Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa charged to his first victory of the 2016 season at the San Marino Grand Prix, becoming the eighth different winner of the year.
The Spaniard started from eighth on the grid at Misano but quickly made his way through the field at the start, finding himself in fourth place on the soft tyre.
He gradually picked off other riders, first moving ahead of team-mate Marc Marquez, before passing pole-sitter Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha.
Valentino Rossi had hit the front of the field after passing Lorenzo early in the race, giving him the advantage. He was running around one second ahead of the field before Pedrosa moved into second.
The gap between the top two was cut as Pedrosa stormed towards the Yamaha, putting in a new lap record before completing a brave pass at Turn 4 for the lead.
He then pulled away from the pack in the final few laps to claim his first win of the 2016 MotoGP season, only his third podium appearance of the year so far.
Rossi had to settle for second place, with Lorenzo completing the podium in third. Marquez, running on the hard tyre, was fourth.
Maverick Vinales beat Andrea Dovizioso to fifth, while Ducati wildcard Michele Pirro made a late move on Cal Crutchlow to grab seventh.
Crutchlow lost another place due to a penalty for exceeding track limits, moving Pol Espargaro up to eighth. Alvaro Bautista rounded out the top 10.
Discussion about this post