Mugello MotoGP

Jell-O and the Italian grand prix. Such a unique place, a unique

atmosphere. Welcome to my Jell-O in the hills of Tuscany for round five

of the MotoGP. Any moment now the riders will emerge to a cacophony of

sound and colour. It is a big weekend but especially for this man,

Valentino Rossi. Everyone is out to support him. None of them have lost

their belief. He is a seven times the dirt of his home race. These

hills are packed with people who still believe that he can get back

to the top and once again we will see those fantastic post race

celebrations. Who could forget Snow White and the seven dwarfs, or at

the speeding ticket. There have been some classic celebrations over the

years. These are the guys who make it happen, the official fan club for

Valentino Rossi. What has been your There has been some classics from

the very beginning. How do you celebration on the race day. Do you

Valentino Rossi to win, you want to see what these guys have got planned

on race day. Good luck. It looks like a slim chance at the

moment at best unfortunately. The man at the top are in such great

form. He has got Jorge Lorenzo to content width and also Dani

Pedrosa. And now Cal Crutchlow is ahead of him in fourth place in the

championship thanks to that second place two weeks ago. Brilliant

stuff. Dani Pedrosa now leads the championship from his team-mate,

Mark Marquez. Plenty of time to go yet this season. So far it has not

gone to plan for Valentino Rossi. His personal manager is here.

Fantastic results but now seventh on the grid. He is struggling with this

new qualification system. And also he is not very quick getting the

hard lap times in this short session. It has been a bit of this.

But I think that the pace is not so bad. He improved a bit during the

warm up. Lorenzo is very fast, I do not know if he will be able to

follow. We will see what happens. is his track and we want him to be

up there. Is this a make or break weekend for him? I do not think so.

I think he is trying to recover. In the last two years I think that the

riding style and the technology has developed a lot. Then he lost a

couple of years and he has two recover not just his writing style

adapting to these new bikes and electronics. I thought it would have

been three or four races but perhaps it is a longer process. He needs a

bit more training. Now let us hope that he gets there, for everybody.

You have been working on a project also with Suzuki. Looking ahead to

perhaps coming back into the championship. What can you tell us?

For the moment we're working on testing sessions, a testing campaign

for this year. They are thinking about taking a decision about

whether to come back in 2014 or not. We have done some test rides last

week. We will test in Barcelona which will be interesting to compare

and to try to judge or potential. Then we're thinking about doing

other sessions in Europe. It would be interesting to understand the

potential of the bike. And see if there is much of a gap. And then

keep working on that. Cal Crutchlow is looking for a factory ride, would

he be a possibility? Now if we do decide to come back in 24 team, you

have to go with Cal Crutchlow. He can do better than 40 is doing. He

is doing very well. And of course I would seriously consider him. We

look forward to that and let's hope so. Let's see what happens then next

year. But Cal Crutchlow had a fractured tibia. It has been another

bruising weekend for him so far. There was a crash in qualifying

yesterday that he still managed to bounce back in the second row of the

grid. Disappointing with the crash but still a great result. Yes, I am

pleased. We had a better session. We are still chopping between two

bikes. One long and one short. One has got no rear grip but is more

stable on the braking. The short bike is nervous. But we're still

trying to work out something in between. It is difficult. The crash

was completely my own fault. My eyes were watering with hayfever. Then I

had no vision at all. I hit the curb on the inside. I think we have not

been going so bad all weekend. I do not really get on with this circuit.

It is a great circuit. Experienced dollars pay here. We have not tested

as the other guys have over the years. It is one of those circuit,

you learn the tricks of the trade. But overall I'm happy if I finish in

the top five tomorrow. Another excellent performance in

qualifying. Just missing out on the front row. Just making our way

through here. He has got plenty of support here this weekend not least

from his training partner. You might recognise him. A very special guest.

Your first time at a MotoGP event. What do you make of it? I love it.

was bouncing this morning. Just after the first practice. We might

do a job swap! That would be great! I do not think I could do this

accent -- macro actually. What do you make of the speed? It is

incredible, how fast they are and how controlled it is. Seeing this,

it is a different level again. A lot more track racing, it is different

to road racing. And to know that your mate is doing it it gives you a

vested interest. I'm over the moon and enjoying myself. Really great to

see him here. Funny how quickly he backtracked out of actually riding

one of the bikes! It is great to see Cal Crutchlow on form. What he

really wants to do now is delivered here. He is so on form. He crashed

in qualifying, no problem. He gets back, turned around, jumps on the

short bike. Brilliant. He is so tough. They need to let him take

some hayfever tablets, he is not allowed to. It is ridiculous. It is

illegal for riding. But I think it is more danger is not being able to

see where you are going. This is more a Yamaha track down the

circuits so far this season. incredible start. But Yamaha have

just won three of the past 16 races and are really struggling. It has

got a lot to do with Dani Pedrosa as well. They have now sorted out the

handling of the Honda. Dani Pedrosa 16 of the last eight raises last

year and two out of third this year. He is on a roll. That is helping

Honda a lot. Valentina is fifth in the championship. His first season

with two catti, he is in exactly the same spot. And after four races in

2012, here he is again. Sadly it is not really happening. The crash did

not help the points situation. But the old magic is back. Valentina is

slow in the last sector. There is a correlation, that is where he broke

his leg. And unfortunately it is not coming back. We hope that it will

because he is paramount to this championship. Every time he gets out

there in qualifying, Dovizioso is in front of him. That is the last thing

he wants. It has been a bruising weekend so far for Cal Crutchlow but

even more so for Bradley Smith who came off yesterday morning. And this

was a big one. It was massive. had his hand trapped under the bike.

The gloves gave him protection. He was trapped underneath, that was

this morning in the warmup. But he has taken the edge off his finger

unfortunately. He is so beaten up. You could tell that he had a bad

finger. He did not cross the line for a lap. We saw him struggling to

get his gloves on. I think he is going to go and get a skin graft

tomorrow. Marc Marquez also had a crash. This is the first. Free

practice on Friday morning. But that was nothing to what was to come in

the afternoon. A crash in every single session. He crashes doing 175

miles an hour. It was horrendous and he was lucky to get away from the

wall. The airbag went off. In the practice session in the morning and

the second day, he had to bail out again. He has got a sore shoulder

and actually hit his other about consistency. 20 points of

impact. You will have to get one of those when you come out of the pub,

Charlie! The whole performance of Marquez reminds you of Lorenzo in

his early years. Looks like the guys are coming out onto the grid. Dani

Pedrosa behind us on pole position. It came unexpectedly at the end of

qualifying. Jorge Lorenzo was probably the most surprised? No he

mugged him, absolutely. He was seventh in qualifying and he finally

found a gap and nailed it and stuck it on pole position. With all of the

confusion, who cropped up there on the front row macro? Decathlete. --

front row. Some signs of recovery, perhaps, for a Ducati. They have had

a disastrous couple of years with Valentino Rossi. At the end of last

season they had a complete restructuring. And also a complete

It is for me very hard to really say and George what was the lack of

success in the past. -- and George. There were certain optimum

coincidences which have happened in the last two years, where there was,

of course, way too much pressure on the team. The pressure was immense.

It was sometimes too much pressure. It can create a negative. Andrei

Dovizioso was brought in to replace Valentino Rossi. We had the first

testing in early January. We were over two seconds off the pace.

was a little bit of a shock. On that track the bike did not work very

well. We bought some new parts. We got it down to one second. Now we

like to be the leaders. We are normally, five, six, seven tenths of

a second off the pole position. Concerns about the bike had been

voiced by Casey Stoner since 2007. Ducati probably did not realise how

much the writer was affected. Everybody was saying, it works. Why

does the other rider have so much problems? It was a little bit, let's

say, the rider was overshadowing the deficiencies of the bike. Everybody

knows that Casey was really special. His writing style was special. He

about the bike? Top five finishes suggested signs of recovery. Well,

the rain helped us. Let's not kid ourselves. We know the bike works

well in the rain. I do think some things are coming to us. The bike is

still the same. Sometimes working, for example, in the wet. We have

really good traction. The negative points becomes smaller. In normal

conditions, we are still too far. is nice to see our red bike leading

and leading for some time. I don't think this bike is competitive to

fight for the victory. We can do nothing. We have two pull the bike

in one part of the corner. This is difficult. Especially because Yamaha

are on top. And the riders are really good. We have to do something

about it. It is difficult. The test driver... Ducati's new

approach is long-term. The goal will be that we will be able to fight for

a win in the next year. Hopefully we should improve so much that we could

even challenge for the championship in 2015. That is the goal.

Lets hope they make that goal. It would be great to see these bikes

challenging once again. Excuse me, I've managed to get myself in a

tight spot. Let's see if we can grab a word with Nikki. How are you

feeling? Yeah, I feel OK. It is a track I love. It is a race I love. I

expected to have better pace this weekend. Last year we struggled. The

track I don't think has been at its best. A lot of rain. Cooler

conditions. Racing in Mugello is all some. I just want to get in at that

front group, hang in there and put up a good fight. You have a good

chance to stick it out on the straight? Yet, for sure. If you can

stay with the group and let them throw you around, it can help you a

lot. We cannot just count on that. We have to get a really good start.

The first couple of corners will be important. To get clean and not get

racing with someone. That is a good session for the Ducati. No Ben Spies

today. I am here with Andrea Iannone. He

has won twice year. This is the home track for Ducati. It is the test

track. They have ridden here quite a lot. Do you expect the bike to go

better here? Yes. On this track yesterday I had some problems with

my bike. After the practice, my team and people at Ducati worked to set

it up for today. This morning it is better. I think it is possible to do

well. You know this track. The atmosphere here. How special is it

to come here as a MotoGP rider for the first time? Yes, it is very

emotional. This is the Italian track. It is my home. Last year I

won on this track. The people our fantastic. Always beautiful. I know

the Italians don't like good luck so I won't say good luck.

Just with Bradley Smith. A little bit late for a chat. One of his

personal managers there. He had to help him put his helmet on because

his hands are so sore. I said there was only one other Ducati on the

grid. That is not true. It is very much an experimental bike. Lots of

things can change. They are trying to get data and find something they

can build on for next year. Let's see if we can find Paolo Latini. --

Paolo Latini. He is alongside Cal Crutchlow. Have a look at Cal

instead. There is Cal just getting a laugh -- last little pep talk from

his team manager. I have managed to find Paolo. Great to see you. Is

this your first time? My first race, yes. It is electric, man.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. You are a big fan. Do you watch it on the

telly? My dad is a massive fan. He has got me into it. Lets get your

dad in as well. A long-time fan of MotoGP. You must be buzzing? This is

a dream for me. Never seen anything like this. Enjoy the day today.

Thanks, guys. Mugello is a very special race. There are not too many

better places in the world to watch Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea

Dovizioso. This is it. Take away, Charlie, Steve. Ciao! Actually

coming he is quite annoying at times when he is just down the corridor

from you! Bad weather was forecast. It has not come to pass.

Near-perfect conditions. Absolutely. So the last of the support crew

leave the grid. One quick recheck. Pedrosa just getting Lorenzo. That

was so tight. Dovizioso on the front row. Stunning. How close was Cal

Crutchlow not to get on the front Crutchlow not to get on the front

very well this weekend. He has. A brand-new chassis. They have done a

really good job. Ryan Staring had his birthday yesterday. We know that

Valentino has a good race pace. He has to get through turn one. If he

can get around turn one, the bottom of the hill, the big problem always

is, it's just a kilometre along the straight, it is about half a

kilometre from the start line. Apart from in Texas, where they have a

chance to practice on the straight line, here they don't get that

chance. It is a real gamble what you can do. Interesting, Steve, as well.

Cal has been here a couple of times. It is still a very hard circuit to

learn. Very difficult indeed. So much to it. Learning to stop into

turn one of the start line is another thing that he will be

scratching his head about. This is the stop. It is the biggest stop we

have. That stopped down into the first turn, it is 1.6 G's. It is 325

metres it takes to slow yourself down. 215 mph is. That takes about

six sections. -- seconds. You are slowing from 215 to 70 mph. That is

a big stop. This circuit has got some wonderful elevation changes.

76,000 people here. We have seen more but there is a recession.

is Bradley Smith's corner. He has had two crashes. The second one this

morning, he had not crossed the stripe to get a time. Arrabbiata

two, that is. A whole series of had two crashes. The second one this

morning, he I have crashed so many times around here. There are a lot

of drop away corners. And then we swing back around the bottom

corner. Back-up through the far chicane. That is where Valentino

Rossi broke his leg. Then back up to fourth gear. A lot of second gear

corners around the circuit. And that last turn is a downhill slingshot.

It opens out at the end. No wonder it is fast. They are literally

catapulted onto it. There is a bit of a hump and the front wheel comes

up into the air. That is why Ducati put the wings on their bike two

years ago. Dani Pedrosa is starting on polls. It is easy for riders to

overpower into the first turn. They are all running with the soft rear

tyre and the harder option on the front. This is the Italian grand

prix. I cannot wait for this. We are ready for the start. A good start

from Dani Pedrosa. Carol Crutchlow with a big lunch down the inside.

Into the first turn. Marquez on the outside and there was almost contact

there. Where did he come from this Mac Valentino Rossi has been tagged.

That is of Arab artist. They got tangled up there. What a nightmare.

Unreal. Valentino Rossi did not actually get a great start and that

unfortunately has ended it all. What about that move that we sought from

Jorge Lorenzo? Thank goodness for the airbags. That suit fully

inflated. Let us hope he was not injured. They do pick up a lot of

speed. It looked as though he just got tagged by Alvaro Bautista. This

is exactly what Lorenzo needs because he can get a good smooth

pace going. He did get completely tagged. I do not know if he hurt his

leg. We need to see that one more time. We are back in the front.

laps. That is the view that Carol Crutchlow has of Dovizioso. He is

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trying to carry some speed. And around we go. Crutchlow racing

against his team-mate from last certainly. He is having a lunch.

Lorenzo has got the optimum time if he can close the door. He just about

doors. Pedrosa is having a big think about that. Marquez sets the fastest

lap. Riding with Mark is now. An important point was that Dani

Pedrosa almost got past. There is nothing wrong with the worst power

of the Yamaha. I agree. Jorge Lorenzo will have to keep the clear

air in front of him. You have to get out of turn 15, try to get a bit of

an advantage and you saw how good and how late the Yamaha was on the

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brakes. The Honda has a good package also. He has got himself hooked onto

the back of Dani Pedrosa. You could not bet against him not winning. I

thought he would really struggle this weekend. Valentino Rossi comes

back. The whole of the 76,000 people are mortified. Everybody will leave.

We will get out of the car park. Rossi was quite confident yesterday.

He said he knew he had a better race pace than qualifying pace. As we

heard before the race, he always struggles to come to terms with

these new superfast qualifying sessions. We have been spoiled here.

We haven't been spoiled, in fact. Rossi did not get an exceptionally

good start. That is one of the problems. Another variable we have

got is 93, Marquez. I didn't see him coming! The variable is Marquez. He

must be black and blue. He could get sore and tired. Pedrosa chasing

Lorenzo. Just about to get up to 215 mph. He has got the inside line.

What Pedrosa has got to do is get further along side. It will depend

on the grip on the tyres. Clearly at the moment, Jorge Lorenzo, he has

got to have the grip on the tyres to be able to punch it out of those

corners. Bridgestone have come up with a slightly different tyre this

weekend. They have gone for the softer rear option. It has got a

heap restrictor on it. It stops as much heat getting through. It is

extraordinary. It is worth explaining, Steve, it is not only

lean angle and driving out of corners. The centre of the targets

extremely hot over that distance. You have got 240 horsepower. The

faster it gets, the harder it becomes. The LCR on the crosses the

line. 18 laps remaining. -- thunder. Bradl is into fifth from where he

started. It goes to your point about the Ducati having speed but not

durability. That is what they have been constantly trying to work with.

He will be hiding, I think. I don't think it was his fault. He is saying

that Rossi stood up on him. We will have a few different angles. Either

way, it was a high-speed impact. We are lucky they are both walking.

crowd will certainly blame him. yes, he will need to start

tunnelling now! It is a question of whether Marquez gets more

uncomfortable as the race goes on, with the number of injuries he is

carrying. Espargaro in eighth place, really concentrating here. He is

trying to get a better, straight drive on the straight to see a

better, straight drive on the straight juicy see if he can

dispatch Lorenzo. A little bit deeper that time. Maybe he can carry

more speed that way. Lorenzo is incredibly fast around that corner.

A pretty good effort. Still not close enough. He has got it covered

off in case Marquez has a sniff. Dani Pedrosa is thinking flat out

how to get past Lorenzo and how to defend from his team-mate. He has

been mauled by Marquez before, as we know. Crutchlow, his last lap was

almost the looks like they have closed him down again. As a writer,

clean air is more pleasant to be riding in but not the fastest. It is

quite interesting, talking about Yamaha signing up. I think they

should be looking at this lad. Espargaro Osman brother is actually

not quite himself at the moment. We shall see. This Yamaha rider has got

a lot on his plate. Chased by Danny Pedrosa. It is a terrible

predicament. When you're doing everything you can, you cannot

afford to make mistakes. You just have two keep nailing lap after lap.

And if someone is faster than you down the straight it wears you down.

This is what we were expecting. We know how fast Jorge Lorenzo is, how

consistent. Let us take another close look. There is the situation.

Valentino Rossi being circled. It looked to me like Alvaro Bautista.

It was two people trying for the same piece of line, basically.

Valentino got a better run out on the previous left. There will be a

stand-off. There will be a little chat! I would put a blanket over my

head when I am driving out tonight, if I was Bautista. Valentino was

further up. On the outside of the track. That was the trouble. Anyway,

the main thing is they are both OK. That could have been a real problem

for one person or the other. It could have been deeply unpleasant.

Valentino was fired into the fence pretty hard. But did a pretty good

job as well. Bradley Smith, talk about the walking wounded, he is

ten. Man. . Dani Pedrosa has set the fastest lap of the race. He has been

the fastest guy on the circuit. Andrea Iannone is carrying injury.

Not from this weekend. He carries a portfolio of injuries within most of

the time. He is recovering from surgery for this and that. He is

getting quicker all the time. Followed by Randy De Puniet. Pirro

on the bike that should really be the test bike. Basically, it is an

experimental machine. They keep messing around with chassis is and

all kinds of things, trying to work out how they can get one of these

factory machines to last the race distance. That is all to do with

tyre grip, suspension, weight distribution. When you can work out

exactly what you want, which is what hand and Yamaha fan, you have a

competitive bike. -- Honda. front guys are doing 48.3. Dovizioso

Hayden are doing 49.2. That is the difference. When you think that

Dovizioso most certainly was able to get on the front row of the great

and now qualify, it shows the point you are making. How the Times open

up once the race gets underway. They cannot keep the pick -- the quick

pace. The tyres get worn and probably lose their optimum grip. It

is also about the fuel load. Suspension changes. You cannot have

it constant all the way through. All of these things happen. These things

happen indeed. What happened with Alvaro? Valentino coming back to the

box very angry. What is your view of what happened? In that corner, I

just took the left corner inside. I found Valentino's bike. We crashed.

I did not see nothing. When I went to enter the other corner, I felt

Valentino's bike. I fall down. luck.

Yes, there will be an investigation. It will probably finish up as a

racing incident. He would not have seen anything of the Valentino's

bike. Valentino went for the inside. It looks to me like they were pretty

much side-by-side. If he could have gone further in front, Bautista

would have seen him. But whatever happens, it will not be Valentino's

fault in Mugello. No. Of that there is no doubt. The first signs of a

tiny gap opening up between Dani Pedrosa and Marquez. The tiniest

amount. We are riding with Lorenzo. This camera is sensational. I know a

rider has got to become audible. But it looks like you could take half an

inch out of the waste of those leathers. Fashion tips from Steve,

who would have thought it? ! Lorenzo again doing a stupendous job. Dani

Pedrosa has an issue. If he makes wild lunge to pass, there will be a

certain Mr Marquez. If he goes wide, he has to think about that

situation. Pedrosa leads Marquez in the championship by six points.

Lorenzo is back on 66 points. He needs to win. He knows he needs to

win. Yaman knows -- Yaman know he needs to win. We have heard

Lorenzo's side of the story. Very disappointing. What has he said

about the crash? I have not spoken to him yet. He had a lot of people

around him. Obviously they came together between turn to and turn

three. Where do you think the fault lies? I have no idea.Very

disappointing. Bad luck. That was Jeremy Burgess, Rossi's

crew chief. Marvellous blokey is, too. Always the diplomat. It will

never be resolved. It was two motorbikes looking for the best

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piece of tarmac. Huge Lorenzo has got half a second over

Dani Pedrosa. We were just at the halfway distance. -- we are.

Lorenzo's lap times have been consistent. He is still about seven

kilometres slower than the straight. I'm sure that Marc Marquez, he

almost certainly will be having a go before the end of this race. How

does he do it? He comes here. He doesn't know the track. Second

session out, he pummels himself. And he is all beaten up. He has a

bandage on his chin. His shoulder is strapped up. Apart from qualifying,

Pedrosa might suddenly be riding out of grip. We know that Lorenzo is Mr

consistency. Let's not forget that Lorenzo has won here in the last two

years. He is no slouch. Two years ago when he won, it was being led by

Casey Stoner. He ran out of tyres. Have a look at the line that Pedrosa

is trying to ride and not holding. And Marquez is. It is a tired

circuit. And we know, looking at Marc Marquez's style, he uses his

body weight more. That is the breather. It would be such a sigh of

relief. Lets watch them across the strike. 47.929. He is 1.2 seconds in

front of Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa has slowed. Lorenzo has increased the

pace simultaneously. Where did he find that? He realised he had a

little bit of a lead. Took a deep breath, Dublin. Jorge Lorenzo,

wonderful performance. I reckon that 93, Marc Marquez, the young

pretender, the rookie, was soon passed any patrols. He looks like he

is being held up. 47.9. Pole position was 47.1. That is a big

lap. Only ten laps remaining. All of a sudden, the Renzo has put the

hammer down. The difficulty is, it looks to me like Dani Pedrosa has a

few problems. The big problem that Marc Marquez has is that he has to

make such a clean move past. He cannot afford to bundle up the

inside of him. Look at that. Running really wide there. Just get it

pulled back in time. He is really in trouble. Is he tired? I don't know.

At the moment it looks like tyres. They have all gone for the softer

option rear tyre because they felt they did not have the initial grip

early on. Marc Marquez looks to be in a position now to pass. Do you

remember in Austin, Texas? Marquez got past Pedrosa when Pedrosa had

issues with his arm. You can understand why Marc Marquez... Real

problems there. He is struggling. And bike number 93 can sense it. I

am wondering if it is a tiredness problem. He was not hugely late on

the brakes. He did not break much later than 93. It has got to be a

break issue or a physical issue. Marquez all over the back. Lorenzo

took a second out of patrols on the last lap. Nine laps remaining. He is

still slower than the straight. can see the rear grip issue that

Pedrosa has. Sometimes the tyre wears more if you are physically

worn out as well. You are trying to load up the tire. Look again.

Michele Pirro making a move on SPARC for him, simply the fact that Dani

Pedrosa has some issues. Look at that. I think he consents were

Marquez is. The big problem is that Dani Pedrosa is pretty fast out of

the final corner. Marc Marquez is having to use all of the slipstream

just to catch up. This is not much fun for the locals, three Spaniards

fighting over the rostrum. No. And the young pretender in third

position. Marc Marquez, having already won one of the grand prix is

this year. Two pole positions, two fastest laps. That will be focusing!

Those tyres are dirty. He will not want to write here again. That

corner will just haunt him. Bradley Smith still circulating in 10th

place. If they finish in these positions, it still will mean that

Dani Pedrosa will continue to lead the championship with Mark is

second. If it was to be turned around, it would still be that

position. Marquez looks like he is being held Here we go. Nicky Hayden

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put in a move on there. It is always a sign of a rear tyre issue, that.

Seven laps remaining. He still has a margin of three seconds over Randy

De Puniet who is the next guy down the track. It has been quite a link

time for Jorge Lorenzo. He was third in Spain. But Crutchlow is

consistent at the moment. Marc Marquez trying to negotiate his way

around his team-mate. But great stuff from Crutchlow. Marc Marquez

there, in front of him is Pedrosa. He really is in the slipstream. He

is having a think about it. I think he is still trying to build his

confidence in that braking area. It will take a long time for him to

build his confidence. I am not sure it will happen this weekend. That

was as close as you like. Dani has all kinds of problems. The main

problem is that bike right behind him. Almost alongside him.Here he

goes. Is he close enough? Not quite. Pedrosa slams the door is shut.

Almost touching. That is as close as you can get without being rude. Marc

Marquez, undoubtedly it is going through his head, if I clean up Dani

Pedrosa and hand the lead to Jorge Lorenzo, I will need to look for

another manufacturer. It does not bear thinking about. Lorenzo much

closer. Crutchlow last time around was still faster than both of the

Honda machines in front of him. Mark Marquez good lap at least half a

second faster if he could get through. Here we go again.He is

having a think. Pedrosa right on the limit of adhesion. Marquez all over

will stop no good being fast for someone in the middle of the corner,

you have got to get the run coming out. Dani wisely slowing the bike

down to be able to fire it out on the exit. What a move! Just got it

back. Then slams the door shut again. A superb move down into

Casanova corner. Here we go again. Died down the inside, a beautiful

move. A really smart move. And a clean one, that was the beauty of

it. Now he has got clear track in front of him. Can Cal Crutchlow do

anything about Dani Pedrosa? Four laps remaining after the cross.

There is his gap to Pedrosa, it is falling. It is lower again as we

crossed the line. It does not seem possible unless Dani has some real

problems. We're not sure if it is a physical factor. We will not know

until we talk to him. Still going on for fifth place. Dovizioso now in

front of Nicky Hayden but they are a match for each other. Cal

Crutchlow? His last lap times there. Dovizioso just sliding back. He

might be able to get on terms with Stefan Bradl. Stefan Bradl currently

11th in the championship. He has had two crashes this year and cannot

afford to have another one this season. Man and machine in harmony.

Staring out in front. This suspension working away. Everything

absolutely as one. That gap is now five seconds. Crutchlow again takes

out a big chunk. Has he got it right? Has he managed to calculate

it right? I do not think he has. That is the time to catch. There is

the board coming out for Dani Pedrosa. Plus one second. Just

making sure that he knows that Crutchlow is homing in on him.

a very good ride nonetheless. not believe it! You can see what he

is thinking. How did I do that? You know what this means? Podium for

Crutchlow. And Marc Marquez has made it four sessions, for crashes. He is

so cross with himself. He lost the front going into the corner. He

knows it is a massive mistake. Casanova. Lost the front. The whole

thing just went from underneath him. And he is just lying there knowing

that his championship position is going back to Jorge Lorenzo. And he

is wearing. Well he was not hurt it would appear, thank goodness. But

that will put a wry smile on the face of Jorge Lorenzo. There is the

gap. 1.7. Really reading him in. Three or four laps and he would be

on the back of Dani Pedrosa. last lap. It would appear it is not

quite enough. Unless there are real problems for Dani Pedrosa. This is

on board with That is the Bradley Smith corner. He has cost Honda a

lot of money over the weekend. When he keeps it together he is fast. He

will be cross now but will come back as hard and fast as ever before.

have a look at the championship points. Dani Pedrosa sigh of relief.

It will be a lot better for him. The gap between him and Lorenzo will

shrink by five. Another three laps and Crutchlow would have been on the

rear wheel of that Repsol Honda. Across the stripe we go. Dovizioso

trying everything to get past bike number six. Stefan Bradl on the

Honda. The home Grand Prix for Ducati. Copybook ride. Jorge

Lorenzo. The 35-year-old. This will make his 25th MotoGP win. One more

than Dani Pedrosa. They are level at the minute at 24 apiece. A solid

podium finish from the man from the Isle of Man. Just eased his way past

Stefan Bradl. Across the line we go. And job done for Jorge Lorenzo.

Winning three in a row in Italy. Dani Pedrosa second place. And Carol

Crutchlow, another podium. Excellent stuff from him. He came from a long

way back. Stefan Bradl just in front of Dovizioso. A happy Yamaha camp.

Two wins now this season for Jorge Lorenzo. All bunched up with those

championship points. Great stuff then from Espargaro. He will be glad

of a rest. Great for Yamaha. Really pleased for them. They probably had

the fastest rider today. Cal Crutchlow gets that podium. That is

brilliant stuff. The championship closes up. Great from our point of

view. Terrible that, that mistake from Marc Marquez. But it is his

first year. He is just learning to ride this bike. He was just a touch

too fast. Cal Crutchlow, he just gets stronger and stronger, better

and better. Last time out, wet, dodgy conditions. Today, perfect.

Look at the body language here. I want to know what went wrong. This

leaves Dani Pedrosa still leading the championship on 103 points.

Lorenzo closes in by five. He is on 91. Marquez is still stuck on 77

points. Cal Crutchlow is only six adrift. Slowly going into that

corner. The trickiest corner on the circuit. Forget the bike, what about

the points? ! OK, this guy, Steve. He is so relieved. There was some

pressure. It was building. What a performance. What a performance

indeed. Not only from Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow, but the

Ducati bikes did not do a bad job. That was as good as they could have

expected. No Ben Spies today. We hope to see you in Barcelona.

hope to be back as soon as I can. We came here with the full intention to

put a good race on. After the first day, I quickly realised there was no

way. It wasn't safe for me to be back on the bike. I need more time

and I need more work. It is a shame to say it, but that is all we can

to say it, but that is all we can do. Put on 100% and come back 100%.

Your loss is our gain today because we can use you as an expert race

analyst. What you make of the start of the race? Alfaro was on the

inside. Your head is on the left side of the bike. I don't think he

knew that Valentino was on the outside. He was a little aggressive

entering the turn. Valentino was on the outside and he was coming back a

little bit to set up for the right-hander. It was a complete

racing accident, in my opinion. Bautista may have been a little bit

more because the accident. To me, a racing accident. I don't think

anybody will be fined. It was a shame it was that early in the race

and fur Valentino in his home race. I don't think anybody will be

penalised. Nobody was penalised after her rows. You would not

imagine it would happen here. -- Jerez. I was watching and I thought

Marquez did a really good job after the weekend he had. Once Lorenzo

pulled away, it was basically a race between him and Pedrosa. I could see

that he was trying to stay calm. Today we have seen hot tempered just

than we had all we can. I knew the tyres would come into play more than

they have. It was maybe just a lack of experience. He just lost the

front tyre. A little greasy. Could be a rookie mistake. But also, a lot

of the older boys -- dies an attack could have done the same thing. I

would not say it was a complete rookie mistake. He did a good race.

The kid is trying hard. He does not know when to say no and 20 stay

calm. He did a great race and it is unfortunate for the championship.

Thankfully, it did not happen to Cal Crutchlow today.

Congratulations. It is becoming a regular fixture here. You just told

me you saw the crash in front of you, you knew you were on the

podium. What was that feeling? I hate to get gifts. I like to work

for it. If I kept going anywhere, I think I would have been able to

catch Dani Pedrosa and been on the podium. As soon as I saw the crash,

I eased up. We did a good job this weekend. I have been suffering with

allergy and not feeling too good. We crashed yesterday. What a great way

to bounce back in these conditions. Thank you. We're not really

comfortable at the moment. We made a big improvement on the turn one.

Thanks to Yamaha, things are quite tough at the moment. We have got a

lot of guys fighting our corner. We have just proved that we are capable

of challenging at the front. Congratulations. Thanks, guys.That

was a useful afternoon. Dani Pedrosa. He will be breathing a sigh

of relief. Obviously great that you are on the

podium. What happened? You seemed to be struggling? Yes, it was not my

day today. We had many problems with the new shoulder in this tyre. We

could not get the grip. We had to set out the bike in a different way

to be fast. In the race, the bike was moving a lot towards the middle.

In the corners, we were faster. Marquez was behind all the race.

Finally, he made the move. I was tired. I changed direction towards

the end. It was a little difficult at the end. Fortunately, we are

second today on a day when we were not really expecting to do our best.

It is good for the team. Congratulations. Good for the team

indeed. Very good for Dani Pedrosa as well.

Lorenzo has taken five points out of him. But chose to Leeds. -- Pedrosa

Valentino Rossi. That is worse than last year. Not better. Stefan Bradl

didn't do himself any harm. Espargaro is leading the charge in

10th place. Great stuff from him on a CRT bike. The front is the key.

Dani Pedrosa, 103. Lorenzo 12 points back.

Jorge Lorenzo, he was not gifted this. He won it. Probably fair to

say there was a lot of pressure I knew coming into this weekend to

take a win. You were superb all weekend. A stunning win? You always

have pressure. I knew I was doing my best in every race. Sometimes your

performance during the year does not depend on you. We keep on working.

We feel much better even with the hotter conditions in the race.

Anyway, I tried on every lap to open the little gap that I needed.

Finally, in the last 15, I could do it. Danny said, OK, this race is

over. Congratulations.Thank you. Impressive performance from Jorge

Lorenzo. Most of the crowd, as usual here, for Valentino Rossi. For the

past couple of years he has had to satiate the crowd. They will be

disappointed today and so will Valentino. Terrible shame? Yes, it

was. He has won six or seven in a role in the past. He had a really

good shot. I think you have a lot of pressure on him to show that he can

run up front. He had a good shot to get on the podium. It is a shame

that he did not even get to show what he could do. It was a racing

accident. He has still got plenty of fans rooting for him in the

background. That will never go away. It was a great race today.

Unfortunate for him. How do you rate the performance of Jorge Lorenzo at

the front? He really showed there is life in Yamaha yet. His performance

would have been ten out of ten. He led the race, he set the pace. He

made Pedrosa work. Once he saw that he had Pedrosa on the ropes, he

knocked three tenths of his lap time. He had the race totally under

control the whole time. He knew what he needed to do. He shook the

Championship up. He is back in it's completely now. -- he is back in it

completely now. Marquez is a rookie. He has been doing

incredible. It is unfortunately made the mistake today. He is so young,

everybody has got to cut him a little bit of slack and not try to

get so much out of him. He will come back. He still has a shot at the

championship. It is clearly patrols and Lorenzo championship battle.

quick word for Cal Crutchlow, impressive? Really impressive. I

thought he could do it. I thought he needed to be closer in the

beginning. Even yesterday, to get the drag down the straight. He got

held up a little bit on the first lap. If that wouldn't have

happened, with how patrols are faded and how he came on, he definitely

would have been in second place. -- Pedrosa. To podium places. The guy

is riding incredible. Hopefully he can get some more help.

Thank you very much. All the best with your recovery. We will see you

soon. Thank you. It is Cal Crutchlow on the podium.

How about that? Lin Jarvis, the Yamaha bass. He will be relieved.

Honda have been whipping Yamaha for quite awhile. Little bit of

breathing space for him. Another win for Yamaha. Honda are still the guys

to beat. Dani Pedrosa leading the championship. Lorenzo much closer

than he was. This is Lorenzo's third win here in succession. They are

still celebrating. They always do a pitch invasion here. Even though

their hero is not here. The British hero is. Lorenzo, Pedrosa,

Crutchlow. What a podium. Who would have thought it?

Back-to-back podium finishes for Cal Crutchlow and a second victory of

the season for Jorge Lorenzo. 12 points between him and Dani Pedrosa