by S. Ancin / photo: motogp.com

The second MotoGP race served to consolidate the leadership of Maverick Vinales and his status as the favourite at this world championship. At the Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) circuit he again showed his superiority on top of his Yamaha YZR M1, although it is also true that he benefited from the falling of his closest contenders.

Since 1990 no other Yamaha pilot had managed to win the first two races of the Grand Prix and statistically the rider who manages to win the first two races of the Moto GP is also the one who takes the title home.

On the second day Vinales started at sixth position and on the first couple of laps he kept calm advancing steadily. Marc Márquez was leading the race but after the fourth lap Vinales was ahead followed by Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Rossi (Movistar Yamaha Team). Both riders battled for the second position and the Italian finally came out on top and crossed the finish line in second place in front of the English.

A tortuous road

Lorenzo shocked everybody on the day after falling down on the first lap trying to recover positions from his initial 16th place. Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Espargaró also didn’t manage to finish the race. Rins, who was competing with a fractured right foot, also fell and although he managed to get back up on the bike and continue on the last position he finally had to abandon the race. After all the falls and early retirements only 16 racers crossed the finish line.

Zarco also offered a remarkable performance at this second race and he demonstrated that he has a lot to give in this championship. He took off on 14th position and he managed to come up to fifth. Behind him was his team mate and debutant Folger. As was to be expected, Abraham, who had achieved the second best time at the trainning sessions was not a worthy rival and finished at tenth position.