Italian MotoGP great Valentino Rossi won the San Marino Grand Prix for Yamaha yesterday, while Honda’s runaway championship leader Marc Marquez suffered a rare spill and finished 15th.
The victory at Misano, the circuit nearest to his home, was the first in 15 months for the 35-year-old nine-time world champion and ended Honda’s 100 percent winning record for the season.
Spaniard Marquez, who started on the second row and was chasing a record-equalling 12th victory in 13 races so far this year, lost control of his bike with 19 laps to go with the machine slipping out from beneath him under braking.
The 21-year-old then struggled to get the Honda started again.
Yamaha celebrated a one-two finish with Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, winner at Misano for the past three years, second for the fourth race in a row after starting on pole position. Dani Pedrosa was third.
Rossi’s last win was at Assen in the Netherlands last year and yesterday’s was his 107th in all classes.
Marquez saw his championship lead over Pedrosa cut to 74 points from 89.
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