2015 British MotoGP at Silverstone: the Doctor dominates in the rain

The fickle British weather played its hand this past weekend for the 12th round of the 2015 MotoGP. All weekend, dry conditions was the norm, but come Sunday, and in typical British fashion, the heavens opened up and dumped rain on the circuit. The damp conditions were not welcomed, except by a certain Italian, who has the reputation of coping very well with wet conditions.

As the riders took to the grid, rain gradually fell. This caused no concern, initially, but as the field took off for the sighting lap, damp patches all around the 5.76 km track were visible. All the riders dove into the pits for a change of bikes. The resulting gridlock at the pit exit meant that race control had no option but to red flag the start, prompting that everyone was to once take their respective places on the grid.

It was Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo,and Dani Pedrosa in front. Championship co-leader Valentino Rossi was starting in the 2nd row, alongside Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith.

The incessant drizzle brought about the restart, and as the lights went out to start the race, it was Jorge Lorenzo taking a hole shot to lead the pack into turn 1. Marquez was a close second, Espargaro was third, with Rossi claiming fourth. Dani Pedrosa was the biggest loser at the start. The Spaniard got bogged down and had to fight his way back to the front of the pack.

As the laps progressed, it was Rossi who was making move after move on his rivals. The Italian, known for his exceptional skills in the rain, was able to pass Espargaro, Marquez and Lorenzo with relative ease. Vale was in his element. The race was his for the taking and with it the championship lead. Rossi now had the benefit of having a clear track in front, while his rivals had to contend with spray left behind by the front runners as the conditions were getting worse.

Meanwhile, Dani Pedrosa found life difficult as Danilo Petrucci, on board his Pramac Ducati, overtook the Repsol Honda rider. Fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso likewise found Pedrosa easy pickings, thus relegating Dani to P6 by the seventh lap. Similarly, Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was not coping well with the wet conditions. Petrucci was on the exhaust of the Movistar Yamaha, and after biding his time for more than a lap, the Pramac Ducati rider claimed P3 after diving past Lorenzo. An opportunistic move by Dovizioso over Lorenzo saw the Spaniard drop 2 places in 1 corner. Jorge was now hemorrhaging championship points. He couldn’t afford to drop back any further if he wanted to keep his assault on the champiosnhip alive. Lorenzo had to dig deep or, pray to the heavens for a miracle.

On lap 12, the unimaginable transpired. Marc Marquez, sniffing the exhaust fumes of Rossi’s Yamaha, made an uncharacteristic mistake. As both front runners went into turn 1, the bike of Marquez slid wide, which caused a violent high-side for the defending champion. Marquez tumbled into the gravel and along with it, the possibility of claiming his third championship.

Valentino Rossi crossed the line to take his fourth win of 2015, and more importantly, the corresponding 25 points to ensure his hold on the championship standings. Danilo Petrucci rode his Pramac Ducati to his career best finish in second place, and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso took third. Just missing the podium was Jorge Lorenzo who gamely fought back for some damage limitation to his championship chase.

This was an all Italian affair, the tri-colore flying proudly on the podium at Silverstone.

Rossi now leads by 12 points over Jorge Lorenzo. With his non-finish, Marc Marquez is now 77 points adrift of Vale. Closely following the defending champion is Ducati rider Andrea Iannone who is just nine points back.

Next stop on the calendar is Misano in Italy, the hometrack of Rossi. The locals would surely come in droves to see the hometown hero extend his lead over his rivals, and if the British GP is anything to go by, Rossi could just give the fans in Italy what they long for.