Misano Adriatico (Italy), 14 Sept 2014: The many thousand Valentino Rossi fans gathered at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli had their dreams come true today as their Movistar Yamaha MotoGP hero delivered a perfect race to take victory for the ‘Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini’. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo came home in second to make it a perfect Yamaha one-two finish.
The Doctor made his intentions clear from the off with a flying start to move up from third to second into the first corner, tucked in behind teammate Lorenzo. An early attack by rival Marc Marquez was quickly dealt with and then with 25 laps to go he was able to pass Lorenzo to lead the race. Championship leader Marquez followed soon after and remained within half a second of Rossi until with 19 laps remaining he lost the front trying to keep up and crashed out, taking himself out of contention.
From that point the Doctor was unstoppable, building a gap of over two seconds to his chasing teammate, he held command of the race to the finish line to take his first race win since Assen last year, and Yamaha’s first MotoGP win of the season.
Teammate Lorenzo flew from his pole position on the grid to grab the holeshot into turn one, with Rossi following right behind. Having opted for the harder front tyre option he was unable to make a break and hold off Rossi in the early laps. Having seen rival Marquez crash out in front of him he then delivered a trademarkLorenzo race of consistency, holding his lap times a little over two seconds behind Rossi whilst gradually building a gap to Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso battling for third behind him. He crossed the finish line over four seconds ahead of them to take his seventh podium of the season and complete the Yamaha one-two finish.
Rossi’s 25 point score adds to his total to make him the first MotoGP rider ever to reach over 5,000 career championship points. He now sits on 214 in third position in the standings, just a single point behind Pedrosa in second. Lorenzo takes 20 points to bring him to a total of 177 in fourth position, 35 ahead of Dovizioso in fifth.
Bridgestone report:
Round 13: San Marino and Rimini MotoGP™ – Race
Misano, Sunday September 14 2014
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative)
Valentino Rossi had the Italian fans rejoicing at Misano after the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP star won his first race of the season in an intriguing San Marino and Rimini Grand Prix.
Starting from the front row, Rossi was engaged in a thrilling three-way battle for the lead in the early stages of the race with teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, with Rossi taking the race lead on the fourth lap. After fending off an attack from Marquez – who crashed at turn four while challenging for first place before re-joining the race – Rossi was able to build a gap over Lorenzo and ultimately crossed the finish line 1.578 seconds ahead of his teammate, with the pair ensuring a 1-2 finish for Yamaha. In third place at Misano was Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, the Spaniard crossing the finish line another couple of seconds behind the leading pair.
Today was the warmest day of the race weekend, although the peak track temperature of 37°C recorded during the race was just 3°C higher than yesterday’s peak. As a result, the race tyre choice was similar to what the riders used during race simulations in yesterday’s Free Practice 4 session. Front tyre choice was quite consistent throughout the twenty-three riders on the grid for the race, with all riders except Jorge Lorenzo selecting the medium compound front slick, with the Spaniard instead selecting the hard compound front. Rear tyre choice was split evenly across the grid, with twelve riders selecting the medium compound rear slick, and the other eleven riders selecting the soft compound rear slick.
Although he only claimed a single point at Misano, Marquez still maintains a seventy-four point lead in the championship standings over teammate Pedrosa with five rounds remaining. Courtesy of his first win of the season Rossi closes the gap to Pedrosa to just two points as the battle for second place in the championship intensifies.
Kyota Futami – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Congratulations to Valentino on an amazing victory in front of his home crowd today and also to Yamaha for such a dominant performance resulting in a well-deserved double podium. It was unfortunate to see Marquez crash out during the race, but credit to him for fighting back to claim a valuable championship point and I am sure he will be challenging back at the front at the next round in Aragon. Today was a real special moment for MotoGP and has added yet another fascinating chapter to what has been a thrilling season. ”
Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
“As we expected the weather was warmer today, but the track temperatures weren’t high enough to influence a change in tyre strategy for the riders, with almost everyone selecting the same tyre combination that they used during their race simulations yesterday in FP4. I’m very happy with how our tyres performed today, with consistent pace over the twenty-eight laps and seven riders being able to set their quickest lap in the second half of the race.”
“I’m very happy to win today, especially here at Misano in front of my fans, family and friends. During the practice sessions, our Yamaha and my team were working very well and I felt that we had a small advantage at Misano. Yesterday and today I felt very strong and knew I could fight for the victory, but realised it would be a tough fight with the other riders. I gave my maximum at the beginning of the race and knew that if I could resist the other riders I had a chance as my pace was good, and in the end I couldn’t want for anything more from today.”
San Marino & Rimini MotoGP™: Top Ten Race Classification
