2018 Catalunya MotoGP Sunday Results

2018 Catalunya MotoGP Sunday Results

MotoGP Race – 24 laps, 111.048 km

Jorge Lorenzo didn’t put a foot wrong to win a second race in a row for Ducati, soon to be his ex-employers, in a race where crashes, fiery breakdowns and general confusion meant that there were only 14 finishers, with points for all of them.

2018 Catalunya MotoGP Sunday Results

The first to go, for a third time in the last four races, was second factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso, with an unforced error that put a severe dent in his already weakened title hopes.

It wasn’t an easy win for Lorenzo, who had started from pole position, with strong and sustained pressure from Marc Marquez, the Repsol Honda rider eventually settling for second place and 20 points to further extend his already impressive title lead.

And it was a third successive podium for Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha), who had a lonely but worthwhile race after making a strong start from the third row of the grid.

Cal Crutchlow (Castrol Honda) finally got the better of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa for fourth, with second factory Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales again hampered by poor early laps less than two tenths adrift in sixth. He’d eventually passed and outpaced Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha).

Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Ducati fell away in eighth; his team-mate Jack Miller retired. Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Ducati) got past fading Andrea Iannone’s Ecstar Suzuki, completing the top ten. Alex Rins on the second Suzuki also retired.

Then came Pol Espargaro (KTM), Scott Redding (Aprilia), Karel Abraham (Ducati) and Franco Morbidelli (Honda), who had fallen, remounted to call in to the pits, then rejoined to claim two points.

Tito Rabat had been battling with Miller and Hafizh Syahring (Monster Yamaha), but had got away when his Avintia Ducati suffered a flame-throwing and oil-spilling blow-up at the end of the main straight, bringing out the oil flags.

Syahrin, Simeon, Luthi and Guintoli also fell, while Nakagami took out Bradley Smith when he crashed.

It was a good result championship-wise for Marquez, who stretched his lead over second-placed Rossi to 27 points. Vinales is a distant third, Lorenzo seventh, 49 points adrift.

GRAN PREMI MONSTER ENERGY DE CATALUNYA
MotoGP Race Classification 2018
Barcelona, Sunday, June 17, 2018