place when he overtook Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith. Vinales was all over the rear of Octo Pramac Yakhnich Ducati rider Scott Redding. Marquez’s pace continued to improve as he now managed to lap under 2:05 minutes.
On the next lap, Lorenzo managed to get past Dovizioso who could see Marquez getting away. His focus was now on chasing the Spaniard who had now accumulated a strong lead. Aleix Espargaro lost a place to Andrea Iannone who had now seemed to finally find his rhythm. As they came across the start-finish straight Vinales overtook Redding going into turn one. The question now was, were the tyres going to last?
With fifteen laps to go Dovizioso entered turn one ahead of Dani Pedrosa, however, Pedrosa was unable to stop his Honda in time for the apex and hit an unexpected Dovizioso who was making his way around the turn. Dovizioso did not have a chance when Pedrosa hit him and the pair crashed out. An apologetic Pedrosa ran over to Dovizioso who stayed on his knees at the side of the track to see if he was OK.
Dovizioso was escorted off the track by Marshals and had no choice but to retire however Pedrosa was able to re-join the race. It was not long before Pedrosa was forced to retire. At the first chance he could, he made his way down to Dovizioso’s pit garage to again apologise and check the welfare of the Italian.
With fourteen laps to go Avintia Ducati rider, Hector Barbera overtook Aspar MotoGP Team rider Yonny Hernandez to now take eleventh. Crutchlow slid out at turn eleven after the front end folded. He was followed by Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith who crashed right behind him. Both were able to return to the track; they suspected that there was oil on the track that caused the two to spill.
The main battle on track was now between the two Team Suzuki Ecstar riders Aleix Espargaro and Vinales. Vinales wanted fourth position from Aleix and managed to overtake but went wide allowing Aleix to snap straight back. With eleven laps to go, they continued to battle before Vinales finally got in front of his teammate and managed to make it stick; he was able to start pulling away.
Marquez continued to lead out from setting the fastest lap of 2:04.682 with ten laps remaining. On the next lap Aprilia rider Alvaro Bautista also got past Hernandez. He soon lost another place to his teammate Eugene Laverty who was lapping faster and managed to get past with just four laps to go. Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Tito Rabat also made it past in the final stages. Danilo Petrucci’s replacement on the Octo Pramac Yakhnich Ducati Michele Pirro managed to overtake Barbera to claim eighth position on track.
The third round of the MotoGP finished with Marquez as the winner; this is the fourth consecutive time he has won here since it joined the calendar. Lorenzo came second ahead of Iannone and the twoSuzukis of Vinales and Aleix Espargaro in fifth. Scott Redding finished in sixth as the top independent rider ahead of Pol Espargaro and wildcard rider Pirro.
Hector Barbera was in ninth ahead of the top Aprilia rider Stefan Bradl ahead of his teammate Bautista in tenth. Laverty finished twelfth ahead of Rabat and Hernandez. Then came the crashers; Baz finished in fifteenth claiming the last point ahead of Crutchlow and Smith.
Marquez now leads the championship with sixty-six points; he is twenty-one points ahead of second place Lorenzo who won the championship in 2015. Rossi remains in third with thirty-three points ahead of Pol Espagaro in fourth with twenty-eight points; he is currently leading the independent riders championship ahead of Barbera.
