Dovizioso takes dramatic MotoGP win

From motogp.com

Andrea Dovizioso closed the MotoGP stay at Donington Park with a first ever premier class victory, coming out on top in what became a ‘semi flag-to-flag’ race on Sunday.

The Repsol Honda rider made sense of the madness that ensued with steady rainfall to earn 25 points and the honour of being the last premier class winner at the Midlands circuit.

The race was one of the most unpredictable of recent years, with twists and turns every step of the way. Besides the maiden triumph there were falls for the top two in the World Championship, a disastrous pre-race decision from a title contender and riders holding on instead of coming in for a bike change.

Dovizioso had been in the chasing group on the opening laps, but was thrust up to the front courtesy of his superior pace and mistakes from his rivals. After battling with World Championship leader Valentino Rossi at the head of the field, the young Italian found himself alone out in front as the more experienced Rossi fell at the Fogarty Esses with 11 laps remaining.

A maiden win in the premier class could not have come at a better time for the Italian. Following three races without claiming World Championship points, a month in which speculation about his future has been debated and some tough times chasing a first podium as a Repsol Honda rider, the sophomore star gave an assured display when some of the more experienced names in MotoGP fell foul of the Donington Park conditions.

“This race was very difficult. With these conditions the temperature of the tires was too low, and the light rainfall for the whole race meant that it was probably the worst scenario for riding on this tire. We couldn’t change the bikes either, so it was really difficult to manage,” said the Honda factory rider after an ecstatic celebration on the podium.

“Before Valentino crashed it was easy, because I just followed him; after that I needed to understand the track better. Wearing a light visor also meant that I couldn’t see clearly which lines were the driest.”

Also benefitting from consistency were podium finishers Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet, who engaged in an entertaining battle as the chequered flag came closer to being waved.

Monster Tech 3 Yamaha man Edwards took second from the LCR Honda rider on the final hairpin, ending the race just under 1.5 seconds behind Dovizioso. For both riders the top three result was their first podium of the 2009 season.

Edwards has seen all kinds of conditions in his long history of racing, but ranks the 2009 British Grand Prix as one of the hardest situations that he has had to manage. He overtook de Puniet on the final corner of the race after a slow start from sixth on the grid.

“I wouldn’t wish that kind of race on anybody. Have I raced in tougher conditions? Maybe… only when there has been oil on the track or something like that,” said Edwards after his first podium of the 2009 season. "We put a front tire on that we hadn’t run all weekend and I was just feeling out the conditions. Then everyone just left! I was thinking ‘why are you all in such a hurry?’

"Everything seemed to be OK and I was feeling stable, so I just started to push more and saw that I was passing guys pretty quickly. I though that either I was going way too fast for the conditions or they were all freaking out. I think I judged the conditions alright.”

The early going saw uncertainty and instability as rain fell upon the lights going off. Early leader Jorge Lorenzo had been talked out of running wet tires and took the lead after just a handful of laps, but took a fall when he clipped a slippery rumble strip and was unable to restart his Yamaha M1.

The crash had been foreshadowed by a tumble for Toni Elías, the leader of lap 1 and a faller at the same spot on lap 7.

With eight laps remaining the first riders came in to change machines, but it was too late for the switch to make an impact. Alex de Angelis placed fourth, ahead of the remounted Rossi and home rider James Toseland – with whom he dueled on the last lap.

Rossi now leads the World Championship by 25 points from Lorenzo.

The Ducati Marlboro team of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were the only riders to go with full wet tires on the grid, although a lack of heavy rainfall and the durability of Bridgestone’s dry tire meant that they were immediately off the pace. The duo were lapped by the leaders two laps before the halfway point of the race, their gamble definitively failing to pay off.

The decision to run wet tires appeared to make some degree of sense - Stoner had topped the wet morning warmup session and Hayden had been in good form - although in practice the track was not sufficiently sodden for the move.

"Everybody knows I’ve been struggling for the last few races in the dry so I was praying for the rain to come today,” said Stoner after the race. “Every single lap we were out there it threatened to pour down and we were very close to having the perfect situation. Unfortunately, even though it got heavier, it didn’t come soon enough and our tires were destroyed so it ended up being the wrong decision.

“For us, in our current situation, I still think it was a risk worth taking because it could have worked out fantastically but obviously we’re disappointed it didn’t,” he added, sticking by the choice.

Fifteenth-placed Hayden had less to lose than his teammate, with no title challenge on which to focus. He was slightly less convinced as to whether to run the wet tire risk, but in the end made the final call – despite having been informed that every other rider on the grid would be on slicks.

“We agreed on it together with the team but it was my shout, I thought ‘let’s try and be a hero here!’ The tire was pretty much destroyed after seven or eight laps but there was no point coming in to pit and it came apart five laps from the end. To be honest it’s amazing how it held together for that long! I don’t want to say it was a mistake; it was just a gamble that didn’t pay off and we’ll learn from it,” lamented the American.

The brave decision had come after the initial sighting lap, during which both riders had expressed concerns over a lack of grip.

Hiroshi Aoyama came out on top in the 250cc battle of Britain, as Donington Park dried out and gave a headache for the title contenders.

The tire choice for the start of the British Grand Prix was in no doubt: the declaration of a wet race meant that the softer and cut tires would be the rubber for the opening laps. Before the halfway mark, however, the asphalt had dried, leaving a big decision as to whether to come in, miss a lap and attempt to recover time on slick tires, or risk a slip-up on the notoriously treacherous Midlands track.

Aoyama had a pair of near-misses, but managed the degradation of his Dunlops to perfection as none of the big guns elected to make a switch. Backmarkers and riders attempting to unlap themselves came into play, but Aoyama remained cool to add to his win total and World Championship lead.

Title rival Álvaro Bautista reduced a seven-second lead to just three with a handful of laps remaining, but remained out of touching distance as he encountered a hoard of riders on dry weather tires. The Mapfre Aspar rider had started from fourth on the grid, his first time off the front row in 2009.

Aoyama now leads Bautista by 15 points in the overall classification.

Julián Simón emerged victorious in a five-lap sprint for glory in the final 125cc World Championship race at Donington Park. Rainfall 11 laps from the scheduled end of the 25-lap showdown closed back up the field and created a thrilling finale to the British Grand Prix, won by the series leader.

The triumph was the Aspar Team’s 100th, the day after they announced their move up to MotoGP for 2010. More importantly for Simón, it was his third of the 2009 season.

MotoGP Race Results
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 48:26.267 (149.498 km/h)
2. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.360
3. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +1.600
4. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +8.958
5. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +21.622
6. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +22.465
7. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +35.284
8. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +38.769
9. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +42.112
10. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +45.845
11. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +53.190
12. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +1:12.315
13. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1:20.398
14. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1 Lap
15. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1 Lap
Not classified
Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +22 Laps
Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +23 Laps

MotoGP Point Standings
1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 187
2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 162
3. Casey STONER (Ducati) 150
4. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 115
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 103
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 94
7. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki) 79
8. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 74
9. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 67
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 66
11. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 60
12. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 55
13. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 47
14. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 47
15. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 34
16. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 28
17. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 12
18. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda) 9
19. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda) 5