Aragon GP | Marquez pips Dovizioso to thrilling win at Motorland
Marc Marquez is back on the top step of the podium after Sachsenring, as he fought off Dovizioso and Lorenzo crashed out in the first lap.
Marc Marquez scores 25 searing hot points on home turf at Aragon ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, whom he honourably fought against from the beginning to the end. Andrea Iannone completes the podium in 3rd, finishing ahead of Suzuki teammate Alex Rins.
Marc Marquez emerged on top at the first corner, where Jorge Lorenzo barely made it as he ruled himself out of the race following a nasty highside. The Spaniard ran wide and slipped on cold tyres, which fatally sent him flying; he was later taken to the medical centre on a stretcher. The latest medical updates suggest Lorenzo suffered a right hallux dislocation and several contusions.
Andrea Dovizioso promptly gained the lead ahead of Marquez, although the two kept lapping on the same pace, as well as the Suzuki duo. The pack remained compact in the early stages of the race, as no one was really able to open up a gap. Daniel Pedrosa in 5th edged out Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, who was the author of a rocket start from 15th.
Among the big dogs, Cal Crutchlow joined Lorenzo on the DNF list as he crashed out. On his quest to recover from yesterday’s disastrous qualifying, Valentino Rossi managed to resurge to P8, splitting the Alma Pramac duo. His teammate Maverick Vinales rounds up the top 10, after displaying poor form throughout the race.
With 15 laps to go, Dovizioso distanced himself from runner-up Marquez by nearly half a second. The Spaniard had to defend himself from a vehement Rins, who was glued to his tail. However, both riders
Marc Marquez impactfully responded to Dovizioso’s scorching 1’48’’3 and took advantage from the Italian’s 1’48’’9 to get back behind him and overtake him straight away. The two almost collided as they engaged in a close battle, but the Catalan kept him behind for a couple of laps.
Dovizioso reclaimed the lead, mastering his crossing trajectories’ skills, but Marquez stayed tied to him. The current championship leader prepared a stunner attack, but in the end he ran wide, which allowed Iannone to join the party. A mesmerizing slipstream game saw the three fighting for the lead for a while, but Dovizioso’s Desmo power prevailed.
Marquez fired straight back with 3 laps to go, successfully protecting the inside. One lap later, Marquez increased the width of his margin to 0.3s and sealed his 6th win of the season.