2017 Argentina MotoGP - Vinales’ Double Delight

  • Apr 10, 2017
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Maverick Vinales continued his winning streak from Qatar, while Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo crashed out of an action-packed race in Termas de Rio Honda circuit

2017 Argentina MotoGP

Similar to the opening round at Qatar, rain played a key role in the 2017 Argentina MotoGP. The riders struggled to find the perfect setup for the Termas de Rio Honda circuit. The rains also caught many experienced riders by surprise and this was good for the sport as many satellite teams were in with a chance to win. Marc Marquez took pole, while Karel Abraham surprised many by qualifying second and was joined by Cal Crutchlow on the front row. Last race winner, Maverick Vinales was sixth and his team-mate Valentino Rossi grabbed seventh position on the starting grid. 

2017 Argentina MotoGP

Race day was a different ball game, as it was cloudy but there weren’t any spots of rain on the race track. Marquez stormed into the leading position with a blistering start, while Karel Abraham was swamped by the trailing pack of riders. Crutchlow was second and was followed by the Yamaha pair. Marquez was flying around the circuit and had managed to chalk out a lead of over 1 second in the opening lap itself, while the other riders were struggling to get acclimatised to the dry conditions.

2017 Argentina MotoGP

Further down the grid, Jorge Lorenzo who had a poor run in qualifying, brushed against the rear of Andrea Iannone’s Suzuki which resulted in the front tyre losing grip and him crashing out of the race. Vinales was making good progress and, by the third lap, had taken second place from Crutchlow who was chased down by Rossi. Marquez was relentless on the track but the blitzkrieg cost the Repsol Honda dearly as he lost the front of his RC213V under hard braking and crashed out of the race. 

2017 Argentina MotoGP
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Rossi was trying his best to pass Crutchlow as the battle for the second place meant Vinales was slowly amplifying his race lead. Further back, there was an exciting scuffle between rookie Johann Zarco and Dani Pedrosa for fourth place with both the riders pulling off some excellent overtaking manoeuvres. Like his team-mate, Pedrosa also went down trying to late brake into a corner similar to Marquez. The spree of crashes continued as Alex Rins, who was riding with a dislocated ankle, also fell, while Andrea Dovizioso was taken out by an embarrassed Alex Espargaro. With seven laps in the race, Rossi finally managed to overtake Crutchlow to the delight of the Argentinian fans. But it was too late, as Vinales had enough lead in the bag to take his second consecutive win for Yamaha rather easily. 

2017 Argentina MotoGP

With this win, the Spanish rider became the first Yamaha rider since Wayne Rainey in 1990 to win the opening two races of the season. Rossi seemed visibly pleased with the second place, given his qualifying performance, while Crutchlow brought in some much needed points for Honda.

2017 Argentina MotoGP

Alvaro Bautista rode impressively to finish fourth while Zarco scored his first premiere class points finishing 5th. The next race will be held at Circuit Of The Americas in USA, a track where Marquez has been unbeaten in MotoGP. Can the Repsol Honda turn around his fortunes in Texas or will Vinales break Marquez’ domination? We shall find out in two weeks time. 

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