With the Yamahas of Rossi and Lorenzo lining up in pole and third, split by the Ducati of Iannone, Misano looked like it may not be a Honda track. Were we about to see Marc beaten for the second time this year? Could the unthinkable happen and a bike without a Repsol paint scheme finally take a win in 2014?
A mistake from Marquez (!)
A rocket start from the Yamaha pair was only matched by Marc Marquez's aggression in the first corner, taking him up to third spot. With Dani down in the pack, after just one lap the winner looked almost certain to come from the leading trio.
Who says Rossi has lost his edge? In the first few laps the old goat certainly showed some steel, holding off Marc with some balls out riding. And then he took the lead, sending the home fans into meltdown. Could a Rossi victory really be on the cards? With Lorenzo dropping off, it looked like a straight scrap between the old and new guard in the shape of Rossi and Marquez. And then the unthinkable happened, Marc tipped off! With the Honda slow to start, the race was now between Rossi and Lorenzo, with the added interest of a different choice of rubber on Jorge's bike.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house...
With a two and a bit second gap, Rossi just needed to keep it steady in the last ten laps to send the fans into overdrive, something he achieved. A home town win for Rossi, a massive track invasion, over 5,000 GP points and not a dry eye in the house. Superb stuff.
Moto2 and a beaten up Lowes was just hoping for a good finish while Kallio was looking to convert his pole into a race win after his team mate Rabat has out shone him lately. Despite a good start, once again it was Rabat who took the win, extending his championship lead over Kalio.
Moto3 and could Rossi's X-Factor sponsored team do anything about Jack Miller? A staggering start saw Jack take the lead, but Rins and Marquez soon hunted him down and broke clear. A tough last few laps saw the team mates swap paint (at least it matched...) with Rins just outwitting Marquez for the win.
MotoGP
1. Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
2. Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team)
Moto2
1. Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team)
2. Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team)
3. Zarco (AirAsia Caterham)
Moto3
1: Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
2: Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
3: Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - 9
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - 7
Michael Laverty (MotoGP) - 17
Scott Redding (MotoGP) - 14
Leon Camier (MotoGP) - 16
Sam Lowes (Moto2) - 18
Gino Rea - (Moto2) - 22
John McPhee (Moto3) -13
Danny Kent (Moto3) -12