Dani Pedrosa rode his Honda to victory in the Valencia MotoGP today to claim third place in the 2009 championship on a disastrous day for Casey Stoner.
The Spaniard passed the Australian in the points score, Stoner failing to start the last race of the year after crashing his Ducati on the warm-up lap. The Age
The drama started before the race had even commenced, as pole position holder Casey Stoner’s high-side crash on the warm-up lap meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. That allowed Pedrosa to lead the charge from his position on the front row, and after taking the first corner in the lead the Repsol Honda rider never relinquished it, sealing third spot in the overall standings in the process.
World Champion Valentino Rossi followed the Spaniard home in second place, finishing 2.630s behind Pedrosa as he ended his title-winning season with his 13th podium of the campaign. MotoGP
It was a second victory of the season for the Repsol Honda rider, and afterwards he said he was particularly happy to have won.
“All week I was only thinking about the race and I really wanted to win,” he said.
MotoGP: Valencia Grand Prix - Race Results
“In practice we struggled a lot so the team did a great job - with Casey out of the race it was more easy but we did a great race so thanks to everybody.” BBC Sport
“We were a lot slower this weekend, but it didn’t matter as I was already the world champion,” said Rossi.
“I’m happy. Tomorrow (Monday) we will go out and try the new bike for next season.” AFP
The Italian’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who did well to hold onto his bike when a moment on the opening lap almost threw him off, was a further 0.283s behind as he took third, having already sealed second spot in the Championship by virtue of Stoner’s non-start. MotoGP
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