MotoGP Grand Prix of Catalunya 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi recovered from eighth position to win a gripping MotoGP Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday.

The seven-time MotoGP world champion held off Honda’s persistent Marc Marquez to take the chequered flag, with another Honda man, Dani Pedrosa, grabbing third spot. It was a day to forget for Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, as Andrea Iannone took him out late on. Lorenzo was unable to finish.

The result means Lorenzo now only has a 12-point gap in front of his team-mate in the race for the world title; Marquez now leads the battle for the championship by 10 points from Lorenzo. 

Here is a look the results from a fine day’s racing in Montmelo, Spain, how the standings have changed and a closer examination of the best bits of the action.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time/Gap
1	25	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	44:37.589
2	20	93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	+2.652
3	16	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	+6.313
4	13	25	Maverick VINALES	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+24.388
5	11	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+29.546
6	10	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda	+36.244
7	9	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	+41.464
8	8	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+42.975
9	7	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	OCTO Pramac Yakhnich	+45.337
10	6	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Avintia Racing	+46.669
11	5	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	+49.514
12	4	6	Stefan BRADL	GER	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+55.133
13	3	50	Eugene LAVERTY	IRL	Aspar Team MotoGP	+57.974
14	2	53	Tito RABAT	SPA	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	+1'00.141
15	1	51	Michele PIRRO	ITA	Avintia Racing	+1'00.429
16		45	Scott REDDING	GBR	OCTO Pramac Yakhnich	+1'16.269
17		68	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Aspar Team MotoGP	1 Lap
DNF		41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	7 Laps
DNF		99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	9 Laps
DNF		29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Ducati Team	9 Laps
DNF		38	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	19 Laps

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	125
2	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	115
3	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	103
4	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	82
5	Maverick VINALES	Suzuki	SPA	72
6	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	59
7	Aleix ESPARGARO	Suzuki	SPA	49
8	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	49
9	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	43
10	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	41
11	Eugene LAVERTY	Ducati	IRL	39
12	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	29
13	Stefan BRADL	Aprilia	GER	29
14	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia	SPA	29
15	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	24
16	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	20
17	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	19
18	Scott REDDING	Ducati	GBR	16
19	Tito RABAT	Honda	SPA	13
20	Loris BAZ	Ducati	FRA	8
21	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	7
22	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	3

This is a circuit where Lorenzo has thrived in the past, having won in three of the last four years, so it was no surprise to see him get off to a good start. Indeed, Marquez had no answer for the Yamaha man, as he produced a superb move to overtake him into the opening corner.

Meanwhile, Rossi slipped back off the line and down to eighth position at one stage. However, the experienced Italian went about pulling himself back into the race in spectacular style.

JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images

The Yamaha man found his groove, scything through the field in style. Rossi produced a lap record as he moved up into the top three, weaving his way past a clutch of riders to within touching distance of the top two; once there, it didn’t take him long to edge past both Marquez and his team-mate into first position.

Here is a look at the overtake that saw him move into first spot:

Lorenzo seemed stunned by Rossi’s efforts, and that allowed Marquez to jump him with a fine overtake into second. The reigning world champion even slipped down as far as fourth, with Pedrosa’s Honda also proving too good for the Yamaha man, who was struggling.

Up front, Rossi was staving off the challenge of the other Honda rider. Marquez had settled well by this stage and was putting pressure on the Italian at every turn. But all the years of experience the Yamaha rider had under his belt were shining through as he kept the youngster at bay.

The GPxtra Twitter feed felt as though the Spaniard was biding his time in an attempt to take the lead:

Lorenzo was falling further and further back, though, and after such a scintillating start to the day, his Catalunya Grand Prix was to end in disappointment.

The champion could do little about the incident that prematurely brought an end to his race, as Iannone collided with the Yamaha and took out both riders. While they were each in good condition following the crash, Lorenzo was unhappy, as the Moto Race Feed noted:

That elimination meant all eyes were fixed on the front two riders, who had built up a buffer between themselves and Pedrosa in third. And with the laps ticking down, Marquez launched his bid for the race win.

JOSEP LAGO/Getty Images

With five laps to go, he edged in front, before Rossi snatched the lead back. Then again, with three laps to run, Marquez found himself in the lead before the 37-year-old somehow hauled his way back to the front of the field on the penultimate lap.

The pressure of the chase eventually seemed to get to the younger man, though, as he ran wide before the final lap, allowing Rossi to grab his second win of the season.

Here is a look at the moment the winner crossed the line:

"

That one clearly meant a lot. #RossiVsMarquez#CatalanGP https://t.co/XybYxbMAHw

— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) June 5, 2016"

"I am very happy, it’s the first win since 2009 here, one of my favourite tracks," said Rossi after his stunning triumph, per the circuit's Twitter feed. The Italian also paid tribute to Luis Salom on the podium; the 24-year-old Moto2 rider died after a crash in free practice on Friday:

This was a spectacular performance from Rossi, showcasing all the attributes that make him one of the all-time greats. He recovered superbly after falling behind early on.

The challenge now will be to produce these standards on a more consistent basis, starting with the next Grand Prix in the Netherlands in three weeks' time.