Welcome to Speed and highlights from an action packed Sunday in the world of motorsports. We start in Barcelona where once again, Jorge Lorenzo
ADVERTISEMENTWelcome to Speed and highlights from an action packed Sunday in the world of motorsports. We start in Barcelona where once again, Jorge Lorenzo showed he is the man to beat in Moto GP. The Spaniard grabbed another easy win in the Catalunya Grand Prix.
Lorenzo slashed his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi’s championship lead to a single point with his fourth win in a row.
It was hot off the track and even hotter on it. World champion Marc Marquez’s poor season continued as he failed to finish for the second successive race. The Spaniard crashed out on the third lap while challenging Lorenzo for the lead.
Explaining the spill afterwards he said he wanted to give 100 percent on his home circuit but made a mistake and couldn’t correct his line.
He wasn’t alone by any means in taking a tumble; in the end only 16 riders finished the race.
Having started in seventh, Rossi worked his way through the pack but could not put his Yamaha team-mate under any real pressure once in second place. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was third.
Zarco the man
Lorenzo wasn’t the only star to shine in Barcelona. Yamaha had another triumph to toast as France’s Johann Zarco edged Spain’s Alex Rins and Tito Rabat to win the Moto2 and extend his championship lead.
And in the Moto3 category Britain’s Danny Kent led a clean sweep for Honda with Enea Bastianini of Italy second and Spain’s Efren Vazquez third. The fight for the title is fast becoming a battle of nerves with Kent now on top with a 51 point advantage.
Ogier gets back on track in Sardinia
The dirt roads of Sardinia were once again the stage of the Italian Rally. The sixth stop of this year’s WRC Championship saw Sebastien Ogier returned to winning ways.
Ogier’s World Championship title defence is now back on track. The Frenchman stretched his lead in the championship with a hard-fought win, taking control of the race in Saturday’s Monti di Ala’ stage.
Ogier won the final power stage to collect an additional three bonus points; and his fortunes were favoured by accidents for his closest rivals.
Norweigan Mads Ostberg drove out of contention after hitting a rock in his Citroen DS3. He damaged his rear suspension and brakes and ended up fifth in the overall standings.
New Zealander Hayden Paddon finished second for his first podium appearance while the Belgian Thierry Neuville took third place behind his Hyundai team-mate.