2012 San Marino Grand Prix
Spoiler Alert: 2012 MotoGP results from Misano listed below
The 2012 San Marino Grand Prix was a dramatic affair for many riders Sunday at Misano, round 13 of the 2012 MotoGP Championship.
The race was loaded with crashes, causing DNFs for Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, Speed Master CRT’s Mattia Pasini, Pramac Racing Ducati’s Hector Barbera, and the man second in points, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa. Two other riders failed to finish due to motorcycle issues – Power Electronics CRT’s Aleix Espargaro and Cardion AB Ducati’s Karel Abraham.
It was also dramatic for Yamaha Facotry Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, though his drama was positive. The Spaniard took his sixth win of 2012 MotoGP at Misano, helping him extend his lead against the man who crashed out, Pedrosa, by 38 points.
Joining Lorenzo on the podium were Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista; Lorenzo would finish 4.398 seconds ahead of Rossi, the Italian having his best finish of the year at Misano. Bautista would finish 6.055 seconds behind Lorenzo.
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “It’s been a very tough weekend because Dani and I have been very close in the qualifying and the warm up. Unfortunately today he had really bad luck, first with the lights at the beginning of the race and then Hector took him out. This was really unfortunate for him.
“In Holland we were unlucky and today he was unlucky, anything can happen in these races. We have to be happy with our result and the point advantage we now have, for sure we are much more calm now than before the race! The race was difficult for everyone, only having qualifying was not enough when you have to set up the chassis and electronics and everything for the race. It was hotter during the race so there was less grip too. I almost crashed in turn one but managed to save it too!”
The race began with problems when Abraham’s Ducati GP12 had some bike issues. This prompted a restart, officials shortening the race to 27 laps.
Pedrosa then suffered some mechanical issues, and due to not getting the bike to restart in time, he started from back of the grid. But things only got worse…a few laps into the race, Barbera’s front wheel hit Pedrosa, causing a crash. Afterwards, an apologetic Barberá cited missing his braking marker as the reason he locked up his front wheel, causing him to slide into Pedrosa.
Up front, Lorenzo had nothing but clear track ahead, and immediately began opening a gap of the field. Behind was Rossi and LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. More drama began, as Pasini and Crutchlow both crashed out of the race on the opening laps.
Meanwhile, Crutchlow’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso was in fourth, sticking with Bradl, and Bautista moved pass Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies for fifth. As Lorenzo continued to pull away, Rossi was working at keeping his Ducati GP12 ahead of Bradl.
With 12 laps remaining, Bautista caught up to Dovizioso, and made a pass to take fourth. Baustia kept pushing, and made quick work of Bradl for the final podium spot. Behind the Spaniard, Bradl, Dovizioso and Spies were all closing in with seven laps to go to battle it out for third spot.
With three laps to go Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró was
forced to retire from the race, as Dovizioso and Spies had made their
was past Bradl. Dovizioso would battle intensley with Bautista, but
could not get pass.
Lorenzo would take the checkered flag, followed by Rossi and Bautstia,
who took his first-ever MotoGP podium after a photo finish with Dovi. In
fifth was Spies, who finished ahead of Bradl and Ducati Team’s Nicky
Hayden. Casey Stoner’s replacement on the Repsol Honda, Jonathan Rea,
finished eight. Rounding out the top ten were Power Electronics Aspar’s
Randy de Puniet and San Carlo’s Michele Pirro.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: “It was a really nice race, and I’m very happy. It’s a great result, which I’d like to dedicate to Sic and his family, Paolo, Rossella, and Martina. I’d also like to thank all the guys who work with me and everyone at Ducati Corse who are giving their best, like me: after two difficult years, we really needed that. I’m very pleased because we did a dry race at a high level, always with a fast pace, and with a limited gap to Lorenzo. We worked well.
“The new frame and swingarm allow us to make more changes to the geometry, and in fact here the feeling with the front was improved and the bike also seemed to be better balanced on acceleration. The setup that we found was also good, as I managed to be fast and consistent for the whole race. It will be important to continue working well and do our best to take the Ducati as high as possible in the next races as well.”
Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V MotoGP) says: “It is always nice to finish on the podium but especially for me today with this being my first in MotoGP. Above all this is a very special weekend for me and the team because our memories of Marco are so strong coming here to the circuit named in his honor.
“After a few tough races we have worked well here and managed to fight for the podium at last. I am so happy for the team and for Marco because I am sure that wherever he is right now he was pushing us along. I could feel his hand on my shoulder today and I realized at the end that my name had come loose from my leathers so you could say it was Marco that was with us today. It has been an extraordinary day and I almost crashed at the start – I picked myself up on my right elbow. I am happy for everybody who has believed in me and I want to dedicate this very special podium also to them.”
With his win, Lorenzo now has 270 points, 38 ahead of Pedrosa with five rounds remaining. Casey Stoner is in third, with a 186 points.
The 2012 MotoGP Championship now breaks for three weeks before heading to Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix.
2012 Misano MotoGP Results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 159.8 | 42’49.836 |
| 2. | 20 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 159.6 | +4.398 |
| 3. | 16 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 159.5 | +6.055 |
| 4. | 13 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 159.5 | +6.058 |
| 5. | 11 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 159.4 | +7.543 |
| 6. | 10 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 159.0 | +13.272 |
| 7. | 9 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 157.3 | +40.907 |
| 8. | 8 | 56 | Jonathan REA | GBR | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 157.2 | +43.162 |
| 9. | 7 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 155.6 | +1’09.627 |
| 10. | 6 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | FTR | 155.4 | +1’13.605 |
| 11. | 5 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 155.2 | +1’16.695 |
| 12. | 4 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 155.1 | +1’19.073 |
| 13. | 3 | 77 | James ELLISON | GBR | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART | 155.1 | +1’19.408 |
| 14. | 2 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | Ioda-Suter | 152.0 | 1 Lap |
| 15. | 1 | 44 | David SALOM | SPA | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 150.7 | 1 Lap |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 155.8 | 4 Laps | ||
| 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 157.7 | 23 Laps | ||
| 54 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Speed Master | ART | 145.5 | 26 Laps | ||
| 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 0 Lap | |||
| 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0 Lap | |||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 0 Lap | |||
2012 MotoGP Championship Points (after 13 of 18 rounds):
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | SPA | 270 |
| 2. | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 232 |
| 3. | Casey STONER | Honda | AUS | 186 |
| 4. | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Yamaha | ITA | 163 |
| 5. | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Yamaha | GBR | 122 |
| 6. | Valentino ROSSI | Ducati | ITA | 120 |
| 7. | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Honda | SPA | 118 |
| 8. | Stefan BRADL | Honda | GER | 115 |
| 9. | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati | USA | 93 |
| 10. | Ben SPIES | Yamaha | USA | 77 |
| 11. | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 60 |
| 12. | Randy DE PUNIET | ART | FRA | 48 |
| 13. | Aleix ESPARGARO | ART | SPA | 45 |
| 14. | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 25 |
| 15. | Yonny HERNANDEZ | BQR | COL | 25 |
| 16. | Michele PIRRO | FTR | ITA | 24 |
| 17. | Colin EDWARDS | Suter | USA | 22 |
| 18. | James ELLISON | ART | GBR | 17 |
| 19. | Mattia PASINI | ART | ITA | 13 |
| 20. | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ioda-Suter | ITA | 11 |
| 21. | Ivan SILVA | BQR | SPA | 11 |
| 22. | Toni ELIAS | Ducati | SPA | 10 |
| 23. | Jonathan REA | Honda | GBR | 8 |
| 24. | Steve RAPP | APR | USA | 2 |
| 25. | David SALOM | BQR | SPA | 1 |
