Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner stole the thunder from the world championship battle by winning his second grand prix in a row with a calculated ride in the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
Stoner, who won his first race of the season two weeks ago in Aragon, was thought to be an afterthought to Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who could have scored enough points that he’d clinch the title in Malaysia quite easily in the absence of the injured Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa was in a Barcelona hospital recovering from surgery after fracturing his left collarbone in a Friday practice crash when his throttle stuck.
Having qualified third fastest, Stoner went into the lead with a pass of pole-sitter Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) two turns from the start, and then they were off.
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Stoner dictated the pace and whenever the Italian made a charge, the Australian countered. The gap went over a second late and grew quickly in the final two laps.
The margin of victory was 3.868 secs.
With little drama for the win over the final few laps the focus shifted to the fight for third, and it was epic. Fiat Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi went head to head over the final two laps, the pair bumping into each other more than one. Cycle News
Rossi eventually beat his team-mate to the line, taking the final podium spot half a second ahead of Lorenzo.
But Lorenzo is almost certain to have the last laugh as he leads the riders’ standings on 297 points, 69 points clear of Dani Pedrosa with four races to go.
Pedrosa did not race at Motegi after fracturing his collarbone during a fall in fall practice on Friday, all but assuring Lorenzo will take the crown in Valencia next month.
Stoner remains third with 180 points, with Dovizioso moving into fourth on 159 points, three ahead of Rossi. Sportal.com.au
Edwards posted a season’s best result of fifth, with Simoncelli sixth and Bautista seventh. Spies Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) completed the top ten. Motogp.com
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