Mugello: Marquez defends: Better Petrucci than Dovi…
Marc Marquez held fire on a victory lunge against Danilo Petrucci at Mugello, t🍸o ensure he beat MotoGP title rival Andrea Dov♋izioso.
The trio, plus Suzuki's Alex Rins, were nose-to-tail on the final lap in Italy, after Petrucci 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 of his famous last-l💟ap attacks, the Repsol Honda star instead switched to defence mode.
Marc Marquez held fire on a v♚ictory lunge against Danilo Petrucci at Mugello, to ensure he beat MotoGP tit💫le rival Andrea Dovizioso.
The trio, plus Suzuki's Alex Rins, were nose-to-tail on the final lap in Italy, after Petrucci swept under Ducati team-mate Dovizioso and Honda'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 star instead switched to defence mode.
"When I saw Danilo was first, me second and Dovi thir🌟d [after the tu🃏rn one pass on the last lap], I said, 'okay, I will not try. I will just defend'," Marquez said.
"Because if I try and we botꦫh 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 taಞil? What do YOU do?
— Repsol Honda Team (@HRC_MotoGP)
The reigning five-time MotoGP champion finished a mere 0.043s from Pe🧔trucci for only h✅is second on-track defeat of the season, after losing to Dovizioso in Qatar.
But 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 circuit.
"I'm happy because in our worst race we finished se🔜cond and got 20 points," said the Spaniard, who qualified on💙 pole position.
"I tried in the beginning to use my pa🍰ce but I had two small moments and sai🍎d, 'today is not the day [to escape]. I will follow and try on the last lap'.
"Also yesterday, if you check, I did the fastest lap with the med💝ium front tyre. I felt much better with the medium front, but for the race this tyre was impossible for me.
"So I chose the hard tyre that I knew I would struggle with more, and was slower, but it was the only option 🌳to finish the race.
"The most important thing [for 🐓the championship] i♚s 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 all the time, in al🐻l t𝕴he conditions."
Dovizioso is the 🐼only rider within one race win (25 points) of Marquez, with Rins - who completed 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 fini🔯shing in 13th place.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 yeaܫrs and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the🎀 forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
