Dani Pedrosa clinched second place in the MotoGP championship after winning the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix in front of his home fans on Sunday.
The Spaniard headed off world champion Casey Stoner to triumph and overtake former No. 1 Valentino Rossi, whose race was ended by engine problems.
Seven-time world champion Rossi had started the race needing just one point to clinch second behind Stoner, but the result capped a miserable year for the Italian and his Yamaha team.
He was able to ride and maintain his record of never having missed a race in his career despite breaking three bones in his hand during qualifying on Saturday, but his brave bid came to nothing after starting from 17th on the grid. CNN.com
The Honda rider, who started on pole, completed the 30 laps around the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) Cheste circuit in 46 minutes, 43.533 seconds.
Casey Stoner of Australia, who clinched the world title last month, was second with 46:48.980 on his Ducati.
Pedrosa’s second victory of the season gave him a final total of 242 points, just ahead of five-time world champion Valentino Rossi with 241.
Rossi failed to classify after starting from 17th on the grid after breaking his right hand in three places in a spectacular crash in Saturday’s qualifying. International Herald Tribune
Rossi, 28, was hurt during qualifying when he lost control of his bike after the first curve at the Ricardo Tormo circuit and was bounced along the tarmac before being thrown off into the gravel.
Rossi was able to walk away from the crash, although he was clearly in pain as he grasped his injured hand. His bike was almost destroyed.
“The X-rays show that he has broken three bones in his right hand, ” doctor Claudio Costa told Spanish television.
The Italian had not finished outside the top two in any class since his rookie season in the 125cc category in 1996. TheAge.com
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