MotoGP Argentina – Crutchlow was the best in a bizarre race

Even after several hours after the MotoGP finished with a fantastic win for Cal Crutchlow, it’s still hard to write anything about the Argentina GP! From start to finish there was drama, clashes, aggressive riding, some crashes, and lots of emotion right until the checkered flag.

But let’s start with the beginning.

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) gambled again just like he did in qualifying and chose slick tires for the race, and again, he was the only one to do it. Every other rider in MotoGP, even though the track was mostly dry with some damp patches in some corners, chose rain tires, and when it was time to form the grid everyone except Miller decided to return to the pit to change tires to slicks.

Miller, in disbelief, had to wait on the grid for his opponents to return and some 20 minutes later than it was supposed everyone was on the grid again. This time though, Race Direction decided to penalize everyone except Jack Miller with a 12 position grid penalty, and so the young Australian had a 3 row gap between himself and the rest of the field.

Then, when everything was almost ready, Marc Marquez lets the engine on his Repsol Honda shut down. He then tries to push the bike for a few meters and manages to get the engine working again, but instead of going to the pits and start the race from the pit lane, he rides his bike back to the spot where he was supposed to. And that was the beginning of a dramatic line of events for the champion.

The lights go off and Miller stays in command, but Marquez quickly gains positions and after a brief moment behind the Ducati rider, the Spanish makes the pass to first.

Race Direction had to intervene though, and penalized Marc Marquez with a ride through because of his move on the grid, so the Honda rider lost the lead almost as fast as he got it. He then returned to the race in 19th position, but with his rhythm, he was surely able to get back on the top positions.

In front of the race, Miller had to face off Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki), Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda).

The four riders remained a group for most of the time, with Rins trying to get the lead a few times, Miller making a few mistakes running wide, while Zarco and Crutchlow remained focused on getting the best from the tricky situation.

Eventually Miller made a fatal mistake in the final laps, and by that moment Crutchlow already was in second to take the lead from the Australian, which dropped to fourth behind Zarco and Rins. Zarco still tried to get the win until the last moment, but Crutchlow took it easy and closed all the doors that the Tech3 rider could take to make the pass.

In the end Cal Crutchlow won in Termas de Rio Hondo, closely followed by Johann Zarco, Alex Rins and Jack Miller. Top 5 was completed – although briefly – with the presence of Marc Marquez, who in the last moment managed to pass Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha) to reach that spot.

Today also marked the 750th win for Honda at World Grand Prix level.

But Marquez was on a different race than everyone else. And Race Direction decided to, again, take some action against the Spanish rider.

During his battle to be back at the front, Marc Marquez had some harsh moves: Aleix Espargaró (Gresini Aprilia) was the first one to see Marquez being a little too aggressive, then it was Thomas Luthi (Marc VDS Honda) who also had some contact with Marquez, and when the race was in the final 5 laps, Marc Marquez reached the back of Valentino Rossi in sixth.

Marquez was clearly faster than everyone on track, almost one second faster than Rossi at that moment, but that didn’t stop the champion to push the limits and at Turn 13, which was still damp, Marquez tried to pass where there was no space at all. Rossi closed the inside line perfectly, and Marquez just tried to push his way on the inside of the Yamaha rider.

The two touched, went off the line to the damp section of Turn 13, and Rossi was unable to avoid the grass, and fell, while Marquez managed to continue his race to the end.

Even as Marquez was crossing the line, Race Direction handed him a 30 second penalty, so not only he lost the fifth place, but he also got no points because he dropped to 18th position on the final standings, a place in front of Rossi who still returned to track and cross the line.

But things didn’t end there!

When Rossi was already at the Movistar Yamaha pit, Marc Marquez and some Repsol Honda team members decided to go to the Yamaha garage to apologize. Rossi wasn’t there at the moment Marquez arrives, but Uccio, Rossi’s best friend, was there and had some harsh words for Marquez when the Spaniard and his team members tried to insist to talk to Rossi.

For sure this won’t end up here, and in Austin, Texas, where MotoGP has the third round of the season, for sure things will be pretty tense between the two riders.

Far away from all the mess that was happening with Marc Marquez, Malaysian star rider Hafizh Syahrin took his Yamaha M1 to another incredible result!

Syahrin, who started from 23rd position on the grid, made an incredible race in Termas de Rio Hondo and crossed the line in 9th, which now stands as his best ever result in MotoGP, the best result for a Malaysian rider in MotoGP, and gets him another 7 points to his personal account.

Hafizh Syahrin is now tied in point with Dani Pedrosa in MotoGP standings, with 9 points each. The standings are now led by Cal Crutchlow with a total of 38 points, followed by Andrea Dovizioso – the Ducati Factory rider had a tough weekend – with 35, and Johann Zarco is third with 28 points.

In Moto2, it was a tough battle for the win, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) avoiding mistakes and fending off the attacks of Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM), with these two finishing in second and third position respectively.

As for the Malaysian riders, Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (SIC Racing Team), they had a tough mission because in qualifying they couldn’t get the best positions and so they started in the back of the field.

They finished, respectively, in 24 and 26th position.

In Moto3 it was Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP KTM) who showed to be the strongest in Termas de Rio Hondo, with the young Italian winning a Moto3 race for the first time in his career. Bezzecchi crossed the line with almost five seconds advantage to Aaron Canet (Estrella Galicia Honda) and the lower spot on the podium went to Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3).

Fighting for the win was Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing).

The young Malaysian was right there with the lead group, but he couldn’t keep contact with the first four until the end, so Norrodin crossed the line in fifth, another excellent result for the rising star from Malaysia.