Pedrosa takes final flag of 2009
Added on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Pedrosa takes final flag of 2009
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa secured his second victory of the season at Valencia this afternoon, after leading from start to finish.
Pole sitter Casey Stoner endured a problem on the warm-up lap, which left him at the side of the track with a damaged Ducati. It was thought that his Bridgestone tyres were not up to temperature, which caused him to slide from aboard his bike, ending up being thrown trackside. His Ducati was too damaged to continue, ending his Valencia dream before it barely began.
As the race started, Pedrosa made an exceptional start, storming into the lead immediately. Behind, Toni Elias, for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team slipped into second, while FIAT Yamaha teammates, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, occupied third and fourth away from the line.
As the opening laps of the thirty lap distance developed, Pedrosa proved he was out for the win, putting in fastest lap after fastest lap. Whilst he extended his lead up at front, Elias tried his best to stay in touch with the Spaniard.
Not too far behind, Lorenzo and Rossi continued their season long battle, running nose to tail for much of the opening stages. Before long, Elias dropped back into the clutches of the pursuing duo, with both of them eager to find a way passed. Lorenzo eventually saw a make or break opportunity, and squezzed his Yamaha down the inside of Elias’ Honda, promoting him to second; within seconds Rossi echoed his teammate’s manoeuvre, diving passed Elias for third.
With the FIAT Yamaha pairing now exploring the clear track in front of them, their intense personal tussle resumed. Lorenzo had a big moment coming down one of the straights, which nearly launched him from his Yamaha. Luckily he was able to save it, however this allowed Rossi through on the inside and up into second place.
Whilst this was going on, not too far adrift Colin Edwards had caught up with Elias and was trying his best to find a way through. Following Edwards was Randy De Puniet and Nicky Hayden, with Hayden eventually being able to put a move on De Puniet for sixth at the time.
As the race progressed further, the positions further down the field began to swap and change more frequently. Marco Melandri, having previously been enjoying a thrilling squabble with Mika Kallio, Andrea Dovizioso, Ben Spies and James Toseland, seemingly began to suffer slightly. Having dropped down the order, a moment of running wide demoted the Italian to last place, where he stayed until the chequered flag.
Spies, after qualifying ninth and running further down the order for much of the thirty laps, gradually began to find his feet. Towards the closing stages he was making himself known within the top ten, putting pressure on the MotoGP regulars for the top positions. After making light work of De Puniet, the 2009 World Superbike Champion soon passed Dovizioso as well, much to the delight of his soon to be teammate, Edwards. For Edwards to secure fifth place in the 2009 championship standings, he needed as many riders as possible to finish between himself and Dovizioso; the manouevre from Spies allowed him to achieve this.
With thirty laps completed, the final chequered flag of MotoGP 2009 fell on Pedrosa, for the second time this season. Rossi was able to hold onto second, despite pressure from a closing Lorenzo in the latter stages. Edwards secured a fourth place finish, which together with his fifth place in the championship gave him cause to celebrate.
Hayden managed a strong fifth place finish, with Elias holding onto sixth just behind, while Spies enjoyed a strong showing to cross the finish line seventh. Dovizioso eventually finished eighth, with Kallio and De Angelis completing the top ten.
James Toseland finished a difficult year with a twelfth place finish, after enjoying some strong battles throughout the race.
With another thrilling season of MotoGP now at an end the riders will soon be gearing up for 2010, with development and training just around the corner.
Loading ...
No Comments