Franco Morbidelli streaked home to win the Teruel MotoGP on Sunday as Joan Mir took third to extend his lead in the world championship with only three races to go. Morbidelli started from second on the grid behind pole sitter Takaaki Nakagami whose dream weekend turned into a nightmare when he parted company with his LCR-Honda.
With the Japanese rider cruelly out of the picture Morbidelli was left with clear air in front of him, and the Yamaha-SRT rider made the most of his good fortune. Unchallenged, he crossed the line well over a second up on Alex Rins, last week's winner at the Motorland Aragon circuit, with Mir taking third from 12th on the grid.
Mir, who unusually has never won a MotoGP race, is now in pole to assume the crown left vacant by Marc Marquez, the six-time champion sidelined by the fractured arm he suffered in his first race fall. Suzuki rider Mir extended his lead over Fabio Quartararo (who finished eighth) from six to 14 points in the riders standings.
Maverick Vinales is placed third on 118 points, six clear of Morbidelli who reflecting on his second win of the season said: "Amazing! I knew I had to make an aggressive race, when I saw clean air in front of me I decided to give everything I could for every lap. The 23 laps went away like this," he smiled, clicking his finger.
