Pedrosa dominates Italian GP

From motogp.com

Dani Pedrosa rode a start-to-finish victory at Mugello on Sunday as he took his maiden win of the 2010 MotoGP campaign at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.

The Spaniard, who had only converted three of his previous 14 premier class pole positions into wins prior to this race, never looked like relinquishing the lead he held from Turn 1 of the opening lap and crossed the finish line 4.014 secs. clear of the rest of the field.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to win again. We’ve been working really hard and we had some problems through the winter and in the first races, so I’m really delighted with this victory, especially after leading at Jerez for so long but not quite making it,” said Pedrosa, who finished second in round two after starting from pole.

The 24-year-old appears to be back to a level he feels competitive at aboard his factory RC212V and he hopes to carry that into the next three rounds, a trio of back-to-back GPs that begins at Silverstone in two weeks.

“It looks like we are back near where we need to be and the team deserves the victory. I had a great feeling on the bike today, especially at the beginning section of the race and I could open up a gap,” he said. “It’s important that we are competitive now because we have one weekend off and then three races in a row.”

World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) took second place to extend his lead at the top of the standings, ahead of third-placed Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) who gave the home crowd a podium to cheer after Valentino Rossi was ruled out of the race on Saturday following his crash in practice.

Lorenzo cited a lack of pace on his Yamaha M1 machine but was delighted to have taken his fourth straight podium of the 2010 campaign - a result that strengthened his place at the top of the World Championship standings.

“Unfortunately my pace today wasn't as good as yesterday and I could only finish second; something happened and I couldn't ride in the same way but in the circumstances I am happy with my result,” said Lorenzo, who now leads the Championship by 25 points over Pedrosa.

“Dani had a perfect race today; he had an amazing pace and I don't know if I could have beaten him even if I had been as fast as yesterday! To take 90 points from 100 is great and I am leading the Championship, so I cannot ask for more. I need to make some improvements to my riding style and Yamaha needs to try to improve the power of the bike a bit so we have some things to work on, but I am confident about the next weeks.

Going into the weekend Lorenzo’s closest rival in the standings was team-mate Rossi, but the Italian’s fractured right tibia in practice on Saturday ruled him out of the race and for an as-yet unknown number of forthcoming rounds.

Lorenzo paid tribute to Rossi before the race with a special t-shirt, and added: “It was very strange today without Valentino, I am so glad the fans honoured him so well. I wanted to win to dedicate the victory to him but that wasn't possible so all I can do is say ‘get well soon!'”

Dovizioso had plenty of reasons to be extremely pleased with his display. The 23-year-old’s achievement was made all the more impressive given the fact he started from eighth on the grid.

Dovizioso’s third podium of the campaign was built on his lightning quick start, as he got away well to gain four places as the MotoGP field headed into Turn 1. He then engaged in a marvellous battle with Lorenzo for second place, before eventually crossing the line in third.

“It’s so special to be on the podium at Mugello in front of my home crowd because I’ve never made the podium in MotoGP here - I always had to watch it on the TV in the garage!” he said. “It was a really emotional experience up there with all the fans supporting us.

“I made a good start and this was really important for my race. I wanted to finish the race fighting with Lorenzo because I think it could have been a good battle on the last lap, but I couldn’t catch him.

"We are getting closer to the front but we are not quite there yet and we have to take the next step so that we can fight for victories.”

Casey Stoner took fourth as he beat Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet in a last-lap dash.

Dovizioso and Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) had rapid starts from the second row and the Italian was up to third before the end of the opening lap as the pair pushed through on Stoner (Ducati Marlboro).

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) experienced a run-off as he pushed for position early on.

Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was riding hard as he edged his way up to sixth having started from 14th on the grid, and Pedrosa’s pace was undoubted as he set a new circuit record at the front on lap 5.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro) suffered disappointment when the front of his Ducati Desmosedici GP10 folded as he went through the downhill Turn 12 on the same lap.

Just past the halfway point of the race Pedrosa’s lead had stretched to 7.309 secs. and his fluid rhythm was maintained as he kept edging away. Lorenzo and Dovizioso were more closely matched, and much further back positions four to six remained open as Melandri, De Puniet and Stoner exchanged blows, with Spies not out of the chase either.

Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) unfortunately crashed out to bring a difficult weekend, affected by a lingering shoulder problem, to an end.

Pedrosa’s win became more secure as the final laps counted down, and it was left to Lorenzo and Dovizioso to decide the remaining podium spots. The Fiat Yamaha rider opened up a slender advantage that he did not surrender for the remainder of the race.

The final lap delivered a great display in the fight for fourth as Stoner went through on both Melandri (fifth) and De Puniet (sixth) to finish ahead of the pair, while up front Pedrosa crossed the line first with Lorenzo and Dovizioso following.

Spies finished seventh in his first race at the circuit, with another rookie impressing in the shape of Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) who took eighth. Simoncelli had recovered from his earlier mistake in time to take ninth, with Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) 10th.

Lorenzo now has 90 points at the top of the Championship, with Pedrosa second on 65. The absent Rossi is third on 61, with Dovizioso’s podium taking him to 58 in fourth.

Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) won the Moto2 Gran Premio d’Italia TIM at Mugello by a margin of 2.764 secs. on Sunday, delighting the home crowd as the battle for positions two to six provided a riveting contest. Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons) took second place and Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) made it a second Italian on the podium as he rose from 26th on the grid to take third place with an incredible ride.

Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) took his first World Championship win in a tight 125cc race at Mugello that went all the way to the wire, leading an all-Spanish podium which was completed by Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) and Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing).

MotoGP Race Results
1. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda 42:28.066
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha +4.014
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda +6.196
4. Casey STONER (AUS) Marlboro Ducati +25.703
5. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda +25.735
6. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda +25.965
7. Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha +28.806
8. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati +40.172
9. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda +41.394
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki +42.107
11. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda +43.095
12. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati +43.363
13. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha +1:14.393
14. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki +1:24.389
Not Classified
Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati
Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Marlboro Ducati

MotoGP Point Standings
1. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha) 90
2. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 65
3. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 61
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 58
5. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) 39
6. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 36
7. Marco MELANDRI (Honda) 32
8. Casey STONER (Ducati) 24
9. Marco SIMONCELLI (Honda) 23
10. Ben SPIES (Yamaha) 20
11. Hector BARBERA (Ducati) 19
12. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 19
13. Hiroshi AOYAMA (Honda) 18
14. Aleix ESPARGARO (Ducati) 16
15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 13
16. Mika KALLIO (Ducati) 12
17. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Suzuki) 8