Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo won his third race on home soil this season at the Aragon Grand Prix to cut the gap on Yahama teammate Valentino Rossi in the fight for the world championship to just 14 points.
Rossi finished third as he failed to get passed Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, despite a series of attempts.
However, defending world champion Marc Marquez’s hopes of a third consecutive title are all but over after he crashed out on the second lap.
For Marquez to clinch the title he would have to win each of the final four races, and Rossi and Lorenzo to hit a run of poor form.
Marquez started on pole at his favorite race after setting a blistering new track record in qualifying.
However, he had already been overtaken by Lorenzo by the time he pushed too hard on the second lap and was unable to get his bike going again after running into the gravel.
“As always I made a good start, so my strategy was to ride at the maximum,” Lorenzo said. “I think it worked well because Marquez was at the limit to try and follow me. On the second lap I think he recovered some of the gap, but I didn’t expect him to crash. When I saw that he had crashed I could breathe more deeply. Anyway I had Dani at between 2.7 and 3 seconds, but I couldn’t open a bigger gap. I really needed to push all the race to keep this distance.”
Lorenzo was then allowed to ride easily to his sixth win of the season with the real action taking place behind him as Pedrosa bravely held off Rossi.
The Italian passed Pedrosa on five occasions, but each time the Spaniard was able to respond immediately to prevent Rossi picking up an vital extra four points in the title race.
“It was really hard to focus on keeping the lap time, but also closing the door because Vale was faster on many corners,” Pedrosa said. “I tried to fight, I tried to stay in front because I knew that was the key, finish second. In the end, it was a good battle because I don’t know how many times we overtook each other, but it was nice to race to the end and finish second today.”
Nine-time world champion Rossi has not won a world title since 2009 and he was left to lament what could be an important four points lost come the final Grand Prix of the season in Valencia in November.
“I tried everything, but unfortunately Dani was able to overtake me in the next corner. After I would try another time, but he was always able to come back,” Rossi said.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Monday wobbled through a 28-pitch first inning at home against the San Diego Padres in his first appearance on the mound since August 2023. Scheduled to throw as many as two innings, Ohtani went a single frame while allowing one run on two hits. He did not issue a walk nor strike out a batter. “Not quite happy with the results overall, but the takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing,” Ohtani said of his pitching performance. Ohtani still wound up with a positive impact
RSS