Yamaha 1 – 2 as Vinales takes second MotoGP victory of 2017
Marquez led comfortably until turn two of the fourth lap, where he crashed out of the race, handing the lead to Vinales, who had managed to pass Rossi and take second from Crutchlow prior to Marquez’s unfortunate trip through the gravel trap.
23 RIDERS took to the damp Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina on Sunday for round two of the 2017 MotoGP Championship.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez started from the front of the grid after taking pole position ahead of Karel Abraham and Cal Crutchlow on the front row and Danilo Petrucci, Dani Pedrosa and Maverick Viñales on row two. Crowd favourite, Valentino Rossi, started the race from seventh, behind Movistar Yamaha teammate, Vinales.
Marquez got away at the front as the lights went out with a good start to the race, followed closely by Crutchlow who slipped past Abraham for second place. 25 laps of nail-biting 500cc action ensued as both Yamahas had a good start to the race with Rossi passing teammate, Vinales in the battle for 6 and 7.
Jorge Lorenzo’s race lasted until the first corner, where contact with Andrea Iannone’s Suzuki saw him dropping his Ducati and crashing out of the race before completing a full lap.
Marquez led comfortably until turn two of the fourth lap, where he crashed out of the race, handing the lead to Vinales, who had managed to pass Rossi and take second from Crutchlow prior to Marquez’s unfortunate trip through the gravel trap.
Iannone was given a drive-through penalty for jumping the start as the race played out.
Vinales owned his spot at the front of the pack for the rest of the race, followed by Crutchlow a second behind Yamaha’s ‘#TopGun’ and Valentino Rossi in third as he closed in on the LCR Honda of Crutchlow.
With seven laps to go, the crowd responded as Rossi found his opportunity at turn five, stealing second place gracefully from Crutchlow to the elated cheers of the Argentinean fans.
22-year-old Spaniard, Maverick Vinales, took a comfortable victory, making history as he became the “first Yamaha rider since Wayne Rainey in 1991, to win the opening two races of the season,” per Ian Marsden of the Daily Telegraph.
Vinales’ teammate, Valentino Rossi took his spot on the second step of the podium as he completed his 350th Grand Prix, followed by Cal Crutchlow in third for LCR Honda.
Race results were as follows:
1 Maverick Vinales (Yamaha),
2 Valentino Rossi (Yamaha),
3 Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda),
4 Alvaro Bautista (Aspar Racing),
5 Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3),
6 Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3),
7 Danilo Petrucci (OCTO Pramac Racing),
8 Scott Redding (OCTO Pramac Racing),
9 Jack Miller (EG),
10 Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team),
11 Loris Baz (Reale Avintia Racing),
12 Tito Rabat (EG),
13 Hector Barbera (Reale Avintia Racing),
14 Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing),
15 Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and
16 Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
Seven riders retired before the final lap. Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro, Dani Pedrosa, who crashed out on the same corner as Repsol Honda teammate, Marc Marquez, with 12 laps to go, Sam Lowes, Alex Rins, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo were all classified as DNF (Did Not Finish) for the Argentina MotoGP 2017.
Circuit of the Americas will host the next round in the MotoGP 2017 Championship on April 23 as riders converge on Texas for the next race.
