Lorenzo wins the British GP
Moto GP 2013
www.motorcycle-usa.com By Byron Wilson
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo picked up his first race win since Catalunya in June at the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez fought hard to score his fifth consecutive victory but ended a slim 0.081 behind the Mallorcan in second-place. Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished third.
The day didn’t start well for Marquez, who had an off in the warm up and dislocated his shoulder. The Honda ace went down in the same place as Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and the British rider was still recovering from his incident when Marquez’s RC213V came skidding directly toward his downed bike. The safety crew had to run out of the way in order to avoid being hit by Marquez’s machine, which hit the M1 before coming to a stop in the gravel. Marquez was later penalized by officials for not slowing his pace under a yellow flag and will be docked two championship points for the infraction.
Marquez appeared unfazed by his injury at the start of the race. He and Lorenzo nearly bumped one another off the start as they ran ahead of the pack, settling into the number one and two spots through the opening turns. Pedrosa, meanwhile, was forced to fight through the ranks from back in fifth but by Lap 4 had joined the front-runners in third. The three remained in close quarters as they gapped the rest of the field, holding steady during the bulk of the race without any serious attempts to swap position. During the final laps Marquez began to push Lorenzo hard and the rookie made a move to the front with three to go. Lorenzo didn’t wait long to answer back and within a lap had regained the lead. Marquez went for it again in the last corners of the final lap, though Lorenzo was not to be outdone and he pushed past the Repsol Honda rider once again to take the front just before the finish, providing one of the most memorable and exciting battles seen all season.
"This was one of the best races I’ve ever had," said Lorenzo. "I’m really happy and really pleased. It’s a very important win. I pushed from the beginning to try and open a gap, even more than in recent races but it was impossible. Marc never gives up, even if he’s a little bit injured after the warm up. He overtook me three laps from the end so I studied him a little for one lap and I saw he was struggling in some braking so I overtook him on the corner where he crashed. I pushed in the last lap to the maximum, I opened a little gap but I made a mistake in braking and almost crashed. When he overtook me three corners from the end I thought it was over again and second place but then he opened a little gap in the last corner so I thought "now or never" and I tried and got it. To be honest I’m not thinking about the championship, I’m thinking just to enjoy this victory which was very special to get then focus on Misano!”
"I'm very happy with how things went today," said Marquez. "This morning when my shoulder popped out I thought that my weekend was over, but the doctors were able to put it back in place quickly and that allowed me to be up there at the front, fighting with Jorge. I didn't feel much pain, because I received an injection to dull the pain, but I was lacking strength and was feeling tired by the end. Despite all this, I was able to battle all the way until the final corner with Jorge, who eventually emerged victorious today. Congratulations to him! For me these 20 points are like a win!”
Behind the top-three the battle for fourth was once again between Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi and Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista. During the initial laps, however, Rossi was back in sixth trying to catch up to Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. The German rode in fourth-place early on but Bautista found a line past during the opening laps. Rossi then set his sights on Bradl and by mid-race the Honda rider was forced to put up defense against the Doctor, ultimately slipping back another position as Rossi moved ahead. During the last laps Rossi caught Bautista and the two swapped position for fourth-place a few times before the checkers, with Rossi crossing the finish line with the advantage. Bautista took fifth followed by Bradl in sixth.
Crutchlow had a disappointing home round and was never able to contend for a spot inside the top-five. He finished the day in seventh-place. Ducati’s Nicky Hayden grabbed eighth ahead of Crutchlow’s teammate, Bradley Smith, in ninth. Both riders benefitted in position when Hayden’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, crashed during the final laps. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro pushed through the pain of a broken finger to finish as the fastest CRT in 10th.
Marquez remains the overall points leader, extending his advantage over Pedrosa to 30 points. Lorenzo sits third, 39 off the leader while Rossi holds to fourth.
MotoGP Silverstone Results 2013:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
2. Marc Marquez (Honda)
3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
5. Alvaro Bautista (Honda)
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda)
7. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha)
8. Nicky Hayden (Ducati)
9. Bradley Smith (Yamaha)
10. Aleix Espargaro (ART)
11. Andrea Iannone (Ducati)
12. Michele Pirro (Ducati)
13. Hector Barbera (FTR)
14. Colin Edwards (FTR-Kawasaki)
15. Danilo Petrucci (Ioda-Suter)
16. Randy de Puniet (ART)
17. Claudio Corti (FTR-Kawasaki)
18. Hiroshi Aoyama (FTR)
19. Michael Laverty (PBM)
20. Yonny Hernandez (ART)
21. Bryan Staring (FTR-Honda)
MotoGP Championship Points 2013:
1. Marc Marquez, 233
2. Dani Pedrosa, 203
3. Jorge Lorenzo, 194
4. Valentino Rossi, 156
5. Cal Crutchlow, 136
6. Stefan Bradl, 113
7. Alvaro Bautista, 103
8. Andrea Dovizioso, 96
9. Nicky Hayden, 88
10. Aleix Espargaro, 68
Marquez appeared unfazed by his injury at the start of the race. He and Lorenzo nearly bumped one another off the start as they ran ahead of the pack, settling into the number one and two spots through the opening turns. Pedrosa, meanwhile, was forced to fight through the ranks from back in fifth but by Lap 4 had joined the front-runners in third. The three remained in close quarters as they gapped the rest of the field, holding steady during the bulk of the race without any serious attempts to swap position. During the final laps Marquez began to push Lorenzo hard and the rookie made a move to the front with three to go. Lorenzo didn’t wait long to answer back and within a lap had regained the lead. Marquez went for it again in the last corners of the final lap, though Lorenzo was not to be outdone and he pushed past the Repsol Honda rider once again to take the front just before the finish, providing one of the most memorable and exciting battles seen all season.
"This was one of the best races I’ve ever had," said Lorenzo. "I’m really happy and really pleased. It’s a very important win. I pushed from the beginning to try and open a gap, even more than in recent races but it was impossible. Marc never gives up, even if he’s a little bit injured after the warm up. He overtook me three laps from the end so I studied him a little for one lap and I saw he was struggling in some braking so I overtook him on the corner where he crashed. I pushed in the last lap to the maximum, I opened a little gap but I made a mistake in braking and almost crashed. When he overtook me three corners from the end I thought it was over again and second place but then he opened a little gap in the last corner so I thought "now or never" and I tried and got it. To be honest I’m not thinking about the championship, I’m thinking just to enjoy this victory which was very special to get then focus on Misano!”
"I'm very happy with how things went today," said Marquez. "This morning when my shoulder popped out I thought that my weekend was over, but the doctors were able to put it back in place quickly and that allowed me to be up there at the front, fighting with Jorge. I didn't feel much pain, because I received an injection to dull the pain, but I was lacking strength and was feeling tired by the end. Despite all this, I was able to battle all the way until the final corner with Jorge, who eventually emerged victorious today. Congratulations to him! For me these 20 points are like a win!”
Behind the top-three the battle for fourth was once again between Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi and Go & Fun Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista. During the initial laps, however, Rossi was back in sixth trying to catch up to Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. The German rode in fourth-place early on but Bautista found a line past during the opening laps. Rossi then set his sights on Bradl and by mid-race the Honda rider was forced to put up defense against the Doctor, ultimately slipping back another position as Rossi moved ahead. During the last laps Rossi caught Bautista and the two swapped position for fourth-place a few times before the checkers, with Rossi crossing the finish line with the advantage. Bautista took fifth followed by Bradl in sixth.
Crutchlow had a disappointing home round and was never able to contend for a spot inside the top-five. He finished the day in seventh-place. Ducati’s Nicky Hayden grabbed eighth ahead of Crutchlow’s teammate, Bradley Smith, in ninth. Both riders benefitted in position when Hayden’s teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, crashed during the final laps. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro pushed through the pain of a broken finger to finish as the fastest CRT in 10th.
Marquez remains the overall points leader, extending his advantage over Pedrosa to 30 points. Lorenzo sits third, 39 off the leader while Rossi holds to fourth.
MotoGP Silverstone Results 2013:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
2. Marc Marquez (Honda)
3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
5. Alvaro Bautista (Honda)
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda)
7. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha)
8. Nicky Hayden (Ducati)
9. Bradley Smith (Yamaha)
10. Aleix Espargaro (ART)
11. Andrea Iannone (Ducati)
12. Michele Pirro (Ducati)
13. Hector Barbera (FTR)
14. Colin Edwards (FTR-Kawasaki)
15. Danilo Petrucci (Ioda-Suter)
16. Randy de Puniet (ART)
17. Claudio Corti (FTR-Kawasaki)
18. Hiroshi Aoyama (FTR)
19. Michael Laverty (PBM)
20. Yonny Hernandez (ART)
21. Bryan Staring (FTR-Honda)
MotoGP Championship Points 2013:
1. Marc Marquez, 233
2. Dani Pedrosa, 203
3. Jorge Lorenzo, 194
4. Valentino Rossi, 156
5. Cal Crutchlow, 136
6. Stefan Bradl, 113
7. Alvaro Bautista, 103
8. Andrea Dovizioso, 96
9. Nicky Hayden, 88
10. Aleix Espargaro, 68
