MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso puts on a spectacle to win Misano GP, Lorenzo crashes

Factory Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso put up a brilliant show to win the Misano GP. Dovizioso secured the third win of the season and his first in Misano. Unfortunately, Ducati missed out on winning the first two positions on the podium as his teammate Jorge Lorenzo crashed out in the penultimate lap. It was Ducati's first win in Misano in 11 years.

Starting from the second position on the grid, Ducati Pramac rider Jack Miller suffered an early crash and finished 18th in the standings.

After starting from the fourth spot on the grid and taking an early lead, Dovizioso pulled himself ahead of his adversaries. However, Lorenzo advanced in the final few laps to minimize the lead but he crashed and Dovizioso finished the race with a healthy lead. With his win at Misano, the 32-year-old went past Valentino Rossi on the championship standings. He now sits second on the list with 154 points behind championship leader Marc Marquez.

Valentino Rossi had an unimpressive weekend. After failing to secure a good position in qualifying, he finished 7th and slipped to the third position on the championship standings.

In the qualifying yesterday, Marquez suffered a mechanical failure and could only manage the 5th spot on the grid. Today, he engaged in the battle for the second position with Lorenzo that eventually ended when the latter crashed. He finished second to take 20 points in the race.

LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow was cruising in the fourth spot until Lorenzo crashed and eventually ended on the podium. He was followed by the Spaniards Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Maverick Vinales (Factory Yamaha) in fourth and fifth place.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) finished ahead of Rossi at the 6th place. Andrea Iannone, Alvaro Bautista, and Johann Zarco rounded off the top 10.

Ducati Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci was handed a 1.1-second penalty for cutting a corner on his way to 11th, ahead of MRC VDS rider Franco Morbedilli and LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami.

After crashing, Lorenzo finished 17th.

MotoGP will now return with the Grand Prix in Aragon on September 23rd.

Race Results

#SanMarinoGP - Race Results5th - @maverickmack25 7th - @ValeYellow46 #MovistarYamaha | #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/hZd9pyXfPF

— Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) September 9, 2018