Lorenzo dominates from start to finish

MotoGP: Lorenzo masterful, as Marquez extends lead
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 44mins, 05.322s
2 Marc Marquez (Honda) +3.379s
3 Dani Pedrosa (Honda), +7.368s
Australian
DNF Bryan Staring (FTR Honda) +4 laps

Fastest lap: Marquez, 1:33.935 = 161.9km/h on lap 11

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) was in one of those moods at Misano where no-one could stick with him, and his 3.379-second victory was just the way he likes it: a quick departure from the front row and then one relentless lap after another which broke the back of his peers.

Not even young firebrand Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) could mount a late charge this time, but he still finished second to extend his world championship lead out to 34pts – with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Lorenzo both on the same amount of points in equal second with five races remaining.

Pedrosa was third yet again, followed by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing), with Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) just edging out Cal Crutchlow (Tech 3 Yamaha) for fifth – the only real scuffle which went down to the wire in the 27-lap race.

It was Lorenzo’s second win in succession and his fifth for the year, the same amount as Marquez.

“Luckily we improved the bike a lot in warm-up, especially in braking so we improved the lap time and the pace quite a bit,” said Lorenzo. “I was convinced to follow my strategy of the last couple of races which was to try to break away and finally I could do it.

“The first two laps I had a big advantage so I had to keep pushing to maintain a distance because they never gave up and wanted to catch me. I’m happy, we recovered five points and we are closer to Marc. I need to be constant and try to win races and stay focused.”

After running wide under brakes on lap five, Marquez dropped back to fourth position behind Rossi, which, given Lorenzo’s masterful pace at the front, effectively meant that second position was the best the polesitter could achieve. And that he did, diving under Rossi on lap 13 to move into third, and five laps later Pedrosa was also cast aside.

“We’ve taken another 20 world championship points today and, considering how the race went, I think that is a good reward,” said Marquez. “At the start of the race I knew that I had to be careful, but I made two mistakes and lost a lot of time with the second of those.

“Maybe I was lacking a little experience – it’s my rookie season and it is normal to make a few errors. I also didn’t feel completely comfortable with a full fuel tank. From the midway point onwards I felt a lot better. To finish second is a great result, even though Lorenzo has gained five points on us, we are an extra four ahead of Dani. We are happy and have a lot of motivation to keep fighting hard at Aragon!”

Marquez is now on 253pts, from Lorenzo (219), Pedrosa (219), Rossi (169) and Crutchlow (146).

Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), third at Misano in 2012, couldn’t reproduce the same heroics in 2013 as he finished in seventh, ahead of Ducati Factory pairing Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden and Michele Pirro (Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati). CRT star Aleix Espargaro (Power Electronics Aspar), who started from the second row of the grid, jumped the start and was sanctioned with a ride through penalty, but still threaded his way back to 13th.

Australia’s Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) retired his CRT machine with four laps to go.

Moto2: Espargaro’s perfect timing
1 Pol Espargaro (Kalex) 42mins 47.098s
2 Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) +0.621s
3 Esteve Rabat (Kalex) +1.815
Australians
11 Anthony West (Speed Up) +28.649
DNF Jason O’Halloran (Motobi), +10 laps

Fastest lap: Espargaro (record), 1:38.070 = 155.1km/h on lap 22

It was a slow burn, but a sensational finish to the Moto2 race when Spaniard Pol Espargaro annexed the top spot from Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami with two laps to go. It was the fourth second place in a row for Nakagami, who led by about three seconds at one stage before Espargaro started chipping away at his lead.

Esteve Rabat was third to complete a Kalex whitewash of the podium.

“It was a difficult race, as Nakagami was incredible at the start,” said Espargaro. “I just had to follow him, but then I started feeling more confident myself as the race wore on. I am happy to have won, but it wasn’t easy.”

The other major narrative in the 26-lapper was championship leader Scott Redding’s inability to circulate at the front on his Kalex, and he had to pull out all stops on the last corner to seize sixth position from Johann Zarco (Suter).

It amounted to a precious point gained, which just may be vital as the championship battle with Espargaro flares up again – just when it seemed Redding was in charge after his towering victory at Silverstone two weeks ago. But it was another false dawn in a riveting season, and Redding’s lead over Espargaro has now been slashed to just 23pts (202 to 179), followed by Rabat (151), Mika Kallio (Kalex, 132) and the charging Nakagami (125).

Queenslander Anthony West (Speed Up) was up and about, finishing 11th from 19th position on the grid. West's compatriot Jason O’Halloran (Motobi) crashed out with 10 laps to go.

Moto3: Rins pips Vinales, Miller fifth
1 Alex Rins (KTM), 39mins, 50.516s
2 Maverick Vinales (KTM), +0.050s
3 Alex Marquez (KTM) +6.434s
Australians
5 Jack Miller (Honda), +18.011s
15 Arthur Sissis (KTM), +27.899s

Fastest lap Marquez (record), 1:43.293 = 147.2km/h on lap four

In a race where Townsville’s Jack Miller (Honda) produced his best result of the year, KTM-mounted Spaniards Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales fought a lone battle at the front for most of the 23 laps, and it was the former who swept into the lead on the final circuit to bring up his fourth victory of the year. Rins is now just 2pts behind Vinales as the battle for second place in the championship intensifies, while the pair also pulled back some ground on runaway leader Luis Salom (KTM), who was fourth at Misano despite still riding with an injured heel.

KTM has now on the last 16 successive Moto3 races, the third third-longest sequence of successive GP wins in the lightweight class by one manufacturer. Another win can equal Honda’s second place of 17 consecutive wins between 1992 and 1993.

Salom finished at the sharp end of a willing five-way battle that also included Miller, Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra), Zulfahmi Khairuddin (KTM) and Niccolo Antonelli (Honda). Miller was seventh heading into the last lap, but made up two spots in a stirring finale to finish a superb fifth. It’s been a huge week for the 18-year-old Aussie, who also signed a contract to join the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in 2014.

Adelaide’s Arthur Sissis currently rides for KTM Ajo, and he was 15th at Misano.

Meanwhile, polesitter Jonan Folger (KTM) spectacularly highsided out of third place on lap five, while it was an ignominious exit for Valentinoi Rossi’s half brother Luca Marini (Honda), who crashed out at turn one just after the start. Marini races in the Italian title and was making a wildcard appearance at Misano.

Salom now leads Vinales by 19pts with five rounds remaining, while Miller is the best of the Aussies in seventh.

For full results and standings, visit www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics.