Marquez clinches crash marred Spanish GP

Spaniard Marc Marquez of Honda flew past the chequered flag way ahead of his rivals in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera yesterday, climbing atop the MotoGp championship standings in the process.Frenchman Johann Zarco on his Yamaha Tech3 finished over five seconds adrift of the world champion in second while Andrea Iannone of Suzuki was third at 8.214sec. Zarco climbed to second in the standings with 58 points behind Marquez on 70 while Italian Iannone gained a second consecutive podium spot that took him to fourth on 48.The race was marked by crashes that took out several of the chief contenders including British pole sitter Cal Crutchlow of Honda, Spaniards Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo and the Italian Andrea Dovizioso who had led the championship going into the race.Ducati pairing of Dovizioso, the previous championship leader, and Lorenzo collided with Honda’s Pedrosa while fighting for second place. Pedrosa, who had wrist surgery less than a month ago, was thrown high over his bike after trying to go past the two Ducatis on the inside. Lorenzo came across into the corner as Dovizioso went wide, colliding with Pedrosa and sending the two Ducatis into the gravel. All three riders walked away from the crash.Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Pedrosa looked destined to fight for the win but all fell in a turn six collision just as Marquez, who started from the second row, had pulled slightly ahead with seven laps still remaining. Race commissioners decided there had been no infringement as Marquez tore away and Zarco swept past the stricken trio. “I really never believed I could win this race from the second row. But I was clever and pushed it. It’s a long race with many different things to bear in mind,” Marquez said.Zarco thanked his lucky stars after the race. “Sometimes you need a little luck and today I got some,” said the Frenchman. “When the three of them fell I could hardly believe it. I said to myself ‘keep calm there’s only seven laps left’ and these 20 points are great for the championship,” he added.Danilo Petrucci was fourth at 8.617sec and the veteran Italian Valentino Rossi was fifth at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain in a race that saw him reach a career milestone by completing the circumference of the planet in race kilometres. Rossi has now covered 40,075km in competition over 23 seasons, starting at the 1996 Malaysian Grand Prix. Britain’s Crutchlow started on pole position for the LCR Honda team but failed to finish, crashing out at turn one after nine laps and while in fourth place.Results MotoGP: 1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 41mins 39.678sec, 2. Johann Zarco (FRA/Yamaha Tech3) at 5.241sec, 3. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Suzuki) 8.214, 4. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati Pramac) 8.617, 5. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 8.743, 6. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati Pramac) 9.768, 7. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 13.543, 8. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Ducati Angel Nieto) 14.076, 9. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Honda Marc VDS) 16.822, 10. Mika Kallio (FIN/KTM) 19.405Championship standings: 1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 70 pts, 2. Johann Zarco (FRA/Yamaha Tech3) 58, 3. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 50, 4. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Suzuki) 47, 5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 46, 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 40, 7. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/LCR Honda) 38, 8. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati Pramac) 36, 9. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati Pramac) 34, 10. Tito Rabat (Ducati Avintia) 24.