Marquez wins from Lorenzo as Pedrosa crashes

Marc Marquez has increased his possibilities of becoming a rookie MotoGP World Champion by claiming his sixth victory of 2013 in the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón.

29 September 2013, 12:00am
by Staff Reporter

2 min read

Current title holder Jorge Lorenzo was overtaken by the newcomer en route to second place, as Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the race on the sixth lap.

Starting from his seventh pole position of the season, Marquez had beaten Lorenzo by one hundredth of a second on Saturday whereas last year’s Aragón winner Pedrosa was starting on the front row for the first time since Indianapolis. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo grabbed the lead at the start, as the Repsol Honda Team riders immediately went to battle at the second corner.

The critical moment of the afternoon, and perhaps of the 2013 World Championship, would come on Lap 6. As both Hondas closed in on Lorenzo for the lead, Marquez ran third but appeared to out-brake himself at Turn 12. Moments later, Pedrosa dramatically highsided out of the race and it was later confirmed that the two teammates had made contact. The moment allowed Lorenzo to extend his lead to 1.7 seconds, although he was caught by Marquez and overhauled at the same corner eight laps later. The championship lead now increases to 39 points with 100 left on offer.

Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi finished on the podium for the first time since Laguna Seca, fending off GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow in a highly entertaining four-rider contest. Tech3’s Bradley Smith, Ducati Team duo Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden and Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone completed the top ten, while Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was once again the leading CRT runner in 11^th spot. In 17^th place, Italian Luca Scassa ended his debut with Cardion AB Motoracing ahead of two other CRT machines, covering for Karel Abraham who has been ruled out of action for the rest of the campaign.

A total of five riders failed to finish. Pedrosa retired for the first time this year on his 28^th birthday, while PBM’s Michael Laverty and Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci were put out of action on the opening lap in an incident also involving Scassa. On his return to MotoGP™, Australia’s Damian Cudlin suffered gearbox issues while Avintia Blusens’ Hector Barbera pulled into the pits, having already changed bikes after encountering pre-race problems with his original.

With four races remaining in the 2013 season, the drama will continue at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in two weekends’ time.