Dani Pedrosa wins at Misano
Dani Pedrosa started from pole position to win the Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini in Misano. The podium was completed by Jorge Lorenzo, in second place, and the current champion Valentino Rossi in third.
The race started well for Pedrosa, who took a big lead from the start, owing to one of his brilliant starts. In the very beginning, Pedrosa showed great pace as he recorded the fastest lap of the match. Therefore, by lap three he was almost two seconds ahead of second place Jorge Lorenzo. This lead continued till the very end, as Lorenzo was unable to match the pace of his fellow Spaniard. Also, Pedrosa did not make any mistakes to make sure that he crossed the chequered flag in first spot.
Pedrosa had never won two consecutive races in Premier Class, so this was his first consecutive victory. Also, in this season when Pedrosa has shown some inconsistency, this victory also showed that the Spaniard has found his rhythm once again. This was his fourth victory of this season, with only six races remaining.
This race was not action packed, especially for the first two riders. As Pedrosa managed to take a big lead from the start, Lorenzo also rode alone in his second place. Early on in the race, Lorenzo must have realized that Pedrosa was much faster than him, due to which he did not push hard for the first place. Rather, he rode well to consolidate his second position, which was good enough for him at this stage of the season.
The real action at Misano was between the next three positions, as three riders fought for the final spot on the podium. Apart from that, most of the fans must have found their interest in these three riders, as there were two home boys in mix, including Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso. The race started with Casey Stoner in this position, while Rossi and Dovizioso were next in the order. However, Valentino Rossi battled hard with Casey Stoner to get the lead, as both riders had frequent swaps. Ultimately, Rossi won the battle as he overtook Stoner for a third spot.
To make things interesting for the home fans, Dovizioso also managed to overtake Stoner. Soon, both these riders managed to pull away from the Australian, and started their own battle in front of the home crowd. However, Rossi managed to win this duel comfortably in the end.
Ben Spies, the American rookie, did not have a weekend which he would have wanted in the beginning. He had his best results of the career in last two races, but this weekend he was again out of the podium. However, he finished in sixth place, ahead of his teammate Colin Edwards.
There were also some crashes in the race, but the biggest disappointment was felt by Nicky Hayden. Hayden was starting his 200th Grand Prix of his career, but crashed on the first turn, alongside Loris Capirossi. As the latter managed to rejoin the race, Hayden was unable to do that, getting a DNF at a memorable time of his career. Marco Simoncelli also crashed, but he also managed to pull through in the end.
After this race, Lorenzo’s lead has dropped to 63 points only, as Pedrosa is managing to close the gap. However, Lorenzo is not taking any chances, as he does not need to do a lot to make sure that he wins the championship. Right now, he has to make sure to finish all the races at the podium, which will be enough for him to win the title.
Also, Valentino Rossi has crossed Casey Stoner to move into fourth spot. He is only nine points behind Dovizioso, and Rossi will only be looking for a third place for this season.
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