Stoner unstoppable at Donington Park

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner repeated his 2007 triumph with victory at the bwin.com British Grand Prix on Sunday.

Stoner proved uncatchable for his MotoGP rivals as he cruised to a second Donington Park victory in as many years. The 2007 World Champion was the fastest off the line from pole position, taking the kind of runaway win typical of his title winning year at the bwin.com British Grand Prix.

With his second triumph of the season, Stoner moved his way up to third in the overall classification.

"It´s better for us here to win here because we know that now we can run better for the future again," Stoner said. "The first races after Qatar were a disaster for us. We started fast right from the first session and have been competitive in both the wet and the dry. I have to thank the mechanics; they´ve been working hard to solve problems that we´ve been having, and I hope that this is something for future races, not just the two where we´ve tested."

The two riders ahead of him in the standings, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, were involved in an entertaining battle some seven seconds back, trading places repeatedly at the midway point of the race. Riding in his 200th Grand Prix, Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi eventually won out, continuing a seven-race run of podium finishes in 2008.

"I tried to stay with Casey at the beginning of the race, but it was not possible," Rossi said. "I knew that Dani could come back at me, and when I saw his name on the board the battle started. On some corners we were not fast enough, and it was difficult like always. These 20 points are important for the championship, and I hope to have a better result in Assen."

Repsol Honda´s Pedrosa also has seven rostrum appearances to his name this year, and came in third at the scene of his 2006 victory. His consistency keeps up the pressure on series leader Rossi, who he trails by just 11 points.

"I am happy because the race was hard," Pedrosa said. "I started from the back, got a good start and started to pass riders. I knew that Stoner and Rossi were going fast. Third is good but we have to improve. Anyway, I´m happy because the weekend itself was quite difficult."

Colin Edwards was the highest placing satellite rider, finishing fourth onboard the Tech 3 Yamaha M1. Whilst his was a positive result, teammate and home rider James Toseland had a miserable time of things in the race, crashing on the first corner and finishing last after picking the bike back up.

Last year´s 250cc race winner, Andrea Dovizioso had another creditable showing on his first MotoGP appearance at Donington Park. The JiR Team Scot rookie was fearless even when surrounded by experienced campaigners, concluding the race in fifth ahead of fellow debutant and long-time rival Jorge Lorenzo.

Nicky Hayden, Chris Vermeulen, Shinya Nakano and Anthony West completed the top 10, whilst Rizla Suzuki´s stand-in rider Ben Spies earned his first MotoGP points on his maiden appearance. The American will now wait to find out if his services are required for the upcoming A-Style TT Assen, or if Loris Capirossi – injured but watching on in Donington - will be fit for a return to action in the Netherlands.

The only rider unable to finish the race was John Hopkins, the Kawasaki rider retiring with a mechanical problem.

Race Results
1. C. STONER AUS (Ducati Marlboro Team) 44:44.982
2. V. ROSSI ITA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +5.789
3. D. PEDROSA SPA (Repsol Honda Team) +8.347
4. C. EDWARDS USA (Tech 3 Yamaha) +12.678
5. A. DOVIZIOSO ITA (JiR Team Scot MotoGP) +14.801
6. J. LORENZO SPA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +15.690
7. N. HAYDEN USA (Repsol Honda Team) +18.196
8. C. VERMEULEN AUS (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +21.666
9. S. NAKANO JPN (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +29.354
10. A. WEST AUS (Kawasaki Racing Team) +41.030
11. T. ELIAS SPA (Alice Team) +44.426
12. R. DE PUNIET FRA (LCR Honda MotoGP) +46.199
13. S. GUINTOLI FRA (Alice Team) +48.731
14. B. SPIES USA (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +49.591
15. A. DE ANGELIS RSM (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +1:22.186
16. M. MELANDRI ITA (Ducati Marlboro Team) +1:30.021
17. J. TOSELAND GBR (Tech 3 Yamaha) +1 Lap
Not classified
J. HOPKINS USA (Kawasaki Racing Team) 14 Laps

Point Standings
1. Valentino ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team) 162
2. Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) 151
3. Casey STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 117
4. Jorge LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team) 104
5. Colin EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha) 82
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (JiR Team Scot MotoGP) 68
7. Nicky HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team) 57
8. James TOSELAND (Tech 3 Yamaha) 53
9. Loris CAPIROSSI (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) 51
10. Shinya NAKANO (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 49
11. Chris VERMEULEN (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) 48
12. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team) 32
13. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 29
14. Toni ELIAS (Alice Team) 29
15. Alex DE ANGELIS (San Carlo Honda Gresini) 25
16. Randy DE PUNIET (LCR Honda MotoGP) 22
17. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Alice Team) 18
18. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki Racing Team) 16
19. Ben SPIES (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) 2
20. Tadayuki OKADA (Repsol Honda Team) 2