Mugello: Marquez defends: Better Petrucci than Dovi…
Marc Marquez held fire on a victory 🅷lunge agaiꦰnst Danilo Petrucci at Mugello, to ensure he beat MotoGP title rival Andrea Dovizioso.
The trio, plus Suzuki's Alex Rins, were nose-to-ta🤡il on the final lap in Italy, after Petrucci swept under Ducati team-mate Dovizioso and Hond🔥a's Marquez to retake the lead at turn one.
While close enough to tr🍰y and make one of his famous last-lap attacks, the Repsol Honda starᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ instead switched to defence mode.
Marc 🌊Marquez held fire on a victory lunge against Danilo Petrucci at Mugello, to ensure he beat MotoGP title rival Andಞrea Dovizioso.
The trio, plus Suzuki's Alex Rins, were nose-to-tail on the final lap in Italy, after Pet🌞rucci swept under Ducati team-mate Dovizioso and Honda's Marquez to retake the lead at turn one.
While close enough to try and make one o𝓀f his famous last-lap attacks, t🥃he Repsol Honda star instead switched to defence mode.
"When I saw Danilo was first, me second and Dovi third [after the turn one pass on the last lap], I said, 'okay, I will not try. I will just defend'," Marquez sꦉaid.
"Because if I try and we bo🐭th go wide, Dovi would win the race and then it’s worse for the championship.
"So for that reason, I ♓just stayed behind Danilo. I only tried at the end with the slipstream, but I knew it was♓ very difficult."
Last lap of the and is꧂ on your tail? What do YOU do?
— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP)
The reigning five-time MotoGP champion finished a mere 0.043s from Petrucci fo🦋r only his seco🌃nd on-track defeat of the season, after losing to Dovizioso in Qatar.
But𝓀 Marquez's patience ensured he extended his world championship lead over Dovi (+0.338s) from eight to twelve points, at his and Honda's worst c🥃ircuit.
"I'm happy because in our wor♑st race we finished second and got 20 points," said the Spaniard, who qualified on pole position.
"I tried in the beginning to use my pace but I had two small moments and said, 'today is not the day [to escape].⭕ I ಌwill follow and try on the last lap'.
"Also yesterday, if you check, I did the fastest lap with the medium front tyre. I felt much better with the medium front, but for the race this ꧃tyre was impossible for me🍷.
"So I chose t💧he hard tyre that I knew I would struggle with more, and was slower, but it was the o﷽nly option to finish the race.
"The 🅰most important thing [for the championship] is that when we struggle and we don’t have the feeling, we are able to finish in second place, 43 milliseconds behind.
"We are there al൩l the time, in all the conditions."
Dovizioso is the only rider within one race win (25 points) of Marquez, with Rins - who completꦑed a top-four covered by 0.535s on Sunday - now 27 points adrift.
LCR's Takaaki Nakagami was the next best Honda 🤪in fifth, with Marquez's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finishing in 13th place.
Peter has bee𓆉n in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
