Pedrosa charges to second victory of season at Indianapolis

Dani Pedrosa

Yamaha’s Lorenzo, the only prototype rider to opt for the soft option rear tire, had a less than ideal start, but was soon up into third, forcing his way past Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso. It was heartbreak early on for the Speed Master Team, as Mattia Pasini dropped his bike on the opening lap, escaping unscathed.

Pedrosa and Spies were providing a entertaining battle at the front in the early stages, as Lorenzo was unable to close the pair down. Meanwhile, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner, riding with a pain killing injection due to his fractured right ankle with torn ligaments, forced his way past San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Ã�lvaro Bautista with a strong move. With 24 laps remaining Pedrosa made a move stick down the home straight to take the lead. A lap later, Stoner was a man on a mission as he also took LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl to go fifth.

It was misery for Ben Spies with 22 laps left as the American’s engine blew down the straight, causing the oil flags to come out, with the Yamaha rider immediately pulling off the racing line. This affected the following group, as Stoner dropped back behind Dovizioso and Bradl. San Carlo’s Michele Pirro and Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci were also robbed of any good luck as then had to retire with technical issues. Three laps later, Tech 3’s British rider Cal Crutchlow lost the front end of his bike in turn 4, unfortunately putting an end to his charge. In the meantime, Stoner had fought his way back past his group into third, while Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet had to pull in with a mechanical issue.

With 12 laps to go Pedrosa, who was on record breaking pace, had a big wobble, yet managed to stop himself running onto the grass. This did not stop the Spaniard however, and he soon rediscovered his rhythm. Five laps on, Dovizioso was all over the back of Stoner, who was fighting fearlessly with his injury, and took him for third.

In the end it was Pedrosa whose dominant performance resulted in his second win of the season ahead of Lorenzo and Dovizioso, taking his fifth podium this year. Lorenzo retains his championship lead, though it has been cut to 18 points by his Spanish rival. It was however Casey Stoner that arguably put in the best ride of the day, having gritted his teeth to finish a tremendous fourth despite injury. Bautista came in fifth, ahead of Bradl, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi and Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham. Top CRT wet to Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez in ninth, ahead of De Puniet’s teammate Aleix Espargaro.

Results

Pos.

Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Time/Gap
1 25 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 46'39.631
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha +10.823
3 16 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +17.310
4 13 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda +19.803
5 11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +22.556
6 10 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +30.072
7 9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati +57.614
8 8 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati +1'08.442
9 7 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Avintia Blusens BQR +1'11.106
10 6 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART +1'14.079
11 5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati +1'26.305
12 4 22 Ivan SILVA SPA Avintia Blusens BQR +1'40.274
13 3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing Suter 1 Lap
14 2 15 Steve RAPP USA Attack Performance APR 1 Lap
15 1 77 James ELLISON GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART 1 Lap
16 0 20 Aaron YATES USA GPTech BCL 1 Lap
DNF 0 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 19 Laps
DNF 0 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 20 Laps
DNF 0 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 22 Laps
DNF 0 51 Michele PIRRO ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 27 Laps
DNF 0 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Speed Master ART 0 Lap
DNF 0 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 0 Lap