Lorenzo edges out lead after Brno

Added on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Another win came the way of Jorge Lorenzo this afternoon, as the young Spaniard took his seventh victory of the season to extend his championship advantage.

Starting from second on the grid at Brno for the Czech Republic MotoGP, the FIAT Yamaha rider soon fought through to take a position that is fast becoming very familiar to him. After starting from pole position, Dani Pedrosa enjoyed a strong battle with his fellow Spaniard, before having to bow out gracefully.

Despite sharing the same track space for much of the opening stages of the race, and trading fastest lap times, Lorenzo and Pedrosa soon parted ways, as Lorenzo stretched out a five second over his rival.

Casey Stoner joined the top two on the podium, however some way back, after exchanging his fourth place start for a third place finish. A strong weekend for Ben Spies saw him cross the line in fourth, after proving he has the pace to make his mark on the front of the field. Fifth place was awarded to Lorenzo’s FIAT Yamaha teammate, Valentino Rossi, with the Italian taking the chequered flag in a lonely position.

Behind, Nicky Hayden made it two Ducati riders in the top six, as he swept through to finish seven seconds ahead of fellow American Colin Edwards. Marco Melandri had a stronger race than his qualifying, fighting through to eighth place, whilst Hector Barbera followed him home in ninth. The final spot of the top ten went to the recovering Randy De Puniet, who, after returning following a broken leg, proved he is very much on the mend.

Despite smooth sailing at the front end of the field, drama was in the air at Brno, with a number of riders suffering falls throughout the race. Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso were the early fallen victims, with Mika Kallio following suit shortly afterwards. The final crash victim of the race was Alvaro Bautista who suffered a fall on the last corner of the final tour, after just finding his way passed Marco Simoncelli in eleventh.

Commenting on his seventh win of the season, Lorenzo told MotoGP.com: “After my problems yesterday and the crash I didn’t expect this today, I thought it would be much more of a struggle. Once I got to the front I expected Dani to come with me and I knew it was my moment and that I had to push as much as possible. I thought he would try to overtake me but I felt good, pushed hard and little by little I was able to lose him. I know I said I was riding for the Championship now and that’s still true but when there’s the chance to win I have to take it.”

Lorenzo now leads Pedrosa in the championship standings by seventy-seven points, with the next round at Indianapolis on the 29th August.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.