Rossi scores dramatic GP win

From motogp.com

An amazing head-to-head battle between Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo saw the Italian take his 99th Grand Prix victory by a 0.095-sec. margin at Catalunya on Sunday.

In front of nearly 90,000 fans in Barcelona the reigning World Champion took a superb win, battling with Lorenzo throughout the 25 lap MotoGP race to secure the win on the last corner.

Despite some slight cloud cover close to the Mediterranean coast, air temperatures of 40°C meant it was a draining experience for the premier class riders but Rossi and Lorenzo threw everything into their duel, with 'The Doctor' executing a superb move right at the death to take maximum points.

Rossi exclaimed, “In Italian you would just say about that race, ‘Mama Mia!’. This battle with Lorenzo was very, very close. Our two bikes are set-up very well and we had the same pace so I knew we would get to the end of the race like that so it was fantastic.

“It was a great race and we know that Lorenzo is very strong, so to try and beat him in the future we have to be at 100 per cent. I’m so happy about today and my 99th GP win. It was so important to take this victory here in Barcelona, more than just the 25 points, because for me, for my team and for the crowd it is just fantastic, so I think the show was unbelievable.”

Lorenzo was humble and sporting in defeat, responding, “It’s not the same as a victory but second place is a fantastic result for us because it means we are maintaining consistent form, which we didn’t have last year. Being honest Valentino was braver than me and he overtook me in the last corner because I didn’t close the line enough and he won.

“I congratulate him for this win. I tried to be brave and where I saw gaps I went for it. Although we lost we know there are a lot of races until the end of the season.”

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was on the podium again, to maintain his World Championship challenge, with the result leaving Rossi, Lorenzo and the Australian all tied on 106 points at the head of the standings – the Italian on top as the possessor of the most recent victory.

Stoner was absolutely exhausted after the race having worked extremely hard to fend off a strong challenge from Andrea Dovizioso.

The Australian former World Champion started to feel sick on Saturday afternoon and was extremely tired just after nine laps in Sunday morning’s warmup session, leaving him unsure whether he would even be able to complete the race.

“I’m not sure how I did it because halfway through the race I nearly gave up. I was very close to pulling into the pits and nothing felt right,” Stoner stated. “The bike was working really well but I just wasn’t able to keep the pace, I just couldn’t brake properly as I was nearly falling onto the front of the bike.

“My legs and my stomach were cramping and so I decided to just relax for a few laps to see if we could finish in the top 10 or something similar. The bike was so good that I was able to just keep doing consistent lap times to hold Andrea behind me, and I ended up on the podium which is really important for the championship.”

The Repsol Honda rider produced another consistent display to finish in fourth place for the third round in succession, having started in fourth on the grid, this time missing the podium by 0.052 secs.

Meanwhile, an excellent battle between Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and the brave Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) for fifth place eventually saw an Italian emerge in front of a Spaniard again, Capirossi crossing the line just over two seconds ahead.

With two-way fights for positions going on throughout the order, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) used all his experience to overcome Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) for seventh.
Ducati riders Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Nicky Hayden crossed the line close together in ninth and 10th respectively, giving Hayden his best result of his first season with the Italian factory so far.

New MotoGP arrival Gabor Talmacsi had a better time in his very first premier class race than new Scot Racing team-mate Yuki Takahashi - who crashed out on the first lap – as the Hungarian gained experience coming home in last place.

The unfortunate Toni Elías meanwhile was also unable to finish as his miserable home record continued.

Mapfre Aspar’s Álvaro Bautista extended his lead at the top of the 250cc standings to 12 points with a highly polished performance in a sunny Barcelona race, crossing the finish line seven seconds ahead of his nearest rival Hiroshi Aoyama.

The victory was made all the more sweet by the fact that World Champion Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) retired with a mechanical problem after crashing on the second lap, meaning that the Italian who clashed with Bautista in Mugello two weeks ago dropped to fifth in the standings and now trails the Spaniard by 47 points after six races.

Andrea Iannone’s rollercoaster 125 World Championship season continued on Sunday in Barcelona as he took a bizarre victory over Julián Simón. The two riders did battle for top spot throughout the race only for Simón to celebrate prematurely as he crossed the line in first place with one lap to go, allowing Ongetta Team I.S.P.A. man Iannone to fly past and take his third win of the year – following three difficult races for the Italian in recent weeks.

Behind second placed finisher Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team), Simón eventually reached the finishing line neck and neck with his Bancaja Aspar team-mate Sergio Gadea – the pair being recorded as having finished with the same time and a photo finish giving Gadea third spot to complete Simón’s heartbreak.

Simón’s only consolation is that he takes over the championship lead from colleague Bradley Smith (also Bancaja Aspar) who was eighth.

MotoGP Race Results
1. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 43:11.897 (164.138 km/h)
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.095
3. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +8.884
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +8.936
5. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +19.831
6. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +22.182
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +23.547
8. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +25.265
9. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +31.797
10. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +33.593
11. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +36.683
12. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +36.874
13. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +39.433
14. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +44.788
15. Sete GIBERNAU (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati +46.754
16. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +55.873
17. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +1:27.640
Not classified
Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 9 Laps
Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 0 Laps

MotoGP Point Standings
1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 106
2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 106
3. Casey STONER (Ducati) 106
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 69
5. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 67
6. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 54
7. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki) 50
8. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 49
9. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 42
10. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 42
11. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 29
12. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 26
13. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 25
14. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 23
15. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 19
16. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 10
17. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 9
18. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda) 8