MotoGP: Lorenzo takes first win of the season in rain-soaked Aragon
Marc Marquez continued his rather stellar qualifying run by claiming pole position at Aragon. But the outcome of the race was rather unexpected and it had everything to do with the fickle weather playing foul, and also a little to do with some poor tyre choices rather surprisingly from the Honda camp.
When the race started out, it was Marquez who took the lead and managed to hold on to it until the ninth lap. It really did come as something of a surprise when Lorenzo muscled his way past the Repsol Honda rider, taking the lead from him on Lap 9. However, it wasn't to stay that way for too long. Marquez reclaimed his place at the top of the order, with Lorenzo's Yamaha M1 chasing after him and Honda teammate Pedrosa also following close.
The drizzle all the while was growing stronger. By the 15th lap, the laptimes were dropping significantly, nearly 10 seconds slower than what the grid had managed at the beginning of the race. Marquez motioned Lorenzo past him, but this was temporary, and he once again retook the lead. Dani Pedrosa managed to steal the lead from his teammate over the next few laps. But on Lap 20, choosing to stick with the dry tyres on a wet track, instead of pitting for a wet setup motorcycle, Pedrosa crashed. One lap later, on Lap 21, his teammate Marquez suffered the same fate. Lorenzo was then in the lead, while his teammate Valentino Rossi crashed. While Rossi's crash was enough to have him sent to the hospital for a brain scan, Pedrosa and Marquez both resumed their races, pitted and got on wet setup motorcycles. While Marquez finished 13th and Pedrosa 14th, it was Lorenzo who took an unexpected victory in front of his home crowd.
Aleix Espargaro took his NGM Forward Racing Yamaha to second place, the first time that an Open Class bike has made it to the podium, while Cal Crutchlow took third place for Ducati.
At the head of the championship standings, it is still Marc Marquez, with 292 points, while Dani Pedrosa trails him by 75 points. Currently in third, with 214 points, is Valentino Rossi, although he could well be beaten by his teammate Lorenzo who has 202 points at the moment.