Stoner breaks winless streak
Starting from pole Stoner held his position going into the first turn, but usual rapid starter Pedrosa dropped to fifth as the riders bunched up in the tight opening curve. The Repsol Honda rider fought back in the early stages of the race however to climb to second behind Stoner, and the gap between the two fluctuated throughout.
The pair were consistently fast for the duration of the race but Stoner managed to pull away towards the end as he achieved what was eventually a comfortable 25 points, with Pedrosa maintaining his good form in second.
There were battles all the way through the field and none more entertaining than that between Hayden and Championship leader Lorenzo for the final podium spot. A fearless overtake on Lorenzo by Hayden on the final lap delivered the American the honors, and ended the Fiat Yamaha rider’s record of having placed on the rostrum at every race so far this season.
Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) notched another impressive result with fifth place as he resisted the challenge of Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), who crashed out on the final lap whilst pushing hard in their contest.
Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) rounded off a tough weekend in sixth place, whilst rookies Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and �lvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) completed the top eight with solid displays. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Aleix Espargar¢ (Pramac Racing) took top-ten finishes, whilst Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) escaped injury when he crashed out on lap 16.
Lorenzo’s advantage at the top of the Championship was cut to 56 points and he now stands on 284 points, with Pedrosa on 228 in second. Stoner’s victory lifts him to third on 155, with Rossi staying fourth and Dovizioso dropping to fifth.
Results
Pos. |
Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | 25 | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Ducati Team | Ducati | 42'16.530 |
2 | 20 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +5.148 |
3 | 16 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +9.496 |
4 | 13 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Fiat Yamaha Team | Yamaha | +9.580 |
5 | 11 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +13.771 |
6 | 10 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Fiat Yamaha Team | Yamaha | +27.330 |
7 | 9 | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | +28.511 |
8 | 8 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +35.254 |
9 | 7 | 33 | Marco MELANDRI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | +35.393 |
10 | 6 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | +35.467 |
11 | 5 | 40 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Paginas Amarillas Aspar | Ducati | +35.522 |
12 | 4 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +45.360 |
13 | 3 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | Interwetten Honda MotoGP | Honda | +48.319 |
14 | 2 | 36 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | +58.047 |
15 | 0 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1 Lap |
16 | 0 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 8 Laps |