Pedrosa Cruises to Jerez Win
Added on Monday, March 31st, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Pedrosa led from the start to win by a comfortable margin. (Photo: Honda Racing)
Dani Pedrosa took the chequered flag in front of his home crowd in the second round of the MotoGP season in Jerez.
The Repsol Honda rider took the lead from the lights after starting from second on the grid and never looked back to cap a weekend that had plenty of talking points.
Fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who wowed the home fans in qualifying by twice breaking the track record with a pole-qualifying time of 1:38.189, finished third behind teammate Valentino Rossi in probably the best possible comparison between the Michelin And Bridgestone tyres - the latter of which being used by Rossi.
Concerns had been raised over Rossi in qualifying after the Italian pitted early on his final flying lap complaining of a throttle problem and although there were no problems as he overtook Lorenzo, he could not keep pace with the brilliant Pedrosa.
Lorenzo, who becomes the first rookie to secure back-to-back podiums from the opening two races since Max Biaggi in 1998, did however have a nervous moment on lap 20, leaning too far but just managing to right himself before disaster struck.
Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards was not as fortunate however, as he found himself in the gravel on lap five.
Edward’s teammate James Toseland, who had been suffering all week with a chest infection, fought his way from eighth on the grid to match his sixth-place finish in Qatar although the Brit would have finished in fifth had the experienced Loris Capirossi not snuck past at the final bend.
Nicky Hayden’s decision to opt for the 2008 model Honda was fully vindicated with a much improved fourth placed finish but Casey Stoner’s nightmare in Jerez continued.
The Australian, who has yet to stand on the podium at the Spanish circuit, had a frustrating weekend as he lost his lead in the rider’s championship.
The defending champion qualified in seventh although appeared to kick out at Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen after he felt that his former teammate held him up on his final flying lap and 24 hours later, found himself in the gravel twice as his Ducati struggled to cope with the demands of the Jerez circuit.
Pedrosa’s first MotoGP win at Jerez comes less than three months after he broke his leg in a training crash and he was understandably thrilled with the comprehensive victory and the early lead in the championship.
“I’m very happy about the performance because it comes after a difficult winter during which we couldn’t test so much,” he said.
“To score good results in two complicated races and lead the championship is very important.
“I got a good start - not spectacular like in Qatar but effective - so I was able to take the lead.”
In the 125cc championship, 17-year-old Brit Bradley Smith earned the second podium position of his career when he finished third behind race winner Simone Corsi and Spaniard Nicolas Corsi.
