Italian Valentino Rossi won the Catalunya MotoGP on Sunday, beating Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo after an audacious move on the final corner of a thrilling last lap.
In what must have been one of the most exciting finishes to a major Grand Prix race, the lead exchanged three times on the final lap as Lorenzo desperately tried to give the Spanish fans a home win.
“It was a great race and so exciting,” said Rossi. “It was so unbelievable and Jorge was so great.”
Lorenzo, who has admitted that he is not the best of friends with Rossi off the track, added: “It was a memorable race. Valentino and me did our best to give a spectacle.
“We will see what happens in the next race,” said the 22-year-old, who now shares the overall standings lead with Rossi and Australian Casey Stoner, the trio locked on 106 points after six races. AFP
“I wasn’t expecting him to take me at that point but he was more courageous than me and deserved the win,” Lorenzo said.
MotoGP: Grand Prix of Catalunya - Race Results
Rossi finished in 43 minutes, 11.897 seconds to take the chequered flag for his 99th victory in a major race.“I’m happy, very happy. I congratulate Jorge, he gave me one hell of a final lap,” said Rossi. guardian.co.uk
Stoner was absolutely exhausted after the race having worked extremely hard to fend off a strong challenge from Andrea Dovizioso. The Repsol Honda rider produced another consistent display to finish in fourth place for the third round in succession, having started in fourth on the grid, this time missing the podium by 0.052s.
Meanwhile, an excellent battle between Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and the brave Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) for fifth place eventually saw an Italian emerge in front of a Spaniard again, Capirossi crossing the line just over two seconds ahead.
With two-way fights for positions going on throughout the order, Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) used all his experience to overcome Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) for seventh. MotoGP
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