Stoner scores second straight

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner followed up his first MotoGP World Championship win of the season at Aragón with a second victory of 2010 in the Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, with pole man Andrea Dovizioso second and Valentino Rossi third.

It was Stoner's 22nd career victory in the premier class and moved him level with MotoGP greats Geoff Duke, Kenny Roberts Sr. and John Surtees.

“This win feels great. I could have never imagined when I began my first season in Grand Prix at 16 years of age that I would reach this level and all I can say is that it is an honour to be alongside such great names,” said the 24-year-old. “I have taken all my MotoGP wins with Ducati and it is down to their fantastic support, hard work and above all their belief in me that this has been possible.”

Stoner’s success at Motegi came after a weekend of intense hard work, having initially struggled to find the right balance on his Desmosedici GP10.

“With this track being so heavy on the front we were trying to make the bike a lot more stable. We had a lot of problems with the brakes and the bike doing wheelies, and every time we improved that we made the rear worse so we were having a bit of a disaster weekend,” he explained.

“We just couldn’t get any grip on the bike so we went a little closer to more traction rather than stability on the brakes, and it paid off for us. We found that time that we were missing. We tried something else but it didn’t really work in warm up this morning and we didn’t feel that comfortable. We went more or less back to what we had in qualifying with another step in another direction, a little bit of a lucky dip, but it worked.”

It was another strong win from Ducati rider Stoner as he slowly pulled away from Dovizioso throughout the 24-lap race. But the real excitement was drawn from team-mates Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s intense battle for the final spot on the podium.

As he did last time out at Aragón, Stoner got a fast start and took the lead on the opening lap, and as he settled into his rhythm and consistently posted fast laps Dovizioso – starting from pole for the first time in the premier class – stuck with him for the early stages.

“After the first couple of laps and when I saw the times I was able to do I thought we were in with a chance of winning this one, but it wasn’t without a fight,” said Stoner. “Andrea was there the whole way, pushing me, and every time I thought I had a small gap to take a breather he came back again. I had to keep pushing the whole race and it wasn’t until the last lap that I really got to relax. It was a big victory for us, especially at this circuit, and it means a lot to us.”

Lorenzo hinted at what was to come as he passed Rossi to assume third, and that was just the start of the duo’s enthralling contest.

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) ran off at turn five together on only the second lap as they dropped down the order, while rookie Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) pitted their wits against one another in the push for fifth.

Stoner began to open up a slender lead over Dovizioso which grew to a second with seven laps remaining, while further down the order Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) was forced to retire when his bike stalled as he ran wide alongside team-mate Álvaro Bautista in the chase for seventh place.

With Stoner now assured of victory and Dovizioso a return to the podium after an eight-race stint without a top-three finish, Rossi and Lorenzo locked horns. Repeatedly pushing one another the pair touched bikes with two laps to go as they fought side by side in a rousing finale to the race.

Victory for Stoner came by a margin of 3.868 secs. and Dovizioso’s fifth podium of the season – his first since Silverstone – was also confirmed. Rossi managed to hold his own in third place and score a seventh rostrum result of 2010, and in the process ensure that Lorenzo finished outside the top three for the second successive race.

“I pushed at 100 percent for the whole race and the lap times of Casey and me were pretty impressive and very consistent,” said Dovizioso. “At the beginning, Casey was really fast when the tires weren’t fully up to temperature and at that moment I knew it was going to be a hard fight with him. I don’t know what Casey did to up his pace today but his speed was amazing. There were two or three places on that lap where he was faster than me every time, but I saw that he was also on the limit and so I kept pushing.”

Dovizioso made a push to try and challenge for the win as the final three laps approached, but a moment almost cost him the chance of securing his first podium since Silverstone in June.

“It was hard to maintain the pace on the tyre in the last few laps and I nearly had a big high side three laps from the end - at that moment I knew I couldn’t win the race,” he said. “It was a little bit disappointing because I wanted the win and I thought it was possible today, but I’m really happy to be back on the podium again.”

Rossi was delighted to be back on the podium at Motegi. Having placed sixth last time out at Aragón the Italian was determined to score his sixth rostrum result of the 2010 campaign and did so in some style.

"What a great race,” said Rossi after edging his team-mate. “Of course I would have preferred to be battling for the win but anyway it was a great feeling, a real show and I want to congratulate Jorge because he was very strong and didn't give up.

“Unfortunately I lost time at the start when he passed me so Stoner and Dovizioso got away, and by the time I passed him again they were too far ahead. At the end I was tired and my tire was sliding a lot, it was a bit softer than I would have liked, so I knew I was going to be in trouble but I wanted the podium so much. Jorge came back at me and we had a great battle, proper racing - I think everyone watching enjoyed it.”

Edwards posted a season’s best result of fifth, with Simoncelli sixth and Bautista seventh. Spies Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) completed the top 10.

In the absence of the injured Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo’s lead at the top of the Championship was extended to 69 points. Stoner remains in third, with Dovizioso leapfrogging Rossi into fourth.

Toni Elías took another step towards sealing the 2010 Moto2 World Championship with victory in the Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday, holding off the determined challenge of Julián Simón to take his seventh win of the season.

Elías managed to resist Simón’s determined push and eventually finished 0.315 secs. ahead of his fellow Spaniard. For the Gresini Racing rider victory stretched his advantage at the top of the Championship to 81 points over Simón, who finished second for the fourth race in succession.

An intense last-lap push for third place saw Alex De Angelis and Karel Abraham touch bikes on the final lap, with the Czech rider coming out on top for his first ever World Championship podium.

Marc Márquez took victory at Motegi in the 125cc Grand Prix of Japan on Sunday as he closed the gap on Championship leader Nico Terol – who finished the race in second position – to six points. It was the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider’s seventh win of the season, which came from his ninth pole position start of the year.

Márquez crossed the line 2.612 secs. clear to narrow the gap on Championship leader Terol, who finished second, with his team-mate Bradley Smith collecting a fourth podium of the season by placing third. Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) placed fourth to maintain touch with Márquez in the overall standings, who he now trails by seven points.

MotoGP Race Results
1. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati 43:12.266
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda +3.868
3. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +5.707
4. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +6.221
5. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha +27.092
6. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda +30.021
7. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki +31.826
8. Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha +35.572
9. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda +47.564
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda +49.598
11. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda +49.999
12. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati +50.703
13. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati +51.422
14. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati +52.843
15. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati +1:14.668
Not Classified
Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki

MotoGP Point Standings
1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 297
2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 228
3. Casey STONER (Ducati) 180
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 159
5. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 156
6. Ben SPIES (Yamaha) 139
7. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 129
8. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 88
9. Marco SIMONCELLI (Honda) 84
10. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 81
11. Marco MELANDRI (Honda) 79
12. Hector BARBERA (Ducati) 69
13. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Suzuki) 58
14. Aleix ESPARGARO (Ducati) 52
15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 41
16. Hiroshi AOYAMA (Honda) 35
17. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 34
18. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 11
19. Roger Lee HAYDEN (Honda) 5
20. Kousuke AKIYOSHI (Honda) 4
21. Wataru YOSHIKAWA (Yamaha) 1