Stoner storms to top after Mugello thriller
Added on Monday, June 1st, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Stoner storms to top after Mugello thriller
Casey Stoner won a thrilling Italian Grand Prix to move to the top of the MotoGP championship and end seven years of Valentino Rossi dominance in Mugello.
Stoner finished ahead of Yamaha duo Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi in the most eventful race of the season so far, with earlier rain putting tactical strategies in jeopardy and to the lead changing hands on several occasions.
The race created its first talking point even before the green light, as Lorenzo crashed out on the parade lap, forcing him to start from pole on a spare bike set to a dry setting.
The excitement continued towards the mid-point as the drying track prompted riders to switch bikes to slick tyres, the first of which being Britain’s James Toseland.
As the scramble for the pits ensured, Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri all held the lead at some point before Stoner took emerged in the final quarter to take a lead that he would never lose.
Behind him, the jostle for position continued as Lorenzo and later Rossi eventually pushed Melandri, Capirossi and Dovizioso out of the podium positions, Rossi holding off a last-ditch attempt from the Honda rider on the final finish straight.
Toseland secured his best finish of the season, securing a respectable seventh position whilst Dani Pedrosa’s title challenge looks to be over as he crashed out, aggravating a hip injury.
Speaking after his second win of the season, Stoner paid tribute to the Ducati team on what was their home race.
“I have already won in Italy, at Misano in 2007, and it was great for Ducati but this was the one I really wanted,” he said. “We’ve struggled to find a great setting here for the past two years but today was our day.
“During the practice my pace in the dry wasn’t perfect but it was quite good. We started out well in the wet, I felt good and the bike was doing great until the wet tyres were worn out. I kept trying to push to the limit because I didn’t want to lose ground on the others like at Le Mans and stayed out there until I was absolutely sure it was the right time to change tyres.
“As soon as I went out on slicks I felt comfortable and competitive. Unfortunately I had an issue with the clutch and it started to give me a few problems. Loris came past and was pushing hard and riding very well and he kept me on my toes. At one point I thought it was all over but thankfully I was able to work out a way to ride around the problem and bring the victory home. I made a couple of mistakes over the final two laps but luckily it didn’t matter.”
Meanwhile, there was success for Britain in the 125cc event, with Bradley Smith taking his second win of the season to win lead the championship standings.
The 18-year-old led from pole, holding off the challenge of Spain’s Nicolas Terol and previous championship leader Julian Simon. Fellow Brit Scott Redding finished seventh.
MotoGP Round Five, Mugello: Result
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Ducati Marlboro | 45:41.894 |
| 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Fiat Yamaha | +1.001 |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Fiat Yamaha | +2.076 |
| 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Repsol Honda | +2.129 |
| 5 | Loris Capirossi | ITA | Rizla Suzuki | +3.274 |
| 6 | Colin Edwards | USA | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | +24.451 |
| 7 | James Toseland | GBR | Monster Tech 3 Yamaha | +25.621 |
| 8 | Randy de Puniet | FRA | LCR Honda | +26.046 |
| 9 | Niccolo Canepa | ITA | Pramac Ducati | +31.815 |
| 10 | Chris Vermeulen | AUS | Rizla Suzuki | +34.814 |
MotoGP Championship standings after Round Five:
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Casey Stoner | 90 |
| 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | 86 |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | 81 |
| 4 | Dani Pedrosa | 57 |
| 5 | Andrea Dovizioso | 56 |
| 6 | Marco Melandri | 48 |
| 7 | Colin Edwards | 45 |
| 8 | Loris Capirossi | 38 |
| 9 | Chris Vermeulen | 37 |
| 10 | Randy de Puniet | 34 |
