Pedrosa scores big home win

From motogp.com

A breakaway plan from Dani Pedrosa worked to perfection in the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya on Sunday, as he took the holeshot at his home race and never looked back. The win ended a long premier class run without a local winner in Barcelona, stretching back to 1999 and a popular triumph for Alex Criville in the 500cc category.

Keen to avoid a battle between himself and predicted podium finishers Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, the Repsol Honda rider burst out of the blocks and set about putting space between himself and the rest of the field. A new circuit record was made by Pedrosa by the second lap, and he kept the pace up throughout the 25-lap race.

A fourth consecutive win proved a wish too far for Fiat Yamaha star Rossi, who nonetheless fulfilled expectations by fighting his way up from ninth on the grid. A penultimate lap slipstream of Stoner gave him second place, a sixth consecutive podium and, most importantly, the advantage necessary to maintain the lead in the MotoGP World Championship.

Andrea Dovizioso was fourth on the JiR Team Scot Honda, equalling his previous best MotoGP finish from Qatar.

As in qualifying, the Tech 3 Yamaha pairing of Colin Edwards and James Toseland took fifth and sixth place, respectively, with the latter holding off Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen in a sprint to the line. Nicky Hayden, Shinya Nakano and John Hopkins completed the first 10 past the chequered flag.

The race was littered with retirements at the midway point, with Alex de Angelis, Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet all crashing out in quick succession. Toni Elias had just a few laps earlier been shown the black flag for not obeying an order for a ride-through penalty.

Race Results
1. D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 43:02.175
2. V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team +2.806
3. C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team +3.343
4. A. DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP +10.893
5. C. EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha +16.426
6. J. TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha +21.482
7. C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.548
8. N. HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team +22.280
9. S. NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini +22.375
10. J. HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team +46.835
11. M. MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team +57.991
12. A. WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team +59.168
13. S. GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team +1:00.779
Not classified
R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 14 Lap
A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 15 Lap
L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 15 Lap
Excluded
T. ELIAS SPA Alice Team

Point Standings
1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 142
2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 135
3. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 94
4. Casey STONER (Ducati) 92
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 69
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 57
7. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 53
8. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 51
9. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 48
10. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 42
11. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 40
12. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 32
13. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 29
14. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 24
15. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 24
16. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 18
17. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 15
18. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 10
19. Tadayuki OKADA (Honda) 2