Did Sachsenring end FIAT Yamaha Domination in 2010 MotoGP Season?
The FIAT Yamaha team is dominating the MotoGP for the second season in a row. Valentino Rossi became the champion in 2009 while his teammate Jorge Lorenzo landed at the runners-up spot. This domination over the entire competition actually increased in the ongoing season, as both drivers started the championship battle at the top two positions in the table. However, Rossi went through a set-back because of an injury, while Jorge Lorenzo continued to dominate the grid. Lorenzo won five out of eight races and finished in the second spot for the remaining three races. Along with that, Valentino Rossi won the first race of the season and had two more podium finishes in the next two races. This supremacy is being enjoyed by the team for a long time now. However, this year, FIAT Yamaha has hardly been challenged by other teams in the battle.
The real problem with all other teams is the lack of consistency. Teams such as the Repsol Honda and the Ducati are facing similar problems in matching up with the pace of the Yamaha bike. However, before coming to the German Grand Prix in Sachsenring, during the last weekend, these teams were hopeful in putting up a challenge for FIAT Yamaha. Despite their efforts, the results were favourable for the Repsol Honda team as they won their second race of the season. Casey Stoner with his Ducati had to be content with another third place finish for the season, as he failed to improve his standings.
Dani Pedrosa showed a lot of promise throughout the weekend. But, his best performance came during the race, which was shortened to 21 laps only. The Spaniard had a flawless race, as he recorded the fastest laps, one after another. Although, he was challenged throughout by Jorge Lorenzo, who also looked great on his Yamaha, but Dani Pedrosa proved to be stronger than his compatriot. In the end, Dani Pedrosa was pleased with the victory for his team and rated it as his best victory in the current season.
On the other hand, Dani Pedrosa’s compatriot in Honda, Andrea Dovizioso was not as good as the Spaniard. He did his best to challenge Rossi and Stoner for a third place finish, but was out of the competition during the later stages of the grand prix. He was not fast enough if compared to the rest of the riders. Along with that, Andrea also made a number of mistakes on the corners as well. Along with that, Andrea was ahead of Rossi in the qualifying but was unable to challenge the Italian during the race. After the race, he admitted that his team had not prepared the bike very well for the race due to which he faced some problems during the weekend.
Ducati also had a rough weekend, as Casey Stoner failed to improve his position. It was the Australian’s third successive third-place finish who had to wait till the last corner of the race to achieve it. The injury-stricken Rossi created a lot of problems for the Australian biker throughout the race. Stoner admitted, after the race, that Valentino Rossi had more pace than his bike and it was hard for him to keep his third spot. He also said that the grip on the tyres was not good enough, and for the next race in Laguna, the team must work on this issue.
However, Casey Stoner did get past his teammate Nicky Hayden to clinch the fourth place in the overall standings. Hayden had a very complicated race, as he finished at the seventh place, despite being at the fifth place at one point in the grand prix. The American showed some lack of concentration, while making a lot of mistakes throughout the session. Also, the Ducati did not seem to be good enough for holding the pressure exerted by Dovizioso and Simoncelli.
Although, the Drivers’ Championships is not quite over yet, but Lorenzo would still be the happiest man with the final result. Pedrosa delivered a flawless race, which was not possible to achieve during every single race. But, the last weekend has proved that the season is not quite over yet, as there can be a lot of surprises in the remainder of the season. Also, with the comeback of Rossi, anything can happen, as the Italian has a tendency to mentally outplay his opponents, which has caused the young drivers in the past to commit a lot of mistakes. The next race in Laguna would be quite interesting, while Rossi’s performance could prove to be a turning point in the season.
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