Pedrosa takes impressive 4th as Marquez crashes out fighting for 2nd

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the Repsol Honda riders, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.

Starting 7th on the grid, Dani lost a few places, briefly dropping down to 9th on the first lap. Marc, starting from 13th place – the first time he has not qualified on the first or second row in the premiere class – had a strong start moving up to 6th in the first few corners and up to 4th by the end of the first lap, with Dani in 8th.

Dani continued to advance, passing Cal Crutchlow, Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith and found himself in 5th by lap four. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo opened up a lead at the front as Marc battled with Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso. By lap twelve Dani had reached the battle for second and the four riders swapped positions consistently over the course of the following five laps.

However, on lap eighteen after battling with Iannone, Marc made a small mistake and crashed out in turn three. This promoted Dani to third briefly, before Valentino Rossi passed him and demoted Dani to 4th which he secured, taking valuable points and positive feedback regarding his fitness.

Tomorrow Marc and Dani will be back on track for a post-race test with the new 2016 tyre supplier, before heading west for round seven in Barcelona in two weeks time.