Repsol Honda Team rider becomes eighth consecutive different race winner after a spectacular comeback in the San Marino Grand Prix. Marc Marquez finishes fourth and salvages points from a difficult race.
Dani Pedrosa was the star of the San Marino Grand Prix, the thirteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship, on raceday. The Spaniard climbed from eighth place to first, to become the eighth different winner in the last eight races. The Repsol Honda Team rider overtook two rivals off the start line, following this up with passes on Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Viñales, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi to lead the way with seven laps remaining, breaking the track record in the process. Teammate Marquez, did not enjoy a repeat of the good feelings he had yesterday and placed off the podium, taking a fourth position that nevertheless keeps him as MotoGP World championship leader with a 43-point lead over Rossi.
Marc Marquez >> Audio
4th a 9.569 sec.
“Today’s race was complicated and it was perhaps not one of my better days. I went out with great desire and I felt strong, able to recover the ground I had lost on the first few laps and close in on Valentino [Rossi] and Jorge [Lorenzo]. Then I saw I had problems with the front tyre, because I was losing it a lot. When Dani [Pedrosa] passed me, I tried to follow him, but I saw that it was more likely that I would crash than finish on the podium, so I concentrated on finishing the race. We have to keep improving, but the positive thing is that we only lost a few points on a weekend that had been good but that we weren’t able to capitalize in the race. Now we are very motivated for Aragon.”
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
1st, 43:43.524
“It was a great race, and it has been a long time since I have had these feelings. The performance I put in today surprised even myself, because I had not expected to go so fast; we were fantastic. The key was the pace; I was able to fight my way through, especially in the final part, and being consistent allowed me to catch the riders at the front. It’s very nice for me to take victory again, after all the effort made by those who have been with me in this challenging season so far: my family, my team and my fans. It has been very difficult, so I’m very happy for all of them. Today I enjoyed myself, although I was a little worried about the choice of front tyre because I had not used it in hot conditions. In the end we were focused and everything went very well; it was an opportunity of which we had to take advantage and I think we have achieved a great victory.”
