US Grand Prix: Riders’ Perspectives
The Red Bull US Grand Prix was held in Laguna Seca, last weekend. The race was promising to be a very tight affair, as Casey Stoner, the Ducati rider, showed a lot of improvement from last week, while Lorenzo got another pole position, beating every single rider on the track, by the sheer pace and quality of his FIAT Yamaha bike.
Also, Valentino Rossi could not improve his starting position, despite the claims of further improvements. Nevertheless, the Laguna track is very demanding and the outcomes of the race cannot be judged, until the last moment.
The results of the race were quite surprising. Jorge Lorenzo gained another victory, as Dani Pedrosa crashed while leading the race. Therefore, Casey Stoner finished second, while Valentino Rossi finished in the last spot at the podium. This race proved to be very good for Stoner, as he achieved his best results of the season.
Also, Rossi improved his position from last week’s race in Germany. On the other hand though, Pedrosa dropped further down in the championships standings, as Lorenzo increased the gap on top of the table.
Dani Pedrosa, riding his Rapsol Honda bike, was looking for his first back to back victories in MotoGP. He was the most confident rider, coming into the race after his victory over Lorenzo in Germany. However, he was quite unlucky as he crashed, on lap 11, while leading the race.
But, Pedrosa did not lose any hope after such a horrible ending to an, otherwise, spectacular race. During the post match interview, Pedrosa reacted very calmly to the whole situation. He said that while turning into a corner he hit a bump in the road, which resulted in the loss of balance. However, he remained positive when he suggested that his team can take some good things from this race, as he was doing an excellent job before this horrible incident.
Jorge Lorenzo was the happiest man among all the riders as he increased his gap to 72 points, at the top of the standings. However, he admitted during his interview that he did not start the race very well. When the race started, Lorenzo lost his pole position advantage, as Pedrosa, Spies and Stoner overtook him at the first corner of the race.
But, the Spaniard did not lose his concentration and he overtook Spies and Stoner, at a very early stage. In the interview he admitted that both he and Pedrosa were pushing their machines to the limit and an accident was highly probable. This ended up happening in the race, as Pedrosa crashed to clear the way for his fellow Spaniard. After the crash, Lorenzo did not find any trouble and got his victory, very easily.
This race proved to be good for Casey Stoner as well, who took his best finish of the season, in second place. He showed his satisfaction during the post-race interview, but also talked about the problems. It was not a perfect race by the Australian, who lost control of his bike on a number of occasions, especially during his attempts to overtake Pedrosa and to hold off Lorenzo.
Nevertheless, he showed an improvement after three consecutive third place finishes, which was a good sign for the team. However, he admitted that perfection is still far away and that he would have to work harder for the next race.
Valentino Rossi was taking part in his second race, in two weeks, after coming back from an injury. However, he showed improvement with a podium finish in the race. In his interview, Rossi claimed that the track was very hard for him, as his injuries caused a lot of problems, throughout the weekend. The race was not easy for the Italian, as he had to battle hard with Dovizioso. Therefore with this in mind, the end result has been very good for Italian, who will now get a three week rest before the next race in the Czech Republic.
Although, Lorenzo is well ahead in the standings, the season is only at the half way mark. The next three weeks would be important for all the teams, as they would make adjustments in their machines. But, right now, Jorge Lorenzo can relax and enjoy his break, as the ride ahead would be easier for him. The Spaniard just needs to stay calm and avoid trouble, which would ensure his first championship in the Premier Class.
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