Australia's Miller battles to career-best 11th position.
Jorge Lorenzo leads home his teammate Valentino Rossi to claim his fourth consecutive victory as Marc Marquez crashes out in a dramatic seventh round in MotoGP.
Movistar Yamaha’s Lorenzo led from start to finish for the fourth race in succession to close the gap on his teammate Rossi in the standings to just one point. The Spaniard controlled the race from the front to claim the second 1-2 of the season for his factory Yamaha team.
Repsol Honda’s Marquez was battling with Lorenzo for the lead in the opening stages of the 25-lap race but he crashed out at turn 10 on the third lap. That error put another big dent in the Repsol Honda rider’s bid for a third straight premier class title, with Marquez now 69-points adrift of Rossi following his third crash in seven races.
Track temperatures this afternoon reached almost 50 degrees and were the hottest recorded over the weekend, as the MotoGP™ race at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya got underway in front of a packed crowd of over 97,000 fans.
Lorenzo led into the first corner as Team Suzuki Ecstar’s pole-man Aleix Espargaro dropped down to 9th after he struggled to propel his GSX-RR off the line.
Lorenzo immediately set about establishing a fast rhythm, and by the time Rossi had moved into second on lap 4, the Spaniard had already opened up a 1.5 second lead. Rossi put in a tremendous effort in the second half of the race to try and deny Lorenzo a fourth straight win for the first time in his career, but the could not get within a second in the crucial final stages.
The nine-times World Champion had to settle for second, 0.885s behind Lorenzo, who took his 37th premier class win to equal the tally set by British legend Mike Hailwood.
Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa rode a lonely race in third. He finished over 19-seconds behind Lorenzo but it was his first rostrum finish since he underwent major right arm pump surgery after the opening round in Qatar.
Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone claimed fourth after a great fight with Bradley Smith on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1. The British rider crossed the line in fifth as the leading Satellite rider.
Maverick Viñales on the second GSX-RR recovered from way down outside of the top 10 after a disastrous start from the front row to finish in a career best sixth position. Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) equalled the best result of his MotoGP™ career in seventh, with Stefan Bradl (Athina Forward Racing) taking the Open class win in eighth.
Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top 10, fending off Australian rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda) in 11th position for his best premier class result yet.
A number of riders crashed out on the slippery track surface; Yonny Hernandez, Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso and both of the Espargaro brothers all crashed as only 16 riders completed the race.
Johann Zarco mounted a spectacular comeback to take his second win of the season and extend his Moto2 World Championship lead to a commanding 40 points
Zarco bounced back superbly from a close incident at the first corner involving Dominique Aegerter and Jonas Folger to deny reigning world champion Tito Rabat a second successive victory in front of his passionate home crowd.
The Frenchman Zarco fought his way through the pack before catching the leading group and making a block pass on Rabat at turn five on the last lap to snatch victory. A mistake from Rabat then enabled Alex Rins to sneak through for second in a close podium battle. Queensland’s Anthony West circulated to 22nd after a difficult weekend.
Leopard Racing’s Danny Kent won the Catalan GP in a thrilling Moto3 finish that saw him beat rival Enea Bastianini by 0.035s. There was a spectacular six-way battle at the front of another captivating race that ended with Kent mounting a last lap charge to take a sensational victory.
Gresini Racing Team Moto3’s 17-year-old Italian Enea Bastianini crossed the line in second, with Kent’s teammate Efren Vazquez making a daring move on the last corner to snatch third. Remy Gardner (CIP Mahindra) remounted from a mid-race crash to cross the line 25th.
2015 MotoGP World Championship
Round seven – Catalunya, Spain
MotoGP race results:
1. Jorge LORENZO
2. Valentino ROSSI
3. Dani PEDROSA
4. Andrea IANNONE
5. Bradley SMITH
6. Maverick VIÑALES
7. Scott REDDING
8. Stefan BRADL
9. Danilo PETRUCCI
10. Alvaro BAUTISTA
11. Jack MILLER (AUS)
MotoGP championship standings:
1. Valentino ROSSI 138
2. Jorge LORENZO 137
3. Andrea IANNONE 94
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 83
5. Marc MARQUEZ 69
6. Bradley SMITH 68
7. Cal CRUTCHLOW 47
8. Maverick VIÑALES 46
9. Pol ESPARGARO 45
10. Dani PEDROSA 39
18. Jack MILLER (AUS) 11
Moto2 race results:
1. Johann ZARCO
2. Alex RINS
3. Tito RABAT
4. Sam LOWES
5. Luis SALOM
6. Thomas LUTHI
7. Jonas FOLGER
8. Franco MORBIDELLI
9. Dominique AEGERTER
10. Lorenzo BALDASSARRI
22. Anthony WEST (AUS)
Moto2 championship standings:
1. Johann ZARCO 134
2. Tito RABAT 94
3. Sam LOWES 80
4. Thomas LUTHI 78
5. Alex RINS 74
6. Jonas FOLGER 66
7. Franco MORBIDELLI 62
8. Xavier SIMEON 49
9. Luis SALOM 36
10. Mika KALLIO 35
18. Anthony WEST (AUS) 17
Moto3 race results:
1. Danny KENT
2. Enea BASTIANINI
3. Efren VAZQUEZ
4. Niccolò ANTONELLI
5. Miguel OLIVEIRA
6. Jorge NAVARRO
7. Isaac VIÑALES
8. Romano FENATI
9. Brad BINDER
10. Philipp OETTL
25. Remy GARDNER (AUS)
Moto3 championship standings:
1. Danny KENT 149
2. Enea BASTIANINI 98
3. Miguel OLIVEIRA 77
4. Efren VAZQUEZ 76
5. Romano FENATI 75
6. Isaac VIÑALES 64
7. Brad BINDER 57
8. Fabio QUARTARARO 54
9. Francesco BAGNAIA 50
10. Niccolò ANTONELLI 42