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MotoGP: Indianapolis Grand Prix - Race Results
A championship didn’t slip from Valentino Rossi’s hands Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but his grip on it loosened when his motorcycle slid from underneath him in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
What could be the pivotal moment in the season happened on lap 10 of 28 as Rossi followed race leader and Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo through the first turn.
All seemed well for the six-time world champion until the bike appeared to shake briefly. In an instant he was down, banging his right elbow off the pavement as he slid to the grass.
Rossi shook his head in disbelief.
“Unfortunately I ran wide onto a dirty part of the track and lost the front end,” he said in a statement released by his team. Indianapolis Star
“His misfortune was good for me. It makes a difficult thing for me a little more possible,” said Lorenzo, who has five more races to catch his teammate.
“This is fantastic for me,” he added. “I’ve had two crashes in a row, but now I’ve won and my closest rivels have crashed instead. I’m sorry for them, but these are the highs and lows of racing and it is an amazing result for me.”
Lorenzo, who was the series rookie of the year in 2008, won the 28-lap, 118.104 km race by more than nine seconds over runner-up Alex De Angelis of San Marino. AFP
Championship standings
S.No. Riders Points Team/Sponsor 1 Valentino Rossi 212 pts Fiat Yamaha Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 187 pts Fiat Yamaha Team 3 Casey Stoner 150 pts Ducati Marlboro Team 4 Dani Pedrosa 141 pts Repsol Honda Team 5 Colin Edwards 128 pts Tech 3 Yamaha 6 Andrea Dovizioso 120 pts Repsol Honda Team 7 Alex De Angelis 88 pts San Carlo Honda Gresini 8 Loris Capirossi 86 pts Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 9 Randy De Puniet 84 pts LCR Honda MotoGP 10 Marco Melandri 79 pts Hayate Racing Team 11 Nicky Hayden 73 pts Ducati Marlboro Team 12 Chris Vermeulen 72 pts Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 13 James Toseland 72 pts Tech 3 Yamaha 14 Toni Elias 70 pts San Carlo Honda Gresini 15 Mika Kallio 42 pts Pramac Racing 16 Niccolo Canepa 32 pts Pramac Racing 17 Sete Gibernau 12 pts Grupo Francisco Hernando 18 Yuki Takahashi 9 pts Scot Racing Team MotoGP 19 Gabor Talmacsi 3 pts Scot Racing Team MotoGP 20 Aleix Espargaro 3 pts Pramac Racing
