To mark the end of the 2010 decade, let's look back together at the ten notable moments that made us vibrate, cry or laugh. These ten moments can be turning points in a season, transfers or even Dantesque battles. Obviously, the moments from the first years of the past decade are more significant, because we have the benefit of hindsight to better appreciate their importance in history. It's time to return to what is, without doubt, the most astonishing duel of the decade. This is of course the summit clash between Marc Márquez and Jorge Lorenzo at the 2016 Italian Grand Prix.
Certainly, other races could claim to be subjects of this section. So many fierce battles have brightened this decade : Motegi 2010, Brno 2012, Silverstone 2013 and 2019, Spielberg 2018 and 2019… But on Mugello, it’s never the same.
The atmosphere is indeed different. Every year, we have the impression of experiencing a race in its own right, outside of time. Maybe it's the route? The atmosphere animated by the fans? Hard to say.
In 2016, the championship was more open than ever. Thanks to the standardization of the ECU, private teams could claim victory, much more than before. But before the Italian round, only Márquez, Lorenzo and Rossi, three regulars, managed to climb to the highest step of the podium. The three stand together, but the reigning world champion is in great shape. Por Fuera has already emerged victorious from the Qatari and French weekends, and arrives in Tuscany determined.
The game promises to be magnificent. Márquez and Rossi, too, showed all their aggressiveness at the start of the season.
Valentino Rossi begins the hostilities, and manages to put his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the top of the timesheets on Saturday. His lap in 1'46''504 allows him to start from the pole. Lorenzo and Márquez were unable to achieve the tour of their dreams : they will watch the lights go out from fourth and fifth places. Sunday begins with the traditional warmup, and something catches the attention of the spectators, always in large numbers.
Thick smoke escapes from Lorenzo's 'Yam': engine broken. Although these phenomena are rather rare, they sometimes happen at the worst times. More fear than harm for the Majorcan.
The drivers are not there to entertain the field, and the start bears witness to this.
Once started, the fight only involved the two Yamaha officials in the first laps. Sincerely, the drivers overtake and overtake each other, while Márquez temporarily extracts himself from a group made up of Dovizioso, Pedrosa and Iannone.
After a few laps, everything changes. Valentino Rossi seems to be pulling straight into the winding, at the start of the circuit. Then he turns around. Once. Twice. Mechanical breakage. In the box at number 46, we immediately understand what it is about: engine. Moments later, a white cloud escapes from the YZR-M1. Two engine failures in one day, extremely rare fact.
Lorenzo is informed of Rossi's abandonment, and had to thank the MotoGP gods for breaking before the race. The 'doctor' is disappointed. He returns to the pits disillusioned, carried by the members of his team. The crowd, which came in large numbers, was extremely disappointed, but continued to chant the name of the Italian idol.
The race continues. Marc Márquez joined the leader, while a clash between the two Ducati officials and Pedrosa rages a few dozen meters behind.
Lorenzo and his rival observe each other. The fewer turns there are left, the less breathable the atmosphere. The #93 Honda goes on the attack, on the brakes. But the trajectories coupled with the infernal pace imposed by Lorenzo do not allow him to take command. Re-belote at the end of the straight line: Márquez attempts braking which only he has the secret to, completely destabilized in the San Donato curve. Once again, it is too wide. On the last lap, the drivers touch each other before this same turn.
Márquez launches an attack, and this time, it's the right one. Lorenzo remains under observation; the audience holds their breath as the final turns arrive. Jorge attempts an exceptional overtake in the piff-paf which precedes the last corner, copying what he had achieved against Alex De Angelis ten years earlier. That's not enough, 'The Ant' comes out much stronger, and brakes later: if he takes the lead from the last corner, it's victory.
The Honda staff is already up. But 'Por Fuera' passes the turn in two stages (entry inside, then outside, to come out more quickly by going inside). Thus, he will have more pure speed than his rival, but is left behind. Will this strategy, coupled with aspiration, be enough?
Well, yeah ! After a 'run' towards the checkers, Jorge Lorenzo wins the race by 19 thousandths of a second! He can't believe it. Márquez neither, even if he has nothing to be ashamed of the performance he had just delivered.
This battle of titans is very symbolic. Márquez on Honda against Lorenzo on Yamaha, it sounds like a classic. Two of the most talented drivers in history going blow for blow in one of the most beautiful arenas in the world. Mugello will have kept all its promises…
