MotoGP News: 2010 Sachsenring MotoGP Race Result
Dani Pedrosa having clenched the victory at the drama filled MotoGP race at Sachsenring, Germany, has managed to close the championship gap to Jorge Lorenzo.
The race which proved to be quite incidental had two parts to it. On lap 10, Randy de Puniet collided with Aleix Espargaro causing Alvaro Bautista to crash with them. The race was red flagged and the Honda rider Randy de Puniet was taken off to hospital and later diagnosed with a fractured tibia and fibula.
The other two riders did not sustain any critical injury but failed to return to the pit lane in time and were not allowed to restart the race.
The restart was almost the replica of the first race with Lorenzo and Pedrosa battling it out for the top place, while Casey Stoner put up a long struggle to overtake Andrea Dovizioso, eventually achieving it too late into the race to challenge the leaders for their spot.
The difference that marked the two races was in the performance of the Repsol Honda rider, Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo seemed in control of the shots in the first race, but Pedrosa stepped up the challenge another notch after the race restarted.
He exerted tremendous pressure on Lorenzo for the remaining 21 laps of the second race, finally managing to take the lead for the first time in lap 9 only to lose it again by running wide and allowing Lorenzo to slip back in.
Pedrosa went for the challenge again at the same turn on the very next lap and managed to retain his lead by holding his line. From there he kicked up the pace and Fiat Yamaha could not match the Repsol Honda rider without risks.
Lorenzo with a 52 point lead in the championship decided to play it safe and risk free letting Pedrosa take the top podium and closing the championship gap by 5 points.
The more interesting battle was not for the top spot; it was waged by the nine time world champion Valentino Rossi. After a miraculous speedy recovery from his leg and shoulder injury, he put up a remarkable performance to remind everyone about why he is the best in the business.
He wrestled past both Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso to mount the challenge on the Marlboro Ducati rider, Casey Stoner. It took him 7 laps to do it and in lap 13 he was set on the Ducati’s tail pushing Stoner harder and harder.
The gruelling battle for the third spot lasted till the very last lap with Rossi overtaking Stoner at lap 11 and loosing the spot at turn 13 of the very same lap. Rossi made the second move on the same turn in lap 15 and could only retain the lead for a lap before conceding it to the Australian rider.
Rossi persistently tried again at the same turn and lost the lead yet again. In the penultimate lap, Rossi took the third place again from Stoner. Again Rossi could not maintain the lead, and at the infamous turn 13, Stoner made his move from the inside and left the Italian rider with little choice but to cede the podium.
Nicky Hayden controlled the 5th place right up to the last lap, but at the start of the last lap he ran wide and gave way to Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli thus ending up at the 7th place.
Only 15 riders will take place at the grid in Laguna Seca owing to the injuries of Espargaro and De Puniet.
The race results were:
The Top three podium positions went to Dani PEDROSA (HONDA), Jorge LORENZO (YAMAHA) and Casey STONER (DUCATI) respectively. Followed by Valentino ROSSI (YAMAHA), Andrea DOVIZIOSO (HONDA), Marco SIMONCELLI (HONDA), Nicky HAYDEN (DUCATI), Ben SPIES (YAMAHA), Hector BARBERA (DUCATI), Marco MELANDRI (HONDA), Loris CAPIROSSI (SUZUKI) and Alex DE ANGELIS (HONDA).
The Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo leads the championship with 185 points followed by Dani Pedrosa at 138 points and Andrea Dovizioso with 102 points.
Tags: