Marc Marquez moved level with Andrea Dovizioso at the top of the MotoGP riders’ championship after a last lap victory in a rain-affected San Marino Grand Prix. Conditions were treacherous at Misano following incessant rain but the Spaniard showed his brilliance once again to deny Danilo Petrucci with Dovizioso taking third.
In the opening laps, the race looked to be heading the way of another Ducati rider with Jorge Lorenzo storming into the lead off the start line and quickly gapping his pursuers. With Marquez preoccupied by Petrucci and Dovizioso, Lorenzo opened up a three second advantage by the seventh lap but any hopes of a return to winning ways evaporated for Jorge when the GP17 folded underneath him under breaking for Quercia.
Having passed Marquez into the Rio hairpin, Petrucci inherited the lead but the Repsol Honda rider continued to pile on the pressure, shadowing the Pramac Ducati. Marc would ultimately play the tactical game to perfection, biding his time until the start of the final lap before outbraking the Italian into the first corner, earning him a lead which he would maintain by setting the fastest lap of the race last time around.
Despite looking like a potential winner for much of proceedings, Dovizioso would fade in the latter stages to wind up a distant third, surrendering his nine point championship lead in the process. Polesitter Maverick Vinales, not known for his prowess in wet conditions, rode carefully to take fourth, limiting the damage to his own title prospects.
With Cal Crutchlow crashing out of fifth on lap seven, Michele Pirro inherited the spot on the third factory Ducati ahead of Jack Miller with Scott Redding backing up his strong Silverstone showing with seventh at Misano. Alex Rins was a fine eighth for Suzuki ahead of Tech 3’s Jonas Folger while Bradley Smith went some way to easing the pressure on his KTM position by completing the top ten.
The top ten should have included Johann Zarco but the Frenchman was forced to push the Yamaha YZR-M1 across the line himself after stopping on the last lap, leaving him with just a single point to show for his efforts.
2017 Tribul Mastercard GP San Marino e Riviera di Rimini – Race Result
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