Rossi Storms to Second in Dramatic Catalunya Clash

2014-06-17 11:02
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi put in a stunning ride this afternoon to secure second on the podium in the GP Monster Energy de Catalunya.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo threatened briefly in the early race laps before settling into fourth position, which he held to the line.

The Doctor started his Catalunya attack well, shooting from fifth to third into turn one from the start and then almost immediately into second behind his teammate Lorenzo. With 22 laps to go he made a decisive move for the lead and began a run at the front that was only broken towards the end of the race.

With seven laps remaining he was passed by both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in turns one and two, the two riders then almost immediately sitting up and raising hands for a yellow flag. Rossi took advantage of this and passed the two for the lead, holding it for a lap before Marquez passed again on turn two. With four laps remaining Pedrosa also made the move, dropping Rossi to third until the final lap. As the last corners came, Pedrosa made contact with Marquez, running wide and allowing Rossi back through to claim second on the podium, just 0.5 seconds behind Marquez.

Teammate Lorenzo made a strong start from second on the grid, delivering a trademark ‘Por Fuera’ pass round the outside of Pedrosa on turn one for the race lead. With his teammate closing fast behind, it wasn't long before Rossi was passed, then Marquez followed on turn ten of the same lap. With 19 laps to go Pedrosa also squeezed through, leaving Lorenzo to hold fourth on the tail of the fighting three to the line.

Rossi’s podium scores 20 points. He remains in second place, now on 117 points, 58 behind Marquez.

Lorenzo’s fourth place delivers 13 points, keeping him in fourth position on 78, 34 behind Pedrosa in third.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP will now take a short break before heading to the iconic Assen TT in the Netherlands on the 28th June.


Valentino Rossi
2nd / +0.512 / 25 laps

“I’m so happy because it was a great race, I enjoyed it so much. I started fast and I was able to stay in front for a long part of the race. I’m not satisfied 100% because I thought I could win but in the last laps they were faster than me. I tried the maximum but also Dani overtook me and I lost time. I did a good race; it is another podium so we have to continue like this.”


Jorge Lorenzo
4th / +4.540 / 25 laps

“I’m a little bit disappointed, we knew that the others were very strong and also Vale had a very good pace. The pace was not so bad because the track was not very hot but unfortunately I couldn't open the gap I wanted in the first lap. When Vale passed me it was the same and I couldn't ride like when I am alone. The bike was working well in braking but in the last two corners where we were very strong last year, we weren’t this year. In acceleration I started losing grip and when I followed Dani it was impossible to stay with him, I just had to recover in some corners. It was a pity, if we had less problems in acceleration it was a great opportunity to win. We were strong on braking but unfortunately lost it in the last corners so I couldn't do more.”


Massimo Meregalli

“The race was a great spectacle and one of the nicest this year to watch, just like the last round in Mugello. It’s good to see so many protagonists fighting at the front. Valentino really showed his experience. He made a good start and then was able to lead the race for quite a few laps. At the end of the race when his tyre life had dropped he really used his experience to the most advantage to snatch second. Jorge made an impressive long run yesterday and so the expectation was pretty high for the race. Unfortunately after a good start he was unable to replicate the pace so did what he could to try and stay with the pack. It seems fourth was the best he could do in these circumstances. Tomorrow we will stay here for the IRTA test and then we will move to Aragon for a private test to prepare for the Assen race. We will analyse the data form Jorge to try understand what went wrong and how we can improve it.”

Source: Yamaha MotoGP

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