Valentino Rossi added Laguna Seca to his list of conquered tracks on the MotoGP calendar in a breathtaking Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, ending Casey Stoner’s run of wins and garnering an important addition to his points tally heading into the summer break.
In contrast to his comments after Saturday’s qualifying session, Rossi needed neither a gun nor a 30-second headstart to stop the man so dominant in practice. Instead he relied on a storming start and his best pace of the weekend to stifle Stoner’s breakaway attempt, presenting himself as the only object between the Australian and a fourth consecutive victory.
A speedy start, some shaky moments and two top caliber riders separated from the rest of the field made for a thrilling race, and the end result of a 33rd victory for Rossi for the factory Yamaha team –equaling his total for previous manufacturer Honda.
Rossi’s 66th career victory stopped defending world champion Casey Stoner’s winning streak at three races. Rossi finished the 32-lap race in 44 minutes 4.311 seconds with a top speed of 97.72 m.p.h to set an event record.
“For sure, the race was unbelievable,” Rossi said. “It was a great battle with Casey. It was fun, a lot of fun in this race.”
“We knew we had to be perfect to win today,” said Rossi, whose previous best finish at Laguna Sega was third in 2005. “We made a few changes this morning in warmup that made us faster in the race.”
As Rossi and Stoner prepared to enter the home straight, having battled at each corner, Stoner went wide into the gravel and his attempt to push himself back with his foot saw him fall. He resumed in second place, and couldn’t catch his Italian rival, finishing 13 seconds adrift.
The runner-up finish did allow the 22-year-old to take over second place in the standings.
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, who was lying second overall coming into the race, withdrew before Saturday’s qualifying after his practice runs showed his broken left wrist and injured ankle - suffered in a fall in the German Grand Prix - just wouldn’t allow him to compete.
| 
|