Rossi overcomes Pedrosa to win in Jerez
Added on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi overcomes Pedrosa to win in Jerez
Valentino Rossi won a two-way battle with Spaniard Dani Pedrosa to secure his first win of the season at Jerez on Sunday.
The world champion secured what in truth was a comfortable victory in the first of three visits to Spain despite trailing the home favourite Pedrosa for the opening 17 laps, eventually finishing 2.7 seconds ahead of the Honda rider.
Rossi chipped away at Pedrosa mid-way through the race before making his move with ten laps remaining and from that point onwards rarely threatened by Pedrosa, still struggling with injury
Ducati’s Casey Stoner finished a distant third whilst Rossi’s Yamaha teammate and winner in Motegi Jorge Lorenzo crashed out from fourth position after just four laps.
“I had a great battle with Casey with two or three overtakes, it was fun,” Rossi told the BBC afterwards.
“I had a little bit more pace and when I was second I started the most difficult part of the race, because Dani was in front more than one second and I know he’s difficult to catch.
“I have 65 points and I’m in front of Casey, who I think is the most difficult rival, but also Dani and Lorenzo are not far behind, so it will be very tough to the end.”
Randy de Puniet put in a strong performance on his satellite Honda whilst Marco Melandri continued his impressive form on the Hayate Kawasaki. Britain’s James Toseland struggled once again however, finishing in a lowly 13th position.
MotoGP Round 3: Jerez – Result.
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Fiat Yamaha | 45:18.557 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | ESP | Repsol Honda | +2.700 |
| 3 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Ducati Marlboro | +10.507 |
| 4 | Randy de Puniet | FRA | LCR Honda | +31.893 |
| 5 | Marco Melandri | ITA | Hayate Racing Kawasaki | +33.128 |
| 6 | Loris Capirossi | ITA | Rizla Suzuki | +34.128 |
| 7 | Colin Edwards | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | +34.421 |
| 8 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Repsol Honda | +34.625 |
| 9 | Toni Elias | ESP | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +42.689 |
| 10 | Chris Vermeulen | AUS | Rizla Suzuki | +45.183 |
| 11 | Sete Gibernau | ESP | Francisco Hernando Ducati | +48.192 |
| 12 | Yuki Takahashi | JAP | Scot Racing Honda | +51.875 |
| 13 | James Toseland | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | +53.683 |
| 14 | Alex de Angelis | SAN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | +53.941 |
| 15 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Ducati Marlboro | +1:01.273 |
| 16 | Niccolo Canepa | ITA | Pramac Ducati | +1:10.896 |
| DNF | Jorge Lorenzo | ESP | Fiat Yamaha | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Mika Kallio | FIN | Pramac Ducati | 15 Laps |
Riders Championship as of Round Three
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Valentino Rossi | 65 |
| 2 | Casey Stoner | 54 |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | 41 |
| 4 | Dani Pedrosa | 41 |
| 5 | Andrea Dovizioso | 30 |
| 6 | Colin Edwards | 26 |
| 7 | Randy de Puniet | 24 |
| 8 | Marco Melandri | 23 |
| 9 | Chris Vermeulen | 21 |
| 10 | Loris Capirossi | 19 |
