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Thousands of passionate Italian fans at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli were on the edge of their seats as they cheered on their Movistar Yamaha MotoGP hero. Valentino Rossi delivered a strong performance and led for most of the race to ultimately take second place in the ‘Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini’. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also held a fast pace throughout the 28 laps, to take third place.

Starting from second on the grid, Rossi entered the first corner side-by-side with Maverick Viñales, but was quick to leave the Spaniard behind when he flicked his bike left into turn 2 as he wanted to prevent his teammate from clearing off at the front. After the first lap there was just 0.202s between them and only a lap later the Doctor leaped past Lorenzo in turn 14, reversing the order. He followed it up with two fastest laps of the race that far, 1‘33.672s on lap three, and a 1‘33.384s on lap five, increasing his lead to over 0.8s.

The local hero continued to push and was able to extend the margin to 1.2s, but Dani Pedrosa had overtaken Lorenzo and was chasing the Doctor down with eleven laps to go. The pair got involved in a fight for first place three laps later. Making his Yamaha as wide as possible, Rossi defended his lead tooth and nail but with seven laps to go Pedrosa made an aggressive pass at turn 4. Determined to fight to the very end of the race Rossi put in a personal best lap of 1‘33.025s, three laps to the end, but he was unable to catch his rival and took the chequered flag in second place, +2.837s from the front.

Starting from pole Lorenzo had an ideal launch off the line, taking the holeshot. He opted for his traditional strategy to break away early with a few hot laps, but his teammate was on his tail. The pair briefly touched when Rossi moved past a lap later in turn 14, but Lorenzo wasn‘t going to give up on the win easily. The Mallorcan increased his pace steadily but a threat was coming from behind.

Pedrosa was on the charge and with 13 laps remaining the two compatriots battled for second place. Lorenzo kept pushing to cut a chunk of time out of his disadvantage to Rossi, but two laps later he had to let Pedrosa through. Lorenzo continued to shadow the two frontmen, but came just short to be able to cut down the margin and join the fight at the front. He finished in a solid third place, +4.359s behind the winner.

Rossi‘s 20 points gives him a total score of 180, keeping him in second position in the championship standings, with a 43 point margin to the leader. He is 18 points ahead of Lorenzo in third place, who has collected 162 points so far this season.

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team will take a short break before the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón in two weeks’ time.

Rossi: Pedrosa was too fast

I tried the maximum to race against Marquez. When I saw that my rhythm was enough to win I was very happy, but later Pedrosa arrived and he was too fast. I tried the maximum but there was no way, he had a better pace. Anyway, it‘s second place. It‘s a shame here in Misano, it‘s a race I especially tried to win, but today it wasn‘t possible. Thank you to all the fans that were at the track, it was great.

Lorenzo: I simply didn’t have the pace

I can‘t be very happy, because I expected a bit more from the race. I tried hard for the victory but today I simply didn‘t have the best pace. Especially Dani had a better pace and Rossi had one tenth on some laps. Little by little they were going away, so I tried my best to stay there but they went ahead. Honestly they were faster.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa became the eighth different MotoGP winner in eight races today, taking a stunning victory at Misano, his 29th in MotoGP and the 52nd in his career, as well as the 120th for Honda since the start of the MotoGP era in 2002. Marc Marquez struggled with his front end but managed to score an important fourth-place finish, which allows him to keep an advantage of 43 points in the Championship standings.

Dani’s choice of a soft-front and medium-rear Michelin tyre combination proved to be the best one for today’s conditions and for his riding style, as it allowed him to charge through the field at an incredibly fast pace and to set a new track record of 1’32.979 on his way to the victory. Starting eighth on the grid, he was sixth at the end of the first lap and progressively improved his speed over the course of 22 laps, overtaking Dovizioso, Viñales, Marquez, Lorenzo and finally Rossi before crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead of the Italian to became the fourth Honda rider to win a race this year.

Marc had a much tougher day as he struggled with his hard front tyre, even if he was able to keep a similar pace to frontrunners Rossi and Lorenzo in the first third of the race. Nonetheless, when teammate Pedrosa passed him on lap 14, he realized he couldn’t match his rhythm and wisely settled for the important 13 points that come with fourth place.

The Repsol Honda Team will remain in Misano tomorrow for a private one-day test.

Pedrosa: Even I was surprised!

“It was a great race, and it has been a long time since I’ve had these feelings. Even I was surprised by the performance I put in today because I hadn’t 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 a 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 hadn’t used it in hot conditions. In the end we were focused and everything went very well; it was an opportunity we had to take advantage of, and I think we achieved a great victory.”

Marquez: I thought I’d crash if I went with Dani

“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 in the first few laps and close in on Valentino and Jorge. Then I saw I had problems with the front tyre, because I was losing it a lot. When Dani 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 during a weekend that had been good but that we weren’t able to capitalize on in the race. Now we’re very motivated for Aragon.”

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

Championship contender Valentino Rossi took a stunning podium at the British GP despite the track having proved a tough one for the 9-time champion in the past. Taking back 3 points from Marc Marquez’ (Repsol Honda Team) title lead and beating the Spaniard to the rostrum, the duel between the two was a stunner as the Italian made his 250th start in the premier class – and became the first to reach that milestone. Maverick Viñales may have been untouchable at the front in the UK, but Rossi was the only title contender to gain at Silverstone – and the next stop for the MotoGP paddock swaps the difficult newer track for the comforts of home.

Misano is Rossi’s heartland. Although Mugello is the track the Italian considers his spiritual home, the Movistar Yamaha rider’s hometown of Tavullia lies incredibly close to Misano Adriatico and the track that bears the name of his late friend Marco Simoncelli. With the glittering blue of the Adriatic just a stone’s throw from the shores of the circuit, 2015 was a sell out as the yellow smoke rose above the grandstands and MotoGP roared back into town. A classic place to race, the ‘Doctor’ took wins at his closest track to home in 2008 and 2009 in his most recent world championship winning campaigns, and returned to the top step in 2014 as title favourite Marquez made his first mistake of the year. 2016 has had its ups and downs for Rossi – but not in his pace, and he’ll be hoping to make more gains with the home crowd behind him to the end.

Although Misano could sometimes prove synonymous with Valentino Rossi, the Italian track is also a home race for mythical manufacturer Ducati. The British GP may have been more tough than the Borgo Panigale factory expected, with a P6 for Andrea Dovizioso and a crash for Andrea Iannone, but the taste of their Austrian GP victory and 1-2 finish will still be fresh in memory as the paddock touches down on the Riviera di Rimini. The Desmosedici is now a true threat at the front, and the team also count on having recently completed a private test at the track to help them get back in the mix for victory. The home crowd will be behind the Iannone and Dovizioso, as Misano World Circuit is painted both yellow and red.

Marquez, after battling hard with Rossi and then eventual P2 finisher Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), was just off the podium in the UK but is still an incredible 50 points clear of Rossi at the top of the table – and took the most recent premier class win at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Marquez’ Silverstone was not the smooth ride he’s come to pull off more often than not in 2016, instead proving a tyre-preserving trip through to the last third of the race followed by a signature, spectacular dogfight. With a 53 point lead going into the event, the British GP saw the Repsol Honda rider let loose a little as he fought with Rossi and then Crutchlow, taking more risks than he has often seemed willing to do this season. With one small mistake seeing him miss the podium, the 2013 and 2014 champion nevertheless left the UK showdown with a 50 point lead safe and sound – and only 6 races remain. The rider from Cervera took a P2 in his rookie appearance in Misano in 2013, before falling out of contention with his first error of his record-breaking 2014 campaign. Marquez was on the top step once again in mixed conditions in 2015 however, and with 50 points to cushion the risk will be looking to make a point behind enemy lines. As will compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP).

Since he moved up to MotoGP in 2008, Lorenzo has kept his name pencilled on the trophy on the Riviera di Rimini. With Silverstone proving a tough race after a setup gamble that didn’t pay off, Lorenzo will want to hit back quickly in Misano as the points gap between him and teammate Rossi grew slightly once again. The ‘Spartan”s record in Italy makes for incredible reading, and Misano is another ‘Lorenzo track’ like Mugello that the Mallorcan will be hoping to conquer. Three P2 finishes in his first three seasons in the premier class prefaced a run of 3 wins at the second Italian venue on the calendar, and the Spaniard took another P2 in 2014 despite a tough start to the season. 2015 saw a blip as a mistake saw him crash out in the wet, but Lorenzo has finished in the top two positions at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli every time he has taken the chequered flag.

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa’s fortunes in the British GP proved a contrast to rival Lorenzo’s. After struggling to find the right direction with the bike and tyres following so many off-season changes in the premier class, Pedrosa had found cooler and wet conditions particularly tough – until Silverstone. Putting in the work on the dry track on Friday, the time on the circuit proved fruitful as the 3-time world champion got back in the battle at the front and showed much improved pace in qualifying and the race, despite the conditions. Pedrosa has five podiums at Misano, too – including a win – and will want to keep refining his progress as he pushes forward to take back P4 in the championship from Silverstone victor Maverick Viñales.

Viñales was spectacular in the British GP. With the cooler conditions helping the Suzuki, the 2013 Moto3 world champion simply took off at the front and never looked back, putting in a performance as close to perfection as his team could have dreamed. The victory was the first for the Japanese manufacturer since 2007 and the first in the dry since 2000, making Silverstone a historic moment for both man and machine. With his first win under his belt, Viñales will now only want more – and knows with increasing certainty exactly how to get it.

There are now six races remaining in 2016 and a maximum of 150 points left on the table. A 50 point advantage leaves Marquez in a great position at the top of the standings, but the battle to catch the championship leader most certainly rages on – with Rossi in hot pursuit as MotoGP heads back behind the yellow curtain.

Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko