2016 Italian MotoGP: Lorenzo wins Mugello thriller as Rossi retires

The race in Mugello is always a special one and the 2016 edition also didn’t disappoint MotoGP fans a bit. There was only one rider that the Italians were rooting for and it was Valentino Rossi. The Doctor had a poor weekend as he struggled for pace in Friday and Saturday. It seemed that a second row start will be a job done well for the Yamaha rider. But, as he had done on so many occasions in the past, he pulled a rabbit out of his hat with a stunning lap record as he utilized the slipstream offered by his soon to be team-mate Maverick Vinales to grab pole position which sent the Italians into a frenzy. It was the first occasion since 2008 that Rossi grabbed pole position in his home race and Mugello was packed to the rafters on race day. 

Previous race winner Jorge Lorenzo had a poor afternoon as he qualified fifth and he knew that a good start was crucial. And that’s exactly what he did to launch his M1 from the second row of the grid to grab the race lead entering the first corner of the race. Rossi was in second while Suzuki rider Aleix Espargaro was third. His team-mate Vinales had a torrid start along with Andrea Iannone as they slipped to 11th and 10th position respectively. Rossi knew that he couldn’t allow Lorenzo to run away with the race lead, as is the norm with the Spanish rider, and he was able to match his place closely. At the end of the first lap, the MotoGP legend tried to make a move on Lorenzo but he ran wide entering the first corner to give his team-mate some breathing space. 

Despite losing few precious tenths of a second, Rossi responded well to close down on Lorenzo with the fastest lap of the race. Lorenzo was coming under tremendous pressure from his Yamaha colleague but he showed immense resolve to hold onto the race lead. Further down the grid, Marquez was making steady progress and was in third position and the battle for the lead was working in his favour. Rossi again ran wide on the first corner but he wasn’t alone this time as Marquez too followed him. The Italian rider was again soon on the tail of Lorenzo and was set to make a move on his team-mate but something unexpected happened. It seemed as if Rossi ran wide again but that wasn’t to be as suddenly his engine blew and it was end of the race for The Doctor as the whole of Mugello went quiet in disappointment. With Rossi out of the race, Lorenzo could breathe a sigh of relief as 14 more grueling laps lay ahead of him from race victory. 

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There was much action on the race track as Dani Pedrosa was hot on charge in his 250th GP appearance as he passed Dovizioso to grab fourth place.  His Repsol Honda team-mate was also upping the ante as he was closing down on race leader. With three laps remaining in the race Pedrosa made a spectacular move on Iannone to take third position. Marquez took the race lead with just two laps remaining but wasn’t able to hold on to the top spot for long as Lorenzo was able to late brake him.

Iannone also responded and regains third position as the leading pack entered the final lap of the race. With just half a lap remaining, Marquez took the race lead and was looking destined to win. Lorenzo wasn’t making it easy for his fellow countryman as both the riders brushed elbows in a bid for the race lead. Entering the final corner of the race it was Marquez who was ahead with a few bikes length distinguishing them. But Lorenzo managed to get good drive out of the last corner and also utilized the slipstream cleverly to win the race by just 0.019 seconds!