Moto GP

[Rev004]

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Lorenzo storms to victory in Motegi showdown
Sunday, 26 April 2009

Spaniard takes stunning win from Rossi and Pedrosa.


Jorge Lorenzo emerged victorious from a thrilling Polini Grand Prix of Japan at Twin Ring Motegi, the second win of his MotoGP career and a result that retained his 100% podium record in the 2009 season.

The Fiat Yamaha rider took little time in taking the reigns of the race, having started from the front row and showed no fear when faced with the likes of Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi in front of him. However, despite a relatively comfortable advantage, Lorenzo was never quite able to say a definitive ‘sayonara†to his rivals as the action heated up. He held on to cross the line with a gap of less than two seconds between him and second placed teammate Rossi.

Lorenzo moves up into first place in the overall classification, for the second time in his MotoGP career. The battle for second place in the race was MotoGP at its finest, as Repsol Honda man Pedrosa exchanged overtaking moves in the middle third of the 24 laps. Pedrosa took third from out of nowhere, having had a storming start from the fourth row of the grid.

Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner was unable to break away as he had done in Qatar, finishing fourth and keeping up the pressure in the general standings. Andrea Dovizioso completed a fine day for Repsol Honda in fifth, ahead of Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi, Mika Kallio, James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen.

Home rider Yuki Takahashi crashed out of the race in a collision with Nicky Hayden on the second lap.


POLINI GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
MotoGP Race Classification
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 43'47.238 157.886
2 20 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 43'48.542 157.808 1.304
3 16 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 43'51.001 157.661 3.763
4 13 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 43'52.929 157.545 5.691
5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 43'56.445 157.335 9.207
6 10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 44'17.793 156.071 30.555
7 9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 44'19.994 155.942 32.756
8 8 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 44'26.654 155.553 39.416
9 7 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 44'30.344 155.338 43.106
10 6 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 44'30.483 155.330 43.245
11 5 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 44'32.072 155.237 44.834
12 4 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 44'33.778 155.138 46.540
13 3 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 44'40.763 154.734 53.525
14 2 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 45'09.042 153.119 1'21.804
15 1 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 44'25.681 149.126 1 Lap
Not classified
59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati 41'40.115 7 Lap


World Championship

MotoGP
Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 41
2 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 40
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 38
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 22
5 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 21
6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17
7 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 16
8 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 15
9 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 13
10 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 12
11 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 11
12 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 9
13 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 8
14 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 7
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 4
16 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 3
17 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 2
18 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1