MotoGP Monday – Spaniards reign in Spain
It was an all Spaniard lockout of the podium as all three riders performed well in their home race
Mason Meyer
As MotoGP rolled into Jerez, Spain for the fourth round, there was definitely some extra tension in the air.
The race marked the 3000 solo rider race and everybody wanted to give themselves the best possible chance of being crowned the race winner. With Dani Pedrosa of Team Repsol Honda dominating free practice, there was no surprise when he claimed pole position in qualifying, ahead of teammate, Marc Marquez, by only 0.049 seconds.
The race kicked off with Pedrosa pulling out a one second lead over Marquez, but would he be able to maintain this pace as Marquez had opted for a harder rear tyre compound opposed to Pedrosa starting on the medium compound?
The choice in tyres might have given Marquez longer durability and he could come strong in the final part of the race. However, when the chequered flag was waved, Pedrosa managed to hold off Marquez with a brilliant ride. Marquez finished second, a few seconds back.
The last podium position was secured by Jorge Lorenzo on the Ducati. This was probably the surprise of the season so far as he has battled to tame the Ducati in the first three races of the year.
It was an all Spaniard lockout of the podium as all three riders performed well in their home race. Championship leader, Valentino Rossi, suffered a huge loss of grip in his tyres due to poor tyre management and ended up dropping down the field, finishing in tenth.
However, he keeps his championship lead, but only by 2 points, setting up another tight championship battle in 2017.
Round 5 will take place at the Le Mans circuit, France in two weeks’ time.
South African Tracker:
Darryn Binder was in the battle for the lead in the Moto3 before crashing. He did however re-join and finished in twentieth.
Brad Binder, the Moto3 World Champion, is still recovering from injury. He is yet to return to the Moto2 scene.
All photos courtesy of GPUpdate.
