Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa both finished on the podium in an emotional and exciting Grand Prix de Catalunya, on a day that all of the riders and the entire MotoGP paddock treated as a heartfelt tribute to Luis Salom.

Marc, who today reversed his race number to the “39” of Salom, earned second position after a long and fair duel with Valentino Rossi, which saw the Honda rider closely chasing the Italian for 15 laps before engaging in an exciting battle for the victory five laps from the end. The pair overtook each other several times before the penultimate lap, when a small mistake by Marc allowed Rossi to pull a little gap. With the tyres put to a severe test by the higher temperature compared to yesterday, and with faultless Jorge Lorenzo out of the race after a collision with Andrea Iannone, Marc wisely settled for second and for 20 very important points, which put him in the leadership for the Championship ahead Lorenzo, Rossi and Pedrosa.

Contrary to his teammate, who raced on hard-front hard-rear Michelin tyres like most of the other riders, Dani opted for a medium-rear hard-front choice, which proved to be the right one for him. He got a brilliant start from the front row but wasn’t able to keep the advantage into the first turn, finding himself in fourth position. He soon overtook Iannone but was passed by Rossi, who was charging from the back. Dani was then involved in a tough duel for fourth with Maverick Viñales, and by the time he got the better of that and then passed Lorenzo for third, he had already lost close contact with Rossi and Marc at the front. Tough he was able to keep a very fast pace, he couldn’t close the gap with the front pair.

The Repsol Honda Team will remain in Montmeló tomorrow for a one-day post-race test.

Marc Marquez - 2nd

“It has been a hard weekend for all the riders, but in the end I think that together we paid tribute to Luis Salom with the Sunday that he deserved. It was a nice race with Valentino. I was suffering a little with the increase in temperature and was never completely comfortable, so I was unable to try overtaking at the right time. I had a couple of scares and started doing the math for the standings in my head, knowing that Jorge Lorenzo was out of the race, and I think that in the end, a podium finish is a very positive result for the Championship. Another thing that’s important for motorcycle racing is that Valentino and I shook hands; it was probably the weekend and the right situation to do so.”

Dani Pedrosa - 3rd

“This has been a positive race. We opted for the intermediate rear tyre because I felt more comfortable with it. On the first few laps I tried not to wear it down too much so as to keep it in good condition for the final stretch of the race. In the fight with Maverick Viñales I lost contact with the front group, but I managed to set a good pace and push a little more. In the final laps, the rear tyre had degraded quite a lot and there was nothing more that I could do. I’m happy to get back at the front and return to the podium, and to do so at home but on the other hand it’s been a difficult weekend for what has happened. Luis’s family wanted us to continue, and we gave our all for him and for them. The minute’s silence, with all the riders and the whole MotoGP family, was really emotional.”

1   - ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA 25 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 44'37.589
2   - MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA 20 Repsol Honda Team Honda 2.652
3   - PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA 16 Repsol Honda Team Honda 6.313
4   - VINALES Maverick 25 SPA 13 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 24.388
5   - ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA 11 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 29.546
6   - CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR 10 LCR Honda Honda 36.244
7   - DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA 9 Ducati Team Ducati 41.464
8   - BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA 8 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 42.975
9   - PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA 7 Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 45.337
10 - MILLER Jack 43 AUS 6 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 49.514
11 - BARBERA Hector 8 SPA 5 Avintia Racing Ducati 46.669
12 - BRADL Stefan 6 GER 4 Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 55.133
13 - LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE 3 Aspar MotoGP Team Ducati 57.974
14 - RABAT Tito 53 SPA 2 Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1'00.141
15 - PIRRO Michele 51 ITA 1 Ducati Team Ducati 1'00.429
16 - REDDING Scott 45 GBR 0 Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 1'16.269
17 - HERNANDEZ Yonny 68 COL 0 Aspar MotoGP Team Ducati 1 lap
18 - ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 7 laps
19 - LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA 0 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 9 laps
20 - IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA 0 Ducati Team Ducati 9 laps
21 - SMITH Bradley 38 GBR 0 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 19 laps