Marc Marquez timed his attack to perfection to claim victory in a soggy San Marino Grand Prix at Misano and tie with Andrea Dovizioso at the top of the MotoGP championship.
The Spaniard, who topped the morning warm-up but also crash, would make a decisive move on Danilo Petrucci into Turn 1 on the final lap before going on to set the fastest lap of the race on the Honda, giving the Italian no chance to respond on the Pramac Ducati.
It was still a strong ride from Petrucci as he used his well-documented pace in the wet to carve through the field in the early laps in treacherous conditions, passing the three championship contenders and inheriting the lead as Jorge Lorenzo, who jumped ahead from fifth on the grid at the start, crashed his Ducati.
As the circuit improved, however, it was clear Marquez had the edge as he maintained the gap despite Petrucci’s best efforts and used his superior pace in the twisty end and start to the lap to move ahead down the inside to claim his fourth win of 2017.
As for main title rival Dovizioso, it appeared the #04 Ducati rider was also biding his time in third as the top three eased away from pole-sitter Maverick Vinales, who dropped down at the start and never had the same pace as those in front. In the final 10 laps, however, the Italian didn’t have the pace to keep up with the two out front, settling for third.
Vinales, the only Yamaha racing after home hero Valentino Rossi broke his leg at the start of the week, held off another wet-weather specialist Jack Miller and Cal Crutchlow, who would later fall, to claim fourth.
Michele Pirro, a Ducati tester riding on a wildcard at their home event, would also charge through passing Miller late on for fifth in an excellent ride with the Australian in sixth. Scott Redding was seventh on the second Pramac machine beating Alex Rins on the lead Suzuki by just eight-tenths of a second.
Jonas Folger and Bradley Smith on the KTM completed the top 10 with his teammate Pol Espargaro right behind in 11th. Alvaro Bautista was 12th with Crutchlow getting up after his crash and claiming three points in 13th.
Dani Pedrosa crashed in the morning warm-up and had no confidence in the difficult conditions dropping to the back but would benefit from other incidents in 14th as Johann Zarco’s bike appeared to fail on the final lap as he ran over the finish line but dropped from the bottom of the top 10 to the final point in 15th. Loris Baz and Karl Abraham both crashed during the race but continued to reach the chequered flag.
