After securing a win in the French Grand Prix, Yamaha's world champion rider Jorge Lorenzo clinched a thrilling victory in the Italian GP as well. The Spaniard overtook Honda's Marc Marquez just metres before the finishing line to emerge victorious in the Italian GP on Sunday.
Fans at the stands were rooting for their home hero Valentino Rossi, but he retired early from the race with a mechanical problem. Rossi, who started from pole position, retired after 12 laps and the nine-time world champion made way for his Yamaha teammate to secure his third win of the season.
The Italian GP was indeed gripping, as it kept the fans on the edge of the seats right till the end of the race. Marquez went ahead of Lorenzo at the start of the final lap, but the Yamaha rider made sure he overtook the former just before the finishing line.
After the Italian GP win, Lorenzo has a 10-point lead over Honda's Marquez in the championship standings.
"The pace was not very fast, so I couldn't escape like I wanted to. I used up a lot of energy to stay in the lead during the race and I thought that Marquez had more energy when he passed me, so I just wanted to stay in second place and take the points," Lorenzo was quoted as saying by AFP after the win.
"I tried a crazy move, and my bike was quite fast, so I could take the win off Marquez and I won this unexpected victory."
Ducati rider Andrea Iannone finished third at the Mugello Circuit on Sunday. The Italian had finished just two races before this, and to everyone's surprise he came back well after a poor start to secure a podium finish.
"I am a bit disappointed. The clutch slipped and the bike started with a big wheelie. The podium in Italy is very good but I had the potential to fight for the victory," Iannone said.
The riders will now head to Circuit de Barcelona in Spain for the next race of the ongoing MotoGP season.
Here is the championship standings after the Italian GP:
Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
1 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | SPA | 115 |
2 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | SPA | 105 |
3 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | ITA | 78 |
4 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 66 |
5 | Maverick VIÑALES | Suzuki | SPA | 59 |
6 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Suzuki | SPA | 49 |
7 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | SPA | 48 |
8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 43 |
9 | Andrea IANNONE | Ducati | ITA | 41 |
10 | Eugene LAVERTY | Ducati | IRL | 36 |
11 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | ITA | 34 |
12 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | GBR | 29 |
13 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia | GER | 25 |
14 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia | SPA | 21 |
15 | Michele PIRRO | Ducati | ITA | 18 |
16 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | ITA | 17 |
17 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | GBR | 16 |
18 | Tito RABAT | Honda | SPA | 11 |
19 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | GBR | 10 |
20 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | FRA | 8 |
21 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | COL | 3 |
22 | Jack MILLER | Honda | AUS | 2 |