2015 MotoGP Highlights

Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi claimed the first win of the 2015 MotoGP-E season in Qatar, after an awesome battle with Dovizioso. Movistar Yamaha's Rossi came out on top against the resurgent Ducati GP15's of Dovizioso (2nd 0.174s) and Iannone (3rd 2.250s). Jorge Lorenzo was in 4th (2.707s), with Marc Marquez (7.036s) recovering to gain an incredible fifth position after running wide at turn 1 on the first lap, and having to work his way back through the field from last place.

Marc Marquez stamped his authority on the MotoGP-E World Championship by winning in Austin by more than 2.3 seconds. The reigning MotoGP-E World Champion Marquez sent a message out to the rest of the paddock that he was back after his mishap in Qatar, as he dominated the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, at one point leading by over 5 seconds.

The sun had come out and track temperatures had risen to 37 degrees for the start of the MotoGP-A race at the Termas de Río Hondo. The reigning MotoGP-A World Champion Marc Marquez, along with CWM LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, decided to switch to the hard rear tyre on the grid, unlike Rossi and Lorenzo who both decided to use the extra hard compound rear.

Jorge Lorenzo reclaimed the Circuito de Jerez as 'Lorenzo Land' as he proved to be simply untouchable on his way to his 55th World Championship victory. The Spaniard has dominated throughout the weekend, and continued this during the race as he led from the lights to the flag. His winning margin of 5.576s was an indication of just how much he was in control of the race, as he even had time to salute the fans on his final lap before crossing the line to take the chequered flag. Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez rode valiantly with his broken finger and even managed to hold off a charging Valentino Rossi (11.586s) at the end of the race to claim second. Rossi was 2 seconds behind Marquez with 10 laps to go, and the Spaniard must have had a feeling of déjà vu when his pit board said Rossi had closed the gap to a second with only seven laps left. Unlike in Argentina, he managed to respond to keep the Italian at bay with Rossi eventually crossing the line in third, a further six seconds back, to claim his 200th World Championship podium.

After starting from 3rd position on the grid, the Mallorcan quickly dropped the pack and enjoyed a solitary race to the finish line. Lorenzo shares the podium with team mate Valentino and Andrea Dovizioso in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Marc Marquez started in pole but dropped back as the race got underway. Whatever the issue initially, Marquez typically overcame it and went on to fight an epic battle with Andrea Iannone to claim 4th place, relegating the Italian to 5th. Marquez's team mate Dani Pedrosa crashed in the early stages of the race, but remounted. Even though the Spanish rider had little chance of claiming points, it was vital for him to rejoin the race and test how his injured arm holds up over full race distance.

Jorge Lorenzo was simply untouchable during the race, taking the lead on the first lap, and at times lapping over a second quicker than his rivals, to take a commanding victory. The battle for second place was where the action was, with Ducati Team's Andrea Iannone (5.563s) riding through the pain to finish a second ahead of a hard charging Valentino Rossi in third. Dani Pedrosa crossed the line in fourth, ahead of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3's of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaró in fifth and sixth respectively. Maverick Viñales, Michele Pirro, Danilo Petrucci and his teammate Yonny Hernández completed the top ten. Marc Márquez crashed out with six laps to go while battling with Iannone for second, while Loris Baz took the Open class victory in twelfth.