#DesmoDovi combination of Andrea Dovizioso and Ducati reigns supreme in rain-hit 2016 Shell Malaysian MotoGP.
The temperamental Malaysian weather brought out some magic today in the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) during raceday of the 2016 Shell Malaysian MotoGP.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, it did little at dowsing the excitement of all three classes, culminating with a spectacular win by Andrea Dovizioso for the factory Ducati squad in the premier MotoGP class’ race.
After seizing pole position under somewhat similar wet conditions during yesterday’s Qualifying, Dovizioso cruised to a spectacular victory astride his factory Ducati machine that was fuelled by Shell V-Power and lubricated by Shell Advance – the team’s technical partners.
The race began with Dovizioso’s teammate Andrea Iannone seizing the race lead on the second lap away from top favourite Valentino Rossi astride the Movistar Yamaha Factory Racing team’s machine. Dovizioso, on the other hand, held on in third position for most parts of the race and conserved his tyres.
Despite having the initial advantage, Iannone inevitably succumbed to pressure and crashed out of contention on lap 12, ending an otherwise stellar run. Yamaha’s Rossi went on to take the lead after but Dovizioso pulled a spectacular overtaking move at Turn 1 on lap 15, pulling away from Rossi for the win.
As the chequered flag waved to end the 19-lap melee, Dovi on the scarlet Italian machine held a good 3.115-second lead over Rossi in second. Coming in third to complete the podium was Rossi’s own teammate and bitter rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Today’s race in Sepang proved that the Ducati Desmosedici GP16 had what it took chart victory under the challenging wet conditions just as good as in the dry conditions too – the latter done in an equally spectacular way back in Austria earlier in the season.
More importantly, the win in Sepang today was a victory for technical partners and the event’s title sponsors Shell. The firm supplies the squad with its proven Shell V-Power racing fuels and Shell Advance lubricants that provided the storied Italian racing team its well-deserved victory today.
Though both of this year’s constructor and team titles have been secured before the Malaysian round today the factory-backed squad are returning on a winning path, with partners Shell fuelling this journey.
2016 Shell Malaysian MotoGP results
