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| Race 7 of 18 races in the 2016 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 5 June 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official name | Gran PremiMonster Energy de Catalunya[1][2][3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2016 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventh round of the2016 MotoGP season. It was held at theCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya inMontmeló on 5 June 2016.
The weekend was overshadowed by thedeath of Moto2 riderLuis Salom, as he was killed in a crash at Europcar (motorcycle Turn 12) during Free Practice 2 on Friday, approximately 25 minutes before the end of the session.[4] For the remainder of the weekend, the tracklayout was altered to use the configuration used byFormula One since 2007, in order to reduce speeds in the part of the circuit where Salom's accident occurred. The altered layout included the replacement of the long sweeping corner at La Caixa with a slower hairpin and the insertion of a chicane between Europcar (the penultimate turn) and New Holland (final turn).[5]
Further adjustments were made to the circuit by safety officials following an evaluation conducted with a group of riders on Friday evening. The changes included narrowing the chicane by two metres on the outside, creating a gravel trap in the run-off area of the chicane and making the chicane a permanent yellow flag zone during the event. Following the 2016 season, the FIM, FIA and the circuit agreed to move the chicane up by a few metres for motorcycles. This modification, which was constructed for the 2017 winter testing season, added additional run-off areas for motorcycles and ease the entrance to pit lane. However, after the first practice of the 2017 race, the chicane was deemed dangerous and was reverted to the car chicane because of concerns over the surface change between the intended motorcycle and the car chicanes. Following the removal of seating in the area and additional runoff, the chicane will be eliminated in 2018.[6]
This event also saw the end of the controversial rivalry betweenValentino Rossi andMarc Márquez since it began at the2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, when Rossi shook hands with Márquez at the parc fermé post-race. Rossi later said that the handshake was the right thing to do following Salom's death.[7]
Significant amounts of speculation concerning the top riders and their plans for2017 culminated in a series of riders announcing their future teams.Marc Márquez confirmed he would partner teammateDani Pedrosa for a further two seasons atRepsol Honda, while it was announced thatTech 3 pairingBradley Smith andPol Espargaró would move to the new factoryKTM squad.
FollowingMaverick Viñales's previous confirmation alongsideValentino Rossi atYamaha, and reigning championJorge Lorenzo's confirmed move toDucati, the only factory seats remaining were those alongsideAndrea Iannone andSam Lowes atSuzuki andAprilia respectively.
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 |  Valentino Rossi | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 25 | 44:37.589 | 5 | 25 |
| 2 | 93 |  Marc Márquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 25 | +2.652 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 25 | +6.313 | 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 25 | +24.388 | 6 | 13 |
| 5 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 25 | +29.546 | 12 | 11 |
| 6 | 35 |  Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | 25 | +36.244 | 7 | 10 |
| 7 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati | 25 | +41.464 | 10 | 9 |
| 8 | 19 | Álvaro Bautista | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 25 | +42.975 | 21 | 8 |
| 9 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Octo Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 25 | +45.337 | 9 | 7 |
| 10 | 43 |  Jack Miller | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 25 | +49.514 | 19 | 6 |
| 11 | 8 | Héctor Barberá | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 25 | +46.669[N 2] | 4 | 5 |
| 12 | 6 |  Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 25 | +55.133 | 18 | 4 |
| 13 | 50 |  Eugene Laverty | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 25 | +57.974 | 17 | 3 |
| 14 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 25 | +1:00.141 | 20 | 2 |
| 15 | 51 | Michele Pirro | Ducati Team | Ducati | 25 | +1:00.429 | 15 | 1 |
| 16 | 45 | Scott Redding | Octo Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 25 | +1:16.269 | 11 | |
| 17 | 68 |  Yonny Hernández | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 24 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| Ret | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 18 | Electronics | 13 | |
| Ret | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 16 | Collision | 2 | |
| Ret | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati Team | Ducati | 16 | Collision | 8 | |
| Ret | 38 | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 6 | Engine | 14 | |
| Sources:[8][9][10] | ||||||||
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round seven has concluded.[11]
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| Previous race: 2016 Italian Grand Prix | FIMGrand Prix World Championship 2016 season | Next race: 2016 Dutch TT |
| Previous race: 2015 Catalan Grand Prix | Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix | Next race: 2017 Catalan Grand Prix |
