Reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo snatched victory at today’s Mugello MotoGP by just 0.019s from Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez after a dramatic last lap saw the pair swap places three times before the Movistar Yamaha man caught the tow on the run to the line as the RC213V was outgunned on acceleration out of the last corner.
It was a two-horse race after Valentino Rossi’s M1 blew its engine with 15 laps left to run - mirroring a motor expiration experienced by Lorenzo in morning warm-up - and Marquez shadowed Lorenzo until the start of lap 24. Marquez tried a move on the entry to Scarperia but couldn’t get his RC213V stopped and the Mallorcan slid back past. Marquez tried again on the penulitimate lap into San Donato but again couldn’t get it stopped.
On the last lap, Marquez finally made a pass stick but Lorenzo went back past into Biondetti - not a usual passing place - but Marquez wasn’t done. He was back into top spot at the last corner but the Honda started to wheelie as the pair exited which handed the advantage to Lorenzo as superior traction and a tow catapulted him into the lead when it counted.
Andrea Iannone took third place after a clutch problem saw him plummet outside the top ten off the start. The Italian, who described his race as a disaster, had to scrap his way back past team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa for third but the little Spaniard wasn’t letting him get away and pushed Iannone all the way to the line. Iannone set a new MotoGP speed record, hitting 220mph on the start/finish straight.
Dovizioso was in with a shout of the podium as he was able to lap faster than both Lorenzo and Marquez until half distance. He then found himself in a tangle with Iannone and ran wide into turn one which saw Pedrosa also get past, and the works Ducati man had no way back.
Maverick Vinales also got a dreadful start and had to work his way back through the pack. The Spaniard worked his way to sixth place, passing team-mate Aleix Espargaro, with Britain’s Bradley Smith in seventh place. Danilo Petrucci took eighth, Espargaro ninth and Ducati test rider Michele Pirro tenth. Cal Crutchlow worked his way to 11th with Hetor Barbera and Eugene Laverty behind him.
Scott Redding retired with mechanical problems at the same time as Rossi while Jack Miller, Alvaro Bautista and Loris Baz all went down in a turn one crash.
