The Italian however had a tough time in a second consecutive race run under the flag-to-flag rules with the riders starting in the wet, and then pitting to change bikes as the circuit dried out.
Stoner, riding for the Italian Ducati equipe in the heartland, took charge at half distance, though nothing came easily for him: “I was struggling a lot with the clutch spinning but I managed to adjust it. When the track started to dry I was more confident, but, I was lucky to bring the bike home in first place.” Telegraph.co.uk
Rossi blamed his team for making the wrong choice of tyre in the dry, going for the harder compound.
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“It’s a precious result, it’s also nice to be on the podium. The race was really difficult, we knew the weather would be terrible,” he said.
“In the dry we made a mistake in going with the hard tyres. The choice of hards was made even though I wanted the soft ones.”
Lorenzo said he was delighted with his finish having slid off on the warm-up lap and skidded at the start.
“Honestly, this is as good as a win for me and I can’t really believe the race today, it was like a movie,” he said. Auto Racing Daily
Pos. Rider Manu. Total Time 1 Casey Stoner Ducati 45'41.894 2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 0'01.001 3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 0'02.076 4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 0'02.129 5 Loris Capirossi Suzuki 0'03.274 6 Colin Edwards Yamaha 0'24.451 7 James Toseland Yamaha 0'25.621 8 Randy De Puniet Honda 0'26.046 9 Niccolo Canepa Ducati 0'31.815 10 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 0'34.814 11 Marco Melandri Kawasaki 0'35.090 12 Nicky Hayden Ducati 0'39.122 13 Mika Kallio Ducati 0'52.462 14 Toni Elias Honda 0'52.478 15 Alex De Angelis Honda -1Laps
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