The unpredictable weather only played a small part in spicing up the Moto GP action but the thrills were largely provided thanks to the true spirit of competition that is still supreme in motorcycle racing.
Hot Action in all Classes – Ben Spies Wins First Moto GP Race
Maverick Vinales, Marc Marquez and Ben Spies were the winners in the respective classes, but the winners themselves would not have expected that in the heat of battle. In the Moto GP premier class, Texan Ben Spies secured his maiden Grand Prix win for Yamaha on its 25th anniversary but it wasn’t all smiles for the Yamaha camp as Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli took out their title defender Jorge Lorenzo at the first corner of the first lap. They both recovered though, with Lorenzo finishing a hard fought 6th and Simoncelli 9th. But it could have been a lot better for Jorge Lorenzo as the works Yamaha YZR-M1s definitely had the edge over the HRC Repsol Hondas on pace, with the conditions also favoring them.
Marco Simoncelli Crashes Into Jorge Lorenzo
Marco Simoncelli himself could have come out on top after qualifying on pole, but being too hot on cold tires on the first lap itself was too ambitious for Simoncelli, though this crash with Jorge Lorenzo was merely a racing incident.
Repsol Honda HRC’s Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso finished 2nd and 3rd, but the team must have wondered whether it could have been a Honda 1-2-3 or at least a 2-3-4 or 2-3-5 had Dani Pedrosa been around. He is set to rejoin the team at the next Moto GP round at Mugello. His replacement Hiroshi Aoyama did well to finish 7th.
Marc Marquez Wins in Moto 2 Yet Again
Things were a lot less predictable in Moto 2. At any given time it looked like any of four riders – early leader Bradley Smith, Simone Corsi, World Supersport Championship convert Kenan Soufoglu, 18-year old Marc Marquez, or Yuki Takahashi could win as they all kept trading positions. Moto 2 championship leader Stefan Bradl did not seem to like the semi-wet, semi-dry conditions and cautiously held back, dropping down from pole position to 13th at one stage before climbing back to 8th and eventually crashing out.
The decisive moment came when Marc Marquez overtook Kenan Soufoglu for the lead. Then, with 4 laps remaining Yuki Takahashi crashed out. It was left to Kenan Soufoglu and Bradley Smith to challenge Marquez, but by that time the youngster had already proved his age-belying maturity by pulling out a considerable gap and winning the Moto 2 race. Soufoglu and Bradley Smith finished 2nd and 3rd.
Maverick Vinales Keeps a Cool Head in Moto GP 125cc
In the Moto GP 125cc category, the race was shortened due to rain. But from the start there were 7 riders in contention. The lead pack then narrowed to 5 riders – Maverick Vinales, Luis Salom, Sergio Gadea, Efren Vazquez and Sandro Cortese. Though classified by Moto GP officials as a dry race, it began to drizzle. But the race went on as the track wasn’t too challenging and slippery.
Maverick Vinales gradually slipped back to 9th. But then the rain began to fall harder. Vinales seemed to relish the challenge and was soon back in the lead. As conditions deteriorated riders including Sergio Gadea and Luis Salom became distracted and kept waving for the race to be stopped. Maverick Vinales made use of this opportunity to open up a three-second lead as the race was stopped at two-thirds distance on lap 14. This was Maverick Vinales’s second career Moto GP 125cc win while Luis Salom and Sergio Gadea finished 2nd and 3rd.
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