MotoGP Grand Prix of Argentina 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Valentino Rossi completed a fantastic comeback to clinch the 2015 MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix, his second win of the season. After starting the race from the third row, he battled past a number of riders before closing a massive gap on the defending world champion, Marc Marquez.

The two engaged in a short but fierce duel in the final laps, but the Spaniard clipped Rossi's wheel and crashed. Rossi was holding his line and wasn't at fault, although the crash will surely be debated for days. Here are the final results of Sunday's race:

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
DNF
1	25	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	173.3	41'35.644
2	20	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	172.9	+5.685
3	16	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	CWM LCR Honda	Honda	172.7	+8.298
4	13	29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	172.7	+8.352
5	11	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	172.6	+10.192
6	10	38	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	171.9	+19.876
7	9	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	171.6	+24.333
8	8	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	171.4	+27.670
9	7	45	Scott REDDING	GBR	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	170.9	+34.397
10	6	25	Maverick VINALES	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	170.9	+34.808
11	5	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	170.5	+40.206
12	4	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	CWM LCR Honda	Honda	170.4	+42.654
13	3	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Avintia Racing	Ducati	170.4	+42.729
14	2	76	Loris BAZ	FRA	Athinà Forward Racing	Yamaha Forward	170.3	+42.853
15	1	6	Stefan BRADL	GER	Athinà Forward Racing	Yamaha Forward	170.3	+43.037
16		69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Aspar MotoGP Team	Honda	170.3	+43.252
17		50	Eugene LAVERTY	IRL	Aspar MotoGP Team	Honda	170.3	+43.400
18		63	Mike DI MEGLIO	FRA	Avintia Racing	Ducati	170.3	+43.808
19		19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	170.2	+44.878
20		33	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	169.4	+56.236
21		17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	AB Motoracing	Honda	169.0	+1'03.371
22		15	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	Octo IodaRacing Team	ART	168.6	+1'08.444
		7	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	170.5	1 Lap
		93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	173.3	2 Laps
		68	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Pramac Racing	Ducati	170.6	19 Laps

Marquez entered the grid with the extra-hard rear tyre, as shared by Crash.net MotoGP, due to the uncertainty of how long the hard compound would last:

He eventually started the 25-lap race on the hard compound, so fans knew they would have to tune in for the full race to see whether the tyre held up in the final laps. It was a bold choice, to say the least.

Andrea Dovizioso started from sixth, marking the first time all season he was missing from the front row.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Rossi had a fantastic jump from third row, but all went to plan for Marquez, who lost the lead to Aleix Espargaro in Turn 1 but immediately jumped back in the lead and was already well ahead of the pack by the end of the first half.

Cal Crutchlow used the superior speed of his Honda to move into second place, but by the third round, Marquez already appeared to be cruising to victory:

Rossi showed he's still one of the world's best riders in the background, moving into fifth place on his Yamaha and opening up a real battle with Jorge Lorenzo.

As shared by MotoGP's official Twitter account, the Italian was as optimistic as ever ahead of the race:

Meanwhile, Marquez was doing his thing:

It took Rossi six laps to finally pass his team-mate, at which point he was already chasing Andrea Iannone by nearly a second. The Ducatis looked in control in the corners but lacking on the straights, giving Rossi an excellent chance to make up the difference.

Yonny Hernandez was forced to retire from the race in shocking fashion, as his bike suddenly caught fire after passing the starting line:

Crutchlow was incapable of making up any ground on Marquez and holding up the pack behind him, so when Dovizioso moved ahead of his rival, Marquez's position up front finally came under some minor pressure.

Meanwhile, Rossi was actually putting together faster lap times than Marquez, drawing ever nearer to the three racers chasing the defending champion. He soon slid into third, with Crutchlow again running wide in a corner.

Things were tense in the chasing group, as seen in this highlight:

The constant battling made things easier on Marquez, however, and with a lead of four seconds after 10 laps, he had the option of taking it easier on his tyres and ensuring he would easily finish the race. Rossi had moved into second past Dovizioso, but the gap to Marquez seemed monumental.

But two laps into the chase, Marquez's board suddenly showed Rossi's name, along with a gap of 3.7 seconds. The Spaniard even seemed to burn a tire for a second in shock, to the joy of fans watching the race:

Marquez's lap times had been rising steadily, likely in an attempt to save his rear tyre, and he soon started picking up the pace again. But so did Rossi, who was unleashed at this point and steadily drawing closer:

Rossi needed to make up half-a-second per lap, a nearly impossible feat, and he was proving to everyone the veteran has worked his way back to top form and will be a major factor in this year's championship.

The Italian set a new lap record and had Marquez in his sights with three laps left to go, as fans started gearing up for an epic battle to the finish line.

Fox Sports 1 wondered whether Marquez's choice of tyre would effectively cost him the win:

With two laps to go, Rossi pushed into the lead for the very first time, but Marquez took advantage of the Italian running wide in the next corner to reclaim the top spot. Rossi then displayed fantastic control of his brakes, and with the battle as close as ever, an accident was almost inevitable.

Marquez and Rossi eventually touched, and the Spaniard suffered a heavy crash into the tarmac:

Replays showed Rossi ran slightly wide just as Marquez hit the throttle to overtake. The defending champion ran to his bike in a desperate attempt to salvage a spot on the podium, but it was already too late. Dovizioso took second, Crutchlow passed Iannone for third in the final corner, and Marquez didn't even finish in the top 15.

Fortunately for Marquez, it appears he didn't suffer any significant injuries in the crash:

Race directors immediately confirmed no action would be taken against Rossi, who simply held his line and was in no way responsible for the incident. As reported by crash.net, the winner still felt bad for how the race finished.

"I'm sorry for this, he touch me in the corner," Rossi said. "I hope he's ok, but it's a great race. Marc was far, but I know he chose the red tyre. The bike was great, 2 victories already. I think we can fight to the end!"

Here are the current MotoGP standings:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	66
2	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	60
3	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	40
4	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	37
5	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	36
6	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	34
7	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	28
8	Aleix ESPARGARO	Suzuki	SPA	22
9	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	15
10	Maverick VINALES	Suzuki	SPA	15
11	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	15
12	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	10
13	Scott REDDING	Honda	GBR	10
14	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	8
15	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	6
16	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	6
17	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	5
18	Nicky HAYDEN	Honda	USA	3
19	Loris BAZ	Yamaha Forward	FRA	2
20	Stefan BRADL	Yamaha Forward	GER	1
21	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia	SPA	1

The six-time world champion now has a commanding lead in the standings, and with Marquez not picking up any points, things are looking up for Rossi to grab a shocking seventh title.

Marquez remains the favourite on the more powerful Honda, but after last year's one-sided championship, it's great to see some actual competition emerging for the youngster. 

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