MotoGP™: Dovizioso (Ducati Team / Michelin) takes home spoils at Misano

The GP Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, Round 13 of the 2018 MotoGPTM World Championship, saw Andrea Dovizioso claim his 11th premier class win. The Ducati Team / Michelin rider was joined on the podium by Marc Márquez (2nd, Repsol Honda Team / Michelin) and Cal Crutchlow (3rd, LCR Honda / Michelin).

Dovizioso got away well from fourth on the grid to appear in second place on the first of the afternoon’s 27 laps, tucked in just behind Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team / Michelin) who had qualified on pole with an effort of 1m31.629s.

On Lap 6, racing on medium-compound MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, Dovizioso eventually found a way past his team-mate who had opted for the same tyre pairing.

The Italian then took advantage of the scrap for second spot that opposed Lorenzo and Márquez to post a sequence of quick laps and pull clear of his chasers. Ninth time around, he established a new race lap record for the track (1m32.678s) to improve on the previous best held by Dani Pedrosa (1m32.979s). Lorenzo (1m32.849s) and Márquez (1m32.891s) both also bettered the Repsol Honda Team / Michelin rider’s benchmark.

On Lap 26, while running second, Lorenzo fell just in front of Márquez to take any remaining pressure off Dovizioso who beat the latter over the line by a margin of 2.8 seconds.

Running on hard and medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, the Spaniard never appeared to be able to challenge for the race win, but he happily pocketed the points that rewarded second place to go further clear at the top of the provisional Riders’ standings.

Cal Crutchlow was third (and best-placed Independent Team Rider), more than seven seconds adrift.

Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki / Michelin) was fourth, ahead of Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Michelin) and Pedrosa.

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Michelin) failed to finish higher than seventh on home soil, while Andrea Iannone (Ecstar Suzuki / Michelin), Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team / Michelin) and Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3 / Michelin) rounded out the day’s top 10.

The Italian race saw the field opt for six different tyre combinations:

-        3 riders on soft/soft (front/rear)

-        1 rider on soft/medium

-        5 riders on medium/medium

-        11 riders on medium/soft

-        5 riders on hard/medium

-        1 rider on hard/hard

Márquez’s lead in the title chase now stands at 67 points. Dovizioso has moved into second place on 154 points, tailed by Rossi (151 points).

Next race: Aragon, Spain (September 21-23).