Marquez launched alongside Lorenzo as soon as the lights went out at the Circuit de Catalunya, and despite having a better run down the straight, Lorenzo didn’t make it easy for his compatriot and soon-to-be teammate. The Honda rider was able to make it stick on the first corner and successfully commandeered the lead of the race, but just one lap later, Lorenzo’s pace proved to be superior and the Ducati’s horsepower earned him the lead once more.
From that moment on it was a qualifying-pace lap after qualifying-pace lap from Lorenzo, who logged more than 23 laps in the one minute, 40-second range. Lorenzo began opening a gap to Marquez, who was coming under threat of the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso who was also being pressured heavily by Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone. Such pressure was eventually too much for Dovi, as the Italian lost control of his Ducati and slid off the track with just 15 laps to go.
At the end of the day, it was a masterful performance by Lorenzo, who will surely use this victory over Marquez as psychological warfare against his future teammate at Honda. The MotoGP circus now heads to the Netherlands for the Grand Prix of Assen on July 1.
Source: The Drive. Image Getty