Misano MotoGP

MATT ROBERTS: Through a blend of sublime scheme and aggression, Marc

Marquez has reached the summit of MotoGP. At this level, you can't

always get your own way. Marquez wins again! The man who holds the

crown of World Champion is also a deeply-driven individual, a man on a

mission to be the best that he can be, the best there is. The

Silverstone win was important for me. When you know you have a strong

rival, you push yourself to higher limits. I thought he lost a bit of

confidence after the crash he had in the warm-up. I wanted to go out from

the beginning and I tried to push 100% to Lorenzo is riding beyond the

ability of that bike. It is almost impossible. Marquez shouldn't be

walking. The mentality I have, I want to fight with him. It is the

last lap. On to the back straight. Brace yourself, partner. Marquez...

At this moment, I thought it is over, no? One second later, I

changed my mind and I have to try. It is now or never. He holds him out

wide. They touch each other. This is beyond possible. He's done it!

Marquez... The victory cost me a lot. I try a lot to win this race.

That is why it was the sweetest victory all year. Now or never

moment for Jorge Lorenzo in the race at Silverstone two weeks' ago. We

are approaching now or never time in the Championship. A third distance

to go yet. But a long way for Jorge to make up. Welcome to the Misano

World Circuit for round 13 and we come here with Marc Marquez still on

top of the Championship. His closest challenger is Dani Pedrosa. 30

points between the Honda pair now. Marc unable to continue a four-race

winning streak at Silverstone. Second place could prove to be his

most important result of the season. There is no doubt that Marquez has

brought something new to the MotoGP party this season, with that

aggression, that ruthless edge and that skill that he honed last year

in particular on his way to the Moto 2 World Championship title.

No-one had ever questioned the speed of Marc Marquez, but he had to start

at the back of the grid in 2012 and there he goes. One, two, three,

four, he's already passed. Tricky there he goes. One, two, three,

conditions, as you can see. Five, six, seven, eight. Nine, ten, 11, 12

riders before turn one. It was incredibly tricky. He darts through

the inside of two more there. Have you ever seen anything like it? It

was like a video game. He was already the World Champion. He had

won that at the previous round. He still wanted to prove he was the

fastest by a long way. He's already 125 champion in 2010. I couldn't

believe what I was seeing. He dived through every single opportunity. It

was spectacular. The key question was could he convert that wild style

through to MotoGP, which is supposed to be about being smooth? The answer

was yes because he's raised the bar one more time. Marquez hasn't given

up yet. Look at the way he flicks that bike upright. Marc Marquez is

through. Surely not? Rossi - he is on the dirt. Oh my goodness!

Extraordinary stuff. Marquez down the inside. He's stood up Lorenzo.

He shouldn't be walking! Marc Marquez has passed the World

Champion. How does he sail past World Champions with the rear wheel

up in the air? It is about confident, trust and bravery. He

transfers all the weight of the motorcycle down on to the front

Bridgestone tyre which squashes it into the track. Some of the riders

thinks he leaves his brain in the toolbox. Here at turn 13, down into

14, it could be interesting. You picked out turns 13 and 14

there, Steve. Marc has found it interesting through there? He's been

shaking his head in disbelief. It's all about - he pushes the envelope a

bit more than the next guy. He loads up that front end. Yes, it happened

to him on Saturday and again this morning. Luckily, he's not hurt

himself. When I watch that guy, it is like he is trying to catch a fish

on a two kilo line and it is a four kilo fish. In fairness to him, this

is the sort of track where you get those front-end crashes. Everybody

loses it here. It is bumpy. A lot of the corners are low-speed. Only one

race crash for Marc this season. You get the impression that Yamaha's

best chance could be a crash in one of the remaining six races? That was

a front-end crash there. Still a long way to go. Yamaha doing their

best to take things into their own hand? They have finally gone to the

seamless gearbox. Just what they are doing and what makes it quicker is

with a sequential gearbox, when those dogs go into the next one, you

have to cut the engine, you cut the drive. What they have managed to

work out now is a system where the next gear is already engaged. When

you go from third to fourth, it has to disengage the third. Fourth is

already there. You can reduce the period of time when the drive is

away from the motorcycle. With Honda, it works. There is a downside

to that. You are carrying more weight. Yes.And there's frictional

loss as well. When you think this track has something like 900 gear

shifts around. Here is my hi-tech... I saw the kid he stole that from!

When you are disengaging the drive, you are unbalancing the motorcycle.

You cut the engine and it dips. Now, that will let the bike move over.

Now you can accelerate out of the corner and they can change in the

middle of a corner. They are already in the gear above. It unsettles the

bike less. Lovely.It does look like Charlie! Rides like him! It worked

for Yamaha, the seamless gearbox. Both of their factory riders have

qualified on the front row of the grid for the first time since 2011.

The perfect start tomorrow, Valentino Rossi? I'm very satisfied

about the first row. Also about my lap time, it is good. We work well

during the practice. I stay always on the top. Especially this

afternoon for the last 15 minutes, my bike was fantastic. I can ride

very well. I can push, I try the maximum. I still lose a bit too much

in the first half of the track. I am strong in the second. So, for

tomorrow, it is very important, the start on the third position because

I need to do a great race in front of all the crowd, drive to the

maximum because I want to arrive on the podium. A beautiful helmet,

beautiful song and beautiful sentiment? Yes, this time it is

something more deep. This track was the track of Marco. When I hear the

song in the words, I remember always him. We decide and it is a great way

to remember Marco. Good luck tomorrow. The song he was referring

to Wish You Were Here. What would it be like Marquez and Stoner racing

this year? We come to a circuit named after Marco? He was such a

character, so flamboyant and the crowd loved him. He was the star of

the future. That would be the perfect front row. He had proper

speed as we know. He had such aggressive racecraft. He used to rub

people up the wrong way. In a lot of ways, he hunted them down. Some

stand-out performances in qualifying, most notably from Marc

Marquez. Who else should we be qualifying, most notably from Marc

looking out today? With those crashes from Marc, you have to

sailor Lorenzo has to be looking at some chinks in the armour. He has to

sailor Lorenzo has to be looking at get some points back. We keep

discounting Dani Pedrosa and we shouldn't. He needs a win. He can't

get rear grip. He is struggling with it. He is starting to lose

confidence with it. Another guy to watch for is Cal Crutchlow. He is in

the middle of the second row. Quickly, Aleix Espargaro? Fantastic

stuff. A quick bit of news. Yamaha have announced they are going to be

supplying Forward Racing with an engine and chassis for next season.

I know you have one of these at boot camp. Of course I do.Go easy on me.

You sure? I'm a bit worried.Come on. It is a fun little games room.

You have landed on your feet in this team? Yes, this is - sorry, I'm so

sorry. Is that a little rude? That is your competitive streak. I'm just

playing. Speaking of which, the last few races have gone well for you.

Not bad for an old dude. Getting closer to now? We still have some

work to do. It's been easier. Only because the bike is better. Can you

tell us anything about next year? Did you see that, oen the corner? --

on the corner? I can't tell you about next year. I had the handshake

in blood! No, we should be OK. Oh - sorry about that. Two years of some

- a couple of bikes that have been what they were. Next year with the

package, I'm looking forward to it. What can you tell us about it? It is

almost like a full-spec satellite Yamaha? It's a Yamaha with 24 litres

of fuel. It should be a good package. I think fuel-wise, we are

not going to have a problem. The factory guys will have an issue with

20 litres at certain tracks. We might have an advantage somewhere. I

have proved myself pretty good at this. You are pretty good.Shall we

have a go on the table football? I might be better at that one. Let's

try! You ready? You almost go yourself! I should be better at

this! Maybe not. Sorry. I'm so sorry about that. What keeps you going?

It's been a while since you have been able to fight at the front and

I'm sure there must have been offers over the years. Have you never been

tempted to go back and be closer to the front? Man, I have done the

superbike thing. I had an offer a couple of years ago that was a

little more money than coming with this team. But I wanted to build

something. And in reality I knew what the CRT was and I knew

obviously CRT can't last forever. There is a vision somewhere in there

and this next year is when the There is a vision somewhere in there

vision - it is when we are going to see it. It will maybe take a little

letsds money but to stay here in this paddock and be with the people

I wanted to be with was a no-brainer. It is a great paddock?

Yes. Looks like Nicky Hayden maybe your team-mate. What do you think?

Alex has got some contract issues for next year. He will be a great

team-mate as well. Nicky Hayden, honestly, do I want him as my

team-mate? Is he my number one choice? Probably not. He might take

some money out of my pocket! For a PR dream and for the team, I think

it would be awesome. I think it would be awesome. The American

dream? It would be the dream team. No, it would be cool. I'm doing

everything I can to make it happen. Perfect. Cheers to that, Colin!

Cheers. Have a good weekend.Thank you very much. It looks like your

money could be safe in your pocket we are led to believe that Nicky

Hayden has signed a contract with Team Aspar. So Aleix Espargaro may

move into this garage after all. We are going to slip through - as you

can see the riders and the bikes are on their way out to the grid fully

loaded. It is very important they have not just the right amount of

loaded. It is very important they fuel on board, but the right type

and that is just the riders! I have come about the job! Thank you

for your help. I hear you need extra help. Not sure if they are any use,

but we will find out. We will show you how to make the sauce of the

favourite pasta of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. We will start with

cherry tomatoes. Onion, very thin. This is not really my speciality.

You have worked here for a long time over the years. Have you had any

strange requests from riders? Sometimes we did - Valentino Rossi

likes Nutella. Marc Marquez like parmesan cheese. He likes so much.

likes Nutella. Marc Marquez like We joke, we say some pasta in the

parmesan cheese. LAUGHTER Maybe this is the secret to his speed, the

parmesan cheese? Oh my God.This is for Marc and Dani. But you have lots

of guests that you have to cater to. How many people will you serve?

Depends on the race. Like Misano, we have... ? 120 guests. Every day?

Every day. That is like a wedding every day. Yes. Without a woman!

LAUGHTER This is the important part, yes? This could be the part where I

make a mess. Anybody for a tomato? You have to find the different

ingredients in every country. Which is the most difficult country to

ingredients in every country. Which find ingredients? We went to Japan.

I knew a guy there and I bring some seed and he put it in his garden and

he gave me... You gave the seeds to seed and he put it in his garden and

the guy to plant the basil? Yes. That is fantastic. It is quite good

now. Wonderful. Here we go, the moment of truth.

Excuse me, guys? Marc, dinner. I Here we go, the moment of truth.

believe this is tradition. ? Good job. Thank you. Wait till you taste

it. You like parmesan on all your food? This is not what you do? It

seems to be working for you. OK. Thank you.

He liked it. I can imagine young ratesers having parmesan all over

their lunch. What is this about Mick not eating his crusts. That is a

terrible example. The bred is too good. -- the bred is too good. --

the bred is too good. -- the bread is too good. What do you make of

Marc Marquez. He is growing up incredibly fast? He is. A lot of

guys come in and they are quick. They slow up a little bit. He's just

got quicker and quicker. He's got more confidence. The more he is

winning, the more confident he is getting. When he is making a little

mistake, he brushes it off, he gets back on and goes. It's looking more

difficult for these guys to pin back those points for the Championship.

There are still six races left. It would be great to see him win first

time out. But it is not going to be easy. The guys - they are a great

personality for our sport. Thank you. Enjoy the race. Cheers.Marc

Marquez on pole position once again then. A toss up between him and

Aleix Espargaro for the best performance in qualifying yesterday.

Another great performance in qualifying from Aleix Espargaro.

This time, he's making up the second row of the grid. Aleix Espargaro,

another incredible qualifying for you. I am really happy. We are

really proud of yesterday qualifying. We did two fast laps and

really close from Carl so it means the time was really fast. This is

history. This is 28 laps. We will give 100 plus 10%. We will fight

with all of the Ducatis. I will try my best. It's been consistent

through the weekend. You were fifth fastest after day one as well. We

can see what you can do over one lap. Over race distance, what is

your target? Who can you run with? If I can stay with both Hondas and

Ducatis all the race, this will be perfect. I will try to repeat. If we

give 100%, we are with MotoGP, this is more than the maximum. We will be

happy. Good luck. From an easy enough qualifying for him, a

slightly more difficult one for one of our British riders. It wasn't

ideal. Ahead of Aleix Espargaro is Cal Crutchlow in fifth position.

Cal, a bit of a relief to come out with a second row start. How are you

looking for the race? It will be a tough race, a long race. We have

been struggling this weekend. I'm the first to admit it is probably my

fault. We are lacking a bit of confidence in everything, the

riding, the bike, this, that and the other. We will see if we can do a

good job. All the best.Cheers. That is the goal for Cal. You would think

after a confidence-sapping weekend last time out, he said on Thursday

afternoon that he was battered and bruised but it took him a bit of a

while to build his confidence backup. Ahead of Cal, there is Dani

Pedrosa putting his gloves on. The third consecutive race that he

starts from the second row of the grid. He's had problems all weekend

with rear grip, he's not managed to sort that out until the last couple

of laps of qualifying yesterday. Let's have a look at the front row.

Isn't it great to see this man here, Valentino Rossi, the second time in

2013 that he starts from the front row of the grid. He had his only dry

weather podium of 2012 last year. There's plenty of support for all of

the Italian riders on the grid. Yes, Claudio Corti, it is an incredible

atmosphere here? In Italy, it is always like this. I don't know if

there is something special in the air here. I think they are the two

best races for the fans. I don't know why. Anyway, we have fun these

three days. I hope to have fun also now. Target for the race?This

morning was a bit better compared to yesterday. I will see. Stay with

Colin will be a good thing. Good luck. Thank you. Plenty for the

Italian fans to get excited about. Some fresh new talent to look out

for as well. Some more vintage tall ebt out on the grid as -- talent out

on the grid as well! We have Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo on

the front row. You are still a big supporter of Yamaha. Who can do the

business today? We watch a very good race, a very exciting race.

Everybody is very close and the three people, Marc, Lorenzo and

Rossi, everybody try to win very hard and everybody will be riding

100% today. What do you make of Marc Marquez? Has he surprised you? He is

fantastic. I know he is very good. I don't think quickly he will win five

Grand Pries just at the start of his season. Thank you. Enjoy the race.

Thank you. Marc the youngest ever rider to start back-to-back races

from pole position. Marc has won here for the past three years. Which

way will the pendulum swing today? CHARLIE COX: I have a feeling

something big is going to happen today, Steve. STEVE PARRISH: It is

darker, it is cooler, the forecast is for rain this afternoon. It is a

darker, it is cooler, the forecast matter of when. I can tell you the

teams will be getting themselves prepared now for a flag to flag, so

the spare bikes will be getting geared up with wet tyres. A short

run, Charlie to turn one. Marc Marquez has sat there on pole

position. He has a fair bit to do. Dani Pedrosa on the second row. It

is really one of the shortest runs we have to the first turn and then

after that there is a quick right, left. This circuit is short, it is

tight, it is demanding. The top speeds are low. It is fiddly. It is

a right handful. There is the right. There's the left and there is a

right again. It is so easy to get on the wrong side of either turn one or

turn two and have to shuffle it through. You might see some people

on the AstroTurf. It is wide enough to get on there. If I was Nicky

Hayden, I would start from the pit-lane! He's always taken out by

somebody. There is the double right-hander. The circuit comes

right back into itself halfway backup and it moves all the way down

to the very long run. There is the waste, then they chuck a left. This

is reversed, this circuit was invented to run the other way

entirely. For safety reasons, they have reversed it. The corners keep

tightening up on you. Absolutely. You can see the massive crowd here.

51,000 people here. We are sat three hours down south from Milan here on

the side of the Adriatic Sea. A big crowd. They are the three right-hand

corners. This is turn 11, 12, 13 and 14. That is one of the crashes that

Marc Marquez had coming into that one. It is all about having

confidence and loading up the front end of that tyre, but not overdoing

it. It is not hard to overdo it. Two of the riders said - you were saying

Cal Crutchlow was lacking a bit of confidence? To be blunt, he was lost

all weekend. Somehow, he dragged a lap out for qualifying. Can he do it

in the race? It did take him a while to get that lap. He wants a good,

solid race here this weekend. What a treat. 46 on the front row. How

sweet it is, Marquez in the foreground, Lorenzo in the middle

and Valentino Rossi sharing the front row. We are ready for a race.

Revs are up and they are away! That was fast from Aleix Espargaro. He

nailed it. Lorenzo is through. Lorenzo has mugged the lot of them.

Who has gone with him? None other than Dani Pedrosa. How about that?

Espargaro gets in front of Valentino Rossi. It was an OK start from Cal.

If he is not careful, he just didn't see him off. A really good start

from Lorenzo. Aleix Espargaro did set off quickly. Let's hope he

didn't jump the start. There he is. Valentino Rossi diveling up on the

inside of him through the left-hander on the Mound there. Yes.

Look at that. Lorenzo, 99, has already got six or seven pike

lengths - -- bike lengths - that trust in your tyres. We are watching

Cal Crutchlow. I can't believe Lorenzo is so fast in the corners.

2.26 miles around, but look at that advantage. He keeps stretching it

out. Looks to be about half a second. He goes through and it is...

1.2 seconds. 28 laps the journey down here. One done. That is Cal

Crutchlow, getting back past Aleix Espargaro. Cal has to keep that pace

up and it was a jump-start from Espargaro. How about that? Aleix

Espargaro - well, hero to zero. It will be zero when he's done his

Espargaro - well, hero to zero. It ride-through penalty. Rotten shame

because it was a stonking job. Cal Crutchlow has dispensed with him. At

the front, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marquez. The German goes around the

inside. The Honda will have the power coming out of the corner.

Ride-through penalty - there it is. He will have to have a look at that.

Probably has an idea that he was a bit early. His pit will put the same

penalty out because he will be knowing to look at his pit board

even if he is not expecting anything from the race officials. That was

the race officials ride-through. He will get it on his own pit board. It

was a giant slaying performance. How about this? Pedrosa, he was holding

up Marquez, he's now gapping him. That will keep the punters happy

here. It will. We know Marc Marquez has had those tumbles this weekend.

His team would have told him to calm down. The Championship - he has a

30-point advantage over Dani Pedrosa. A third place here wouldn't

do him any harm. Espargaro has to go in. Crutchlow doing a good job in

fifth position. All looking good. Valentino Rossi hassling now. 25

points for a win, so Marquez is more than a win in front. Have a listen

to this. This is the Yamaha - we are riding with Rossi. He knows his way

around here. As we said, he finished second in the race here last year.

Albeit, it was Dani Pedrosa that got wiped out. There he is in second

place. It looks like Marc Marquez has picked the game up a little bit.

He is closing in on the 26 machine of Dani Pedrosa. That was a storming

lap from Lorenzo. That is just off the dial. Let's hope that Aleix

Espargaro sees this. He will get three laps before he is told to - he

will be black-flagged. Jorge Lorenzo is 1.7 seconds in front of Dani

Pedrosa. In two laps, that is breathtaking. 34.02 - he is 2.2

seconds in front of these guys. That is absolutely astonishing. It is.

Bearing in mind the lap record is 1:33.906. He is very close to that

indeed. Dani Pedrosa needs this more than anybody does. He is second in

the Championship, but he has not been in the sun for a bit. He needs

to be seen to win races, quickly. There is that time. Not quite his

own lap record. 52, Pesek, has entered the pits. Oh no, Iannone -

he was having such a good weekend. He has been injured pretty much all

season. They have tested here a great deal. Ducati test a lot here.

Maybe not as much as Pirro, who is the test rider here for Ducati. He

is sitting in 12th place. Bradley Smith is behind Nicky Hayden in

tenth place. It is quite an interesting thing - Marquez has the

magnets on. He wants to get past Pedrosa as quickly as he can.

Valentino Rossi is sitting with him. There is the ride-through. It is

awful when you have qualified so well to tear it up like that. A

jump-start is an accident. No, that is leaving Colin Edwards the fastest

of the CRTs. He is in 12th place. I'm sure Azi is good at another

sport(!) Jorge Lorenzo, 2.7 in front of those Hondas. 93, there goes that

front end. That is Rossi through. Thank you very much, says Valentino

Rossi! Now, Marquez has got a bit further to ride. He's got a bit

further. He has to try and get past back the 46 machine. He runs out

very wide. You can see he is not getting it turned in. Dani was late

on the brakes. Dani Pedrosa has worked harder than most on improving

his braking. He tips it in, he gets it stopped before he tips it in.

Marquez will just throw the thing in with the back wheel off the ground.

He doesn't have issues there. His confidence has to be rebuilt. He's

had a few tumbles. Cal Crutchlow - a good ride. If he can stay there in

that position that he is in, in front of Stefan Bradl, just to

regroup. Yeah.The Yamaha factory have told him to stick with what

he's got, which is the same fuel tank as Jorge Lorenzo and Dani

Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi is doing everything

he can to close down his old mate. Dani Pedrosa is one of the very

experienced hands here now. He started his MotoGP career very

young. He's had so many years in this already.

Won't the joint be jumpling -- jumping if he can get on to the

podium? The joint will be jumping wherever he is.

At the moment, it is Lorenzo - that gap is three seconds. That is big.

Three seconds in five laps. That is really getting a move on! Pedrosa

probably did Lorenzo a bit of a favour there. Have a look at this

now, Steve. When you look at the times coming across here, Marquez

has dropped off. Cal Crutchlow 1: 35.0. Really chasing him down hard.

I was hoping that Cal had found a set-up that would last a bit longer.

He seems to be struggling for pace now. Everybody is on the limit.

There is not a great deal of grip around this circuit. It is very

bumpy. Most of these teams here are compromising all of the time. It is

about trying to find that perfect balance that you see. We spoke about

Jorge Lorenzo at the top of the show. He got the new seamless

gearbox. You know that helps you in your head as well as on the track?

??FORCEDCY Oh yes. If you have got the latest, the factory is working

hard, if you run too wide, you can soon get a penalty. The point is, if

you think you have got it, the problem is if you think the other

guys have got it and you don't, it works against you. That's the pit

board going out for him saying he has a two-second lead. Pedrosa

closed him down a couple of tenths last time around. It is now coming

up to 2.8. Lorenzo is good here. Jorge Lorenzo has won the last five

Grand Pries in Italy. The last guy that cracked it for a win other than

Lorenzo was this man here, Dani Pedrosa, back in 2010. So Lorenzo is

sweet as a nut around here. As we have discussed before, the Yamaha is

sweet handling. I would say we are have discussed before, the Yamaha is

into - we have seven laps down. We are stabilising. Temperatures are

all up. We have the next ten laps before the tyres start really going

off. Their best time is about - Abrahams is into the pits. Pesek,

Abrahams has come in and I am trying to look where - Aleix Espargaro has

come back in, Charlie. Colin Edwards is just behind Bradley Smith. These

next ten laps will be a solid part of the race. Yeah. It looks like a

health issue. He has had some big crashes. He is in the recovery

phase. I saw him run deep in there. He recovered. But the pain in his

shoulder is stopping him on the bike. 2.6. Lorenzo, the last time

around was two-tenths slower than Dani Pedrosa. Valentino Rossi put in

the fastest lap that time around. These next ten laps will be about

who has got what pace? Ducati versus Ducati. How about that?The outgoing

Nicky Hayden, who has signed a deal... Three Ducatis there. Pirro -

these two are fantastic to watch together. Dovizioso puts a pass back

on Nicky Hayden. Hayden ain't giving up so easily. Look at that, bike 51,

Pirro, he's got the bike that they up so easily. Look at that, bike 51,

call the lab bike. As you can see, none of them faster than the other.

The only thing you would say - you would say that Dovizioso and Nicky

Hayden are probably classier riders than Pirro. Fair play and more

experienced. Maybe the bike is better, but we hope they can come up

with the ingredients to put a nice motorcycle under Cal Crutchlow at

the start of next season. The Ducati seems to be more temperature

sensitive than anything else. Lorenzo is still holding that gap -

2.7. It swings around. It is - as a rider, Lorenzo will be talking away

to himself. Be smooth, be calm, be patient with your times. They have

to keep coming to you. Every time he goes over the start and finish line,

he will be looking at his lap counter. There is the leading CRT

rider, Colin Edwards. He said he has had a handshake in blood to stay

with the team next year. He has really upped his game of late, as

you have cruelly said. He has been riding the wheels off that bike. It

is great to watch. There you can see Michael Laverty in 18th place behind

Espargaro. I am very surprised. They are all entering the pits. Change

the mode! Talk faster!It could be to you! That is really trying to

ease the tyre wear and make it easier to ride as the grip seems to

go away. We will have to see if that makes any difference. Look at Marc

Marquez. He is closing back on Valentino Rossi. He lost that time

when we saw into turn eight. He lost that time. He's regrouped himself.

Still a long way to go for this race, 19 laps remaining out of 28.

This sort of performance plays into the hands of somebody like Lorenzo

and Rossi, in particular. Rossi, more than just about anybody else

out there, is capable of nursing a bike through to the end of the race.

I agree. He is good at monitoring what is happening underneath him. He

changes his riding style. Have we got the same Rossi we used to have?

I don't think we have quite. Cal Crutchlow fending off number six,

Stefan Bradl. He is making that as wide as a truck! Brilliant to watch.

A neat bit of defensive riding. You have to say Cal Crutchlow on the

Tech 3 bike, that doesn't have the new seamless gearbox in it. That was

a bit deep there. There is a - that corner is so cambered that sometimes

you get a bit high. 2.5 - that gap is coming down, Charlie. This guy is

coming back, too. 93, Marc Marquez, is now starting to reel in the

Doctor. It was eight-tenths last time. That looks closer to me,

Steve? It does. Marc Marquez - where he seems to have his armory -

providing he can make that front tyre stick on the tarmac, his entry

is good going into the corner. There you can see the gap. It is coming -

2.5 now. Marc Marquez, the fastest lap in the race, e Charlie. As you

can see, he is a couple of tenths behind Valentino Rossi. That is what

two-tenths looks like. At the front, Lorenzo still maintaining 2.5

seconds from Pedrosa. As you say, it is a long race here and you can see,

as Rossi responds, and Marquez goes with him, that they are... Marquez -

this was the corner we saw him run wide. I suspect it could be the next

corner - we have the two corners, nine and ten, and he will try to

brake a bit later. If he is going to do anything about his team-mate -

Dani Pedrosa is behind him in the Championship - he could do with not

losing any points to him. This is where Marquez is so fast, Steve. He

is just awesome through there. He is fearless. He has a different

threshold to a lot of people. It is going to be difficult to get past

Valentino Rossi. Not an easy circuit to pass on. They are short

straights. If there is any way he is charge out of the final corner -

this is where it is very bumpy. Watch the front end of Rossi's

Yamaha. Just there. Look how fast Marquez is on that change of

direction, the right-left. He has to work out and plan where he will work

a couple of laps to have a look at Valentino Rossi to see where he has

a chance of doing it. We talk about the line here. We have always known

there is one perfect line. It is a compromise to pass someone. If

anyone can do it, Marc Marquez can. We know most overtaking takes place

on the brakes in motorcycle racing. There is only one line as we watch

Rossi take an entirely different one. There he is. He's just nailed

it. Marquez is so close now - he's through down the inside. Rossi will

try and cutback. He's stuffed it in some firmly there is no room for

Rossi to respond. That was tough. That is Marquez. How can he do that?

Rossi... Watch this now. Rossi gets on the brakes. Marquez lets the

Rossi... Watch this now. Rossi gets brakes off and runs in there. That

is still loaded up. Just let those brakes off, ran in there and got

back on them. He has so much confidence. The area of the pass was

back on them. He has so much about 50 metres. Yes. He made it

look so easy. He was so on the limit there. Has that wonderful feel, or I

hope he does, for his sake, with 16 laps to go. Stand back and tupb your

collar up. Marquez is now going to put on some blistering performance.

He is one second behind Dani Pedrosa. He's 3.4 seconds behind

He is one second behind Dani Jorge Lorenzo, who leads the race.

We have 15 laps to go. Slightly more than half the race. Every one of

these guys here in this picture, the top four, are on the same tyres. The

only people who have made different decisions is Dani Pedrosa - sorry

all these top guys. We have softer front compounds for the Ducati boys,

Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, Michele Pirro and Stefan Bradl.

There's been a pass on this lap. Watch for a full clean lap, the one

we are watching now, to see the time that Marquez puts in. You can

already see - you don't need a timer to see he is closing down Dani

Pedrosa in quite a big way. 2.3 for Lorenzo. That is coming down. Dani

Pedrosa is banging in those laps. 34.3s all the time. The danger man

there, number 93, the man we... You surprise me! This is on board with

Valentino Rossi. Excuse me, could you have a look at my rear end?

There is his dad. I taught him how to ride a motorbike! Marc Marquez,

287 kilometres per hour, top speed last time. We don't get anywhere

near 200mph here. Still jolly fast. It is a stop-go circuit. This man

here, 99, you can see how hard he is working on the Yamaha. He will

here, 99, you can see how hard he is a pit board that is tilling him the

gap is -- telling him the gap is coming down. That is the man that is

catching him, number 26 there, Dani Pedrosa. There it is, the pit

board... There is the bad news for Dani. He is going to have to try to

fend off his team-mate. Can I tell you that Marc Marquez was

nearly four-tenths of a second faster than Dani Pedrosa last lap.

He is coming for him. He is 0.7 off of him. That is very close. The best

thing that can happen to the World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo, is that

Dani Pedrosa can hold off his team-mate for as long as possible.

Just check that lean angle. We are talking about 60 degrees.

Look at that front tyre, how nicely it is used. This man entered his

first Grand Prix 50 years ago today. Were you on the grid with him? Those

leanings, they are exaggerated here because we have so many ultra-slow

corners. So they really are tipping over? Yes. For some, second-gear

corners as well. Here is the start. There was Espargaro. It looked from

the word go lls No, no, it was a clutch moment or an excitement

moment being so far up the grid. I was up in race control yesterday and

there is nowhere to hide. It is not possible to sneak a millimetre

without it being seen. In my day, you went when you like, really! I

did say that in the piece! You can see how busy it is through there.

did say that in the piece! You can Back at the front, 2.2 seconds. The

gap is easing off a little bit. That is probably more to do with Pedrosa

trying to respond to the impending threat of Marquez than anything

else. He's just taken a bit out of threat of Marquez than anything

Lorenzo. Look how close Marc Marquez is. He is in the slipstream area. It

is not high-speed around here. It can upset the bike a little bit. It

is a matter of time that Dani Pedrosa will be able to hold off his

team-mate. We still have 13 laps remaining. If Pedrosa has been

complaining about rear grip in speed sessions like qualifying, but also

race distances, that is going to come into play here. Yes. There it

is, 0.3 to Marquez. The gap at the front has been stabilised. Jorge

Lorenzo has responded. He has really nailed it. He's done 1:34.037. Is

Dani riding defensively now? We ride with Marquez and see him shifting

down into first gear. Tell me where he can take him? Either into 12, 13,

14 on the brakes or where he passed Valentino Rossi into turn nine. This

is down into turn eight. It was out - if he gets a run out of here, I

don't think he is close enough. This is where he snuck underneath

Valentino Rossi. This is it. This is down into 12,

13. This is where he is strong. This is where we were talking about his

confidence running into the corner. He will have to be brave to charge

up the inside. Takes a wider line. Just probing around. Does not want

to compromise himself. I think he will leave it until after this

corner. . He is close. There is a bit of a tow. Can he get in there?

Not quite close enough. He can lunge down the inside. He does it!He gets

a hold off the right... Wow!He can pass in such a short bit of tarmac.

In so many different places. He has a bit of everything. He was so fast

to change direction there. Got the run out of the final corner. At this

point, he lets his brakes off, turns it straight in and a perfect block

pass. Dani is always coming off second. Yes. You would have to say

he must be seeing his likelihood of winning a World Championship

slipping away one more time. Again, people give him a hard time, Dani

Pedrosa, but he is up against the best in the world. He is in front of

Valentino Rossi. This young kid has come along and spoilt the party. He

is in front of somebody who is brilliantly fast. It is a little bit

like comparing Rossi and Stoner with the Ducati. I don't think Dani

Pedrosa is quite willing to take the the chances that -- take the chances

that Marquez will. I agree. He is able to ride closer to the limit.

And he does breach it a lot. As I said, he does get away with a lot.

So is this guy. And they have also - Lorenzo has stretched that backup to

three seconds. He's giving a lot of work for 93. Now he has a clear lap.

Marquez knows he has a Championship to chase. All that is going to

happen is he is going to lose five points to Jorge Lorenzo, who is 39

back. Yes, he will still...He will extend his lead. Yeah. Jorge Lorenzo

is not the guy in second place in the Championship. It is Dani

Pedrosa. So Marc Marquez can be quite magnanimous when it comes to

the reigning World Champion and giving him a few points. We are fast

running out of rounds in this series as well. This is round 13, five to

go after this. 125 points left on the table after we leave here. Dani

is scrabbling around. I can tell you that Cal Crutchlow is holding Bradl

at bay. There is only a tenth in it. With nine laps left, he is holding

him off. That makes it a hard race. It is mentally exhausting. Bradley

Smith is still in 11th, just in front of Colin Edwards. Espargaro is

coming back through the field, up to 14th. Watch this. Back wheel up in

the air. Tipping it in. And Dani Pedrosa, I would say is stretching

himself. He looks like you did leaning on that! The worst that was

going to happen, I was going to tumble over the top of the tyre!

Brilliant to watch. Fair point, Steve. Dani Pedrosa is doing

everything he can and also riding a neater line. Youz can see that,

carried a lot of speed in, was neat out. Dani Pedrosa much more wheels

in line than Marquez. He is an economical rider. He is hanging on

to Marquez. At the front, again there is 3.1 seconds - the gap. We

have all done it - you have and I have - you have to follow them to

see how brave they are. Nothing worse than getting a young

team-mate! Back across the strip we go, Dani Pedrosa has to go for it!

Marquez has done nothing to eat into the lead of Lorenzo. It is still

3.1. There is 35, Cal Crutchlow. Keep those elbows out! Doing a great

job there keeping Stefan Bradl at bay. Bautista is back there in

seventh. There is Pirro and there is Bradley

Smith. Bradley Smith - there's Colin. He has to watch out for

Espargaro, who is lapping a bit faster than Colin. About a second

faster for that matter. He is a fair way back down the road. It is still

3.1 seconds. I would say Dani Pedrosa there really clinging on to

the back of Marc Marquez. I tell you what, Steve, this shows - it is how

quickly these guys are going this year. Valentino Rossi, on that

Ducati last year, managed to winch the thing on to the podium. This

year on a Yamaha, Valentino Rossi has been dropped off. These guys are

really upping the ante. The pace was very hot here last year. One of the

issues - Dani Pedrosa is having a probe in there all the time. He

can't get the drive out. That is to do with his weight as well. He has

ten kilos less in his leathers than the man in front. He's going to have

a go in a minute. He wants to be careful he doesn't tangle up. Last

time around, Pedrosa 1:34 - they are all lapping... Rossi had a 1:36.80.

He obviously had a moment. These two are at play. It isn't over yet.

He obviously had a moment. These two Seven laps left. Dani Pedrosa wants

a bit. He is going. He's got him!He stands up his team-mate! That will

have felt good. Great stuff from Dani Pedrosa. Head down. Up the hill

we go. This is now playing into the part of the circuit where the

Marquez is so fast. You are riding with him. Let's listen. He is going

to go for it down here. He's got to keep his head and cool. He is

to go for it down here. He's got to chasing the Championship. Those

points won't hurt him that will badly. He's going to run Pedrosa

wide. He's missed the apex. Pedrosa has to cutback. There is one more

left-hander and then we are on to the pit straight. This is absolutely

stonking stuff! Perfect for Jorge Lorenzo. All the time, this is just

playing into the hands of the current World Champion, Jorge

Lorenzo. He has a 4.2 second advantage with six laps remaining.

You can think Lorenzo is thinking to himself, "I've had enough of this,

this is stupid. I might as well chuck it down the road and be

humiliated by this kid so I will keep trying!" You can just feel that

the tension that was there - Marquez keep trying!" You can just feel that

probably thinking, "I'm chasing this Championship, I want to win this

Championship." Of course, the Championship is not done with yet.

Two weeks' time, we have Aragon. These two Hondas are one-two on the

track, they are one-two in the Championship. Have a look at this.

Nowhere for Dani Pedrosa to go. There will be plenty of black marks

on Dani Pedrosa's leathers. This is the battle not only for the race,

this is the battle for the Championship. Pedrosa is the closest

guy to challenge. He just can't stick it in there. We have another

bit of a moment. Dani Pedrosa might be able to do something on the exit

to the pit straight. The straight is not very long. It isn't. It is all

about carrying your speed through the corner. Look at Jorge Lorenzo's

pit board - it is saying 4.3 seconds in front. Lorenzo can ride hands and

heels now and cruise home. You are riding with Cal Crutchlow. Bradl is

still hanging in there. Cal Crutchlow managed to fend him off.

It looks like the Honda has a bit of acceleration over the start and

finish line. The new gearbox will have filtered their way down, too.

Yeah, Cal will be wanting one of those. There he is, 99, Jorge

Lorenzo, four-and-a-half laps to go. He is able to look after the bike,

look after the tyres, keep it all nice and smooth. He is about to lap

Bryan Staring. These two Honda boys have given Jorge Lorenzo a huge

break. Yes, that is exactly what you are looking for. Dani Pedrosa is

still very good in the middle of the corner. He is inch perfect.

Wonderful to watch. What a fantastic shot. Again, fully leaning over. You

can see they are - they are shot. Again, fully leaning over. You

ex-two-stroke riders. But neither of them have their fingers over the

clutch. The Doctor started his career on the 225. We ride with him

through the esses. Interestingly, Cal Crutchlow is the

guy that has adopted more rigorously Interestingly, Cal Crutchlow is the

than anybody else "the Doctor's dangle" as you call it. Marquez

sticks his elbow in the ground. This circuit with it being so relatively

short, there is not quite the advantage. 18 0 would -- 180 would

stop it dead. This ride from both these guys is

good. These are the guys that were struggling with that. Their heads

were gone. Marquez - Bradl was saying he couldn't work out why the

front end was feeling the way it did. There is a slow-motion of the

boy. A lovely, stylish rider is Stefan Bradl. Again, inch perfect,

skimming the kerb with his elbow there. Just turning that throttle

on. You can see the hand coming through there. Doesn't look

possible, does it? Three laps to go. That gap is precisely one-tenth of a

second. Jorge Lorenzo can - his last lap was three-tenths slower than

Pedrosa. It was a minute tall challenge.

There it is. A slightly wider line for Marquez. It is a cambered

corner. You can get yourself through there. Like you rightly say, it is

right. Dani Pedrosa threw everything that he could for a couple of laps

to see if he could break the youngster. That gap is

insurmountable now. He knows it. I know it. Second place - my maths

worked that out, that he will extend know it. Second place - my maths

his advantage. I'm not really good with maths! Nine points - that will

put Pedrosa and Lorenzo on the same points. Yes, that's getting

uncomfortable for Dani Pedrosa. He is still working here. It is going

to be jolly interesting for the series. He will close right up with

the second of the Hondas. This guy, Marc Marquez, will be stroking it

off into the distance, really. Valentino Rossi, not hurting his

Championship hunt at all. He is fourth in the series. With a

comfortable margin over Cal Crutchlow, who is fifth. Cal was

leading the Championship in the early rounds, but Valentino Rossi

seems to have regrouped a fair amount, he keeps running and

knocking the results in. Lap one -... -- lap one. Dani Pedrosa will

have to take away, "What on earth do I do? If this kid doesn't fall off,

I won't be able to beat him." That is what he will be saying. Lorenzo,

it's a masterclass. I make that six wins in a row for him in Italy. Yes,

absolutely. Hasn't put a foot wrong. There you see the point. He has

extended his lead, Marquez. I said that, did I not? You did. The reason

Lorenzo is in front is on race wins. How about that? Tied on the points.

Thank you Professor Parrish! I think realistically Marc Marquez probably

knows that Jorge Lorenzo is going to be the strongest guy the rest of the

season. That is how it's looked as the season has unfolded. Poor old

Dani Pedrosa doesn't have the form that he had at the end of last year.

No. Crutchlow seems to have some

breathing space there. I would want more! I don't know whether Dani

Pedrosa has suffered tyre more! I don't know whether Dani

degradation as well. He has really struggled for rear grip. He is

lining it up more. He will have run out of boots as well. Yes, the tyres

won't be as good as they were when they started the race. It is all

about shifting your riding style. We saw the Hondas were telling... I

can't believe it. Bradl down the inside, through turn eight, Cal

Crutchlow trying to cutback. We are going to have a Drag Race to a

right-hander here. Cal is in front. But Bradl has the line. Cal let him

go back. All he can do is get the run out of here now. He has two more

corners. He knows he's got the race won. He's already racing to the

crowd. Anyway, let's hope he doesn't run out of fuel. He's all the way up

to the line. Jorge Lorenzo does it again in Italy! Fantastic job. Marc

Marquez, a huge second place. Dani Pedrosa, thank you both for the

wonderful entertainment. Pedrosa brings it in in third. Bradl has

just hung on - he's rained on Cal Crutchlow's parade. Cal goes down to

sixth. Bautista coming home in seventh. Jorge Lorenzo, two wins on

the trot here and at Silverstone. That will buck up his confidence.

Andrea Dovizioso, bringing the lead Ducati home. Bradley Smith comes in.

Colin Smith in 12th. I'm sure that cements his job. That is Jorge

Lorenzo's fifth win of the season. Poor old Aleix Espargaro. He jumped

start but he has finished in the points in 13th place. He has ended

up four seconds behind Colin Edwards so a tremendous performance for him.

Again, wins here. He dominates at this track, Jorge Lorenzo.

Congratulations from Valentino Rossi to his younger team-mate. Good day

for Yamaha and no shame in the Honda result, Steve. You have yom haar, --

Yamaha, Honda, Honda, Yamaha. Yes. A spirited ride from this guy,

though. He came back as solid as a rock. All the time, he's absorbing

information, learning what is going on. It was real interesting to see

how he inspired Dani Pedrosa in that mid-race battle there. The crazy

thing is, we have to remind ourselves that Marquez is 20 years

old. Yes. And is now - is more than ridiculous, round 13, he's won five

of the races. He's been on the podium every time apart frR the time

he fell off! Extraordinary. He was the fastest in every session across

this weekend. He's had 12 podiums from 13 races. That is a rookie

record. He's already got the highest point any rookie has earnt in the

first year. He's had six poles, that is another rookie record. The

youngest guy to have back-to-back poles since Freddie Spencer. We can

sit here all afternoon reeling off-the-records that Marc Marquez

has shattered and, yet, he will break them again. Still, as we say,

a long way to go yet. We are in Aragon in two weeks' time.

You feel for him. You can see it in the eyes. Yes.There is nothing

worse than your crew chief looking at you as well. What do you say? If

he knows it was his best - and I believe it was - then it is hard to

imagine Dani riding anymore quickly than that. If he knows that is his

best, this guy is better. Yes. It is tough, and it is hard. He is sitting

there - we have all seen it and done it. Dani is thinking - I have rode

my heart and soul out. He has to do it. They are team-mates. He can

afford to finish second for the rest of the Championship with the points

advantage. That puts it into context. At this rate, you could

confidently predict that the Championship will be resolved in

Japan or maybe Australia with a couple of rounds left. Great stuff

from Lorenzo. A masterclass. How much do you think he was assisted

by... Tremendously. We saw the gap come down to two seconds. As soon as

they tangled up, it went out to four seconds. Fourth was alright. Steve,

the thing is as well, with those two seconds. Fourth was alright. Steve,

Hondas, working as hard as they did, they consume a lot more tyres. Yes,

yes. You are riding off line, you can care uRrying -- you are carrying

more speed. He would have loved to have seen that pit board with the

gap extending. In fact, he is going to thank Dani Pedrosa for this. This

was the pass. It was a beautiful pass. It was so quick.Nice and

neat. But it invigorated him. Dani Pedrosa got wild at this point.

Great stuff. Look how close they are. Marc Marquez trying to pull it

back in there tight. That was the point that Jorge Lorenzo's lead went

out. Here it came back again. That was the job from thereon in. That

was really hard stuff from both of them. It was great to see Dani

Pedrosa pushing so hard. Marc Marquez, he had a great race with

Pedrosa pushing so hard. Marc his team-mate. That was fantastic,

Azi. Incredible stuff. You are celebrating it almost like a win.

Great battle with Dani. You must have enjoyed it? Yes. That second

place is so important. Especially in the beginning I w struggling a lot.

I already showed this morning with the fuel tank full, I was struggling

quite a lot. Anyway, I try. I go wide two times. Anyway, we did a

good race. We take 20 more points. That is important. Jorge will be

34... 30.It will be nice. Maybe it is 34! There is the confirmed

result. How about that, 3.3 seconds. He buttoned off the pace near the

end. What has Dani Pedrosa got to do? You look dejected at the end of

that. What are you feeling? Could you have done more to get past Marc?

No. I tried my best every lap. Jorge was super-fast in the opening laps.

After that, I tried to settle for good rhythm but I know trying to

catch Jorge was almost impossible. Some laps I was doing good. I kept

pushing. Finally, I give my best every lap. I tried to fight with

Marc. Always - I wasn't able to fight anymore. Thank you.It is as

we were saying. That is the real key. He has rear grip issues that he

is finding it very difficult, spinning up like that, overheating

the tyre and that is how it gapped at the end. He pushed as hard as he

possibly could. You can see on the Championship front, they have now

drawn level, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, on points. Lorenzo moves ahead of him

in the Championship by way of race win Look at that from miscellaneous

Mez at the top. Jorge Lorenzo has a bit of work to do on the points

front. But two wins on the trot is going to be one enormous relief for

him. It is still a lot of points back but an important victory. One

we may look back on come the end of the season? Yes, well, luckily, we

improve the bike a lot in the warm-up. We struggled so much to be

competitive during the weekend. We made some changes and it has been

good. I started really motivated with lots of energy. I overtake Marc

and I try to push from the first corner to the last one. Finally, I

got my goal. Congratulations.Thank you. Cal Crutchlow, your objective

was to have a strong finish, and you did that? Yes, we got invaded by the

Germans on the last lap! LAUGHTER No, I'm pleased. We were 13th, 14th

in practice. Useless all weekend! I was borderline crashing a lot. I had

no confidence in the race. Yeah, I was good under pressure. I felt not

too bad. We are a long way off where we were earlier in the season. Top

six is not bad. I am pleased. It is nice to see you again. You were like

One Direction yesterday! We were out for dinner at that point! It is good

to see you have come back to your normal day job. Thanks.Cheers. You

still look like One Direction, Matt! I'm glad Cal did the business today.

Steve and I did our top buttons up before the start of the show to see

how we looked! Marc Marquez in front of Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa

dead level. There is going to be one almighty track invasion any second

now. It goes crazy here. If Rossi doesn't make the podium, the

screaming bunch of people won't leave until they are quite happy

that Valentino Rossi has come out and waved them off. It is like a

noisy Vatican square! It is crazy. Marquez 253. Poor old Cal Crutchlow

- 27.5 laps. Just couldn't do it. Just couldn't do it. Tried to

fightback. Couldn't manage it. What a great thing for us to see Colin

Edwards, the lead CRT again. Congratulations. Top CRT. It's been

getting better every race. Yes, we had top qualifying last three races.

We had good qualifying yesterday. To put it in the race, it is fantastic.

Happy for the guys. Hi, everybody. See you next week. Congratulations.

Great stuff from Colin there. Wonderful to see him back in Parc

Ferme again. You could sailor Lorenzo, he won the race on the last

lap at Silverstone, and he won the race on the first lap here today. He

did. It was critical for him to get into that first corner first to see

off Marquez. The beauty of it was Dani Pedrosa had one of his stellar

starts and that was the key. Pedrosa getting through as well, held up

Marquez, and it was not job done, but that was the key. I don't - it

is exactly how it unfolded at Silverstone. Yes. As I said, we have

Steve here now. Steve, quickly... Having battled my way through the

crowd! Jorge Lorenzo won it on the first lap? I think Jorge, that first

lap he had ten bike lengths all the way. That is risky. You have cold

tyres, youz -- you don't know what is going to go on. He must have been

seeing that pit board come down. If you are watching us on the red

button this afternoon, fear not, stick with us for half an hour of

MotoGP Extra. If you are watching the repeat, that is all we have time

for. We will see you again in two weeks' time for the Aragon Grand

Prix. # How I wish you were here

# We are just two souls swimming in a fish bowl

# Year after year # Running over the same old ground

# And how we found the same old fish # Wish you were here. #