Rossi back on top at Misano

From motogp.com

World Champion Valentino Rossi delighted the home crowd at Misano on Sunday with his second successive victory at the Italian circuit, to reassert his authority in the MotoGP title race.

A 2.4-sec. win at the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini over his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was the perfect response to his Indy DNF and Rossi now leads the Spaniard by 30 points in the standings, with four rounds to go.

“I am so happy because this victory is more important than normal, coming after a bad mistake in Indianapolis just seven days ago and especially because my team and I did a great job, from Friday afternoon," Rossi said. "It was a perfect weekend, we were always very fast in all the practices and we are always proud of all the fans here in Misano. Thanks to them for all their support.

“I hoped to make a better start and get to the front but Dani (Pedrosa) and Toni (Elías) overtook me on the first corner and then Jorge at the end of the first lap, so I was fourth and in a little bit of trouble. I had a full fuel load and wasn’t 100 per cent confident.

“I decided to find my rhythm and get the right temperature into the tires, then I started to push and it was a great race. It was a great battle with Toni, Jorge and Dani. When I got in front I couldn’t see everything behind me but I saw Jorge overtake Dani. I had three or four corners where I was very fast so I tried to use that advantage to the maximum.”

Lorenzo did his very best to stay with his illustrious team-mate over the course of the 28-lap contest, having overtaken Dani Pedrosa after a short battle, but 'The Doctor' was unstoppable in the Italian sunshine.

The Majorcan rider is the only rider to have been on the podium every time he has finished a race this year and the Misano contest took him onto the rostrum for the 10th time in 2009.

“After the pace in warm up I knew it was going to be a difficult race," said Lorenzo, who was only sixth in the race morning session. "I had a not bad start, but then I almost crashed on the second corner, because (Alex) de Angelis was going so fast and his bike touched me. Fortunately I didn’t go down and I wanted to relax, so that I could recover, without taking too many risks.

“I think today was the day to finish second and not to win, because Valentino had the best pace all through the weekend. So I had to concentrate on getting second place because I didn’t have the perfect set-up for my bike and I couldn’t brake so late. Because of that it was difficult to get around Dani, as the Honda was accelerating very well. Anyway, second place is good.”

Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa could not match the pace of the powerful Fiat Yamaha pair, eventually crossing the line 10 seconds behind Lorenzo to complete the podium.

The former 250cc and 125cc World Champion made one of his signature superb starts and led the race in the early laps, but was eventually hunted down by Rossi and Lorenzo, who appeared to have an advantage in terms of lap times on their Yamaha M1 machines.

“I gave it my maximum in the race," Pedrosa said. "I tried to do everything I could and I wanted to stay with them (Rossi and Lorenzo) at the beginning, but in the middle of the race I started to go slower and they were just faster. They were braking better and cornering better, so I couldn’t keep up with them.

At the end of the race the Barcelona rider had to be brought back to the pits by fellow Catalan Toni Elías after his machine cut out on the warm down lap.

“From the beginning I had some misfiring on a couple of corners and in the end I was very lucky because my bike stopped on the ‘in-lap’ and it was very strange," the Spaniard explained. "I don’t know if it was lack of fuel or something else, but I think I was lucky to finish the race and get third! Anyway, thanks to my team and the people around me.”

Early in the race there was drama - and heartbreak – when de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) appeared to misjudge the first corner and crashed out, with American pair Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) unfortunately sliding out with him.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) had a fierce fight behind the rostrum finishers, with Dovizioso eventually coming out on top by two-tenths of a second for his third fourth place finish in a row.

The top 10 was rounded off by early race leader Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Mika Kallio (Ducati Marlboro), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) and James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), while temporary Pramac Racing representative Aleix Espargaró did very well in 11th place in just his second MotoGP race.

A tremendous 250cc World Championship battle at Misano between Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) and home rider Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia) went right down to the wire on Sunday afternoon, with a desperate last lap ending with the Spaniard crossing the line four-hundredths of a second in front of the Italian.

Unlike previous duels between the pair there was no controversy on this occasion, with Barberá emerging on top to claim his second victory of the year.

There was also a superb fight for the last podium position between title candidates Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team) on the final lap – and it was a Spanish rider who succeeded in that contest too, albeit by just six-thousandths of a second. That result means Bautista now trails Aoyama by 13 points at the head of the standings.

A dramatic finale to the 125cc race at Misano saw the two leading riders, Andrea Iannone (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A.) and Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team), crash on the last corner to hand Julián Simón (Bancaja Aspar) another crucial win.

MotoGP Race Results
1. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 44:32.882 (159.371 km/h)
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +2.416
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +12.400
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +26.330
5. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +26.539
6. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +28.286
7. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +30.184
8. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +31.757
9. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +31.909
10. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +38.347
11. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Racing Ducati +46.673
12. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +52.041
13. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +1:03.198
14. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +1:22.347
Not finished 1st lap
Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda
Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati

MotoGP Standings
1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 237
2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 207
3. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 157
4. Casey STONER (Ducati) 150
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 133
6. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 123
7. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 97
8. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 88
9. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 88
10. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki) 87
11. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 84
12. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 80
13. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 78
14. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 73
15. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 51
16. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati) 35
17. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 12
18. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda) 12
19. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda) 9
20. Aleix ESPARGARO (Ducati) 8