BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Valentino Rossi won MotoGP’s Catalan Grand Prix on Sunday, dedicating the victory to Luis Salom, the Moto2 rider who died in a crash in practice on Friday.
Rossi made his way to the front after starting fifth and held off a late charge by Marc Marquez to secure his second win of the season. The Italian finished 2.6 seconds in front of Marquez and 6.3 seconds ahead of third place Dani Pedrosa.
All three riders arrived at the podium wearing T-shirts honoring Salom, the 24-year-old Spaniard who died after colliding with a protective barrier at the Barcelona track.
The result allowed Marquez to take the championship lead from Jorge Lorenzo, who was taken out of the race after an aggressive overtaking attempt by Andrea Iannone with nine laps to go.