MotoGP 2010: Lorenzo enthralls home audience by taking the top spot on Podium at Jerez

Words : Harkamal Singh

Local hero Jorge Lorenzo, engaged compariot Dani Pedrosa in a spectacular fight to overtake him in the last lap and take the winner’s position in Jerez GP. Dani Pedrosa who was leading for almost the entire race gave in to pressure and let Lorenzo go past him after offering some resistance. Lorenzo seemed like a man on a mission on his home ground, going past Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden, team mate Valentino Rossi and finally Dani Pedrosa. The track conditions at Jerez weren;t easy for the riders to ride on the limit as in the previous Moto2 race, as many as eight riders ended up sliding on the first corner. However, after the track crew took care of the slippery state of the tar, the bikes were seen blazing through the circuit once again.

Both Dani and Lorenzo were cheered by a noisy local crowd and the duo deivered by gifting them a laudable 1-2. Dani started from the pole and kept his position for most of the race, while Lorenzo made his way up the chart in a characteristically flamboyant manner. He overtook Rossi emphatically, displaying his perseverence and unwillingness to give up even after a series of crashes that he has been facing in the previous seasons. His team mate Rossi started from the third row on the starting grid and looked good to finish in second place for most part of the race, but ended up in the third place. The Local Hero was delighted after his 1st win of 2010 season, “It has always been one of my dreams to win a MotoGP race in Spain and this was like a movie,” exclaimed Lorenzo. “Everything that could possibly happen did! It was a very hard race because I made such a bad start and then found it very difficult in the first laps – I gave myself a tough job to do.”

The high point of the race, without doubt, was Lorenzo’s blitzkrieg which overshadowed all the top riders in the MotoGP grid. The Ducatis of Hayden and Stoner for some reason didn’t look as intimidating and fast as they usually do. Hayden too for a change rode like a true former champion and made sure that Stoner was a good distance away from him for almost the entire race. With Lorenzo having shown once again that his hunger for a win is intact and Repsol Honda team looking strong, the stage is set for a yummy season ahead. The Doctor too, like always is in great nick, and once he gets the setting of his ride right, we’ll have the spectacular dogfights happening on the track once again. Ben Spies and Loris Capirossi were not able to finish the race

MotoGP Jerez Classification

Pos.    Points    Num.    Rider    Nation    Team    Bike    Km/h    Time/Gap
1    25    99    Jorge LORENZO    SPA    Fiat Yamaha Team    Yamaha    158.2    45’17.538
2    20    26    Dani PEDROSA    SPA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    158.2    +0.543
3    16    46    Valentino ROSSI    ITA    Fiat Yamaha Team    Yamaha    158.1    +0.890
4    13    69    Nicky HAYDEN    USA    Ducati Marlboro Team    Ducati    157.7    +9.015
5    11    27    Casey STONER    AUS    Ducati Marlboro Team    Ducati    157.6    +10.034
6    10    4    Andrea DOVIZIOSO    ITA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    156.9    +23.144
7    9    36    Mika KALLIO    FIN    Pramac Racing Team    Ducati    156.2    +34.489
8    8    33    Marco MELANDRI    ITA    San Carlo Honda Gresini    Honda    156.2    +34.687
9    7    14    Randy DE PUNIET    FRA    LCR Honda MotoGP    Honda    156.1    +36.160
10    6    19    Alvaro BAUTISTA    SPA    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    Suzuki    156.1    +36.791
11    5    58    Marco SIMONCELLI    ITA    San Carlo Honda Gresini    Honda    156.1    +37.155
12    4    5    Colin EDWARDS    USA    Monster Yamaha Tech 3    Yamaha    156.0    +38.260
13    3    40    Hector BARBERA    SPA    Paginas Amarillas Aspar    Ducati    156.0    +38.371
14    2    7    Hiroshi AOYAMA    JPN    Interwetten Honda MotoGP    Honda    154.7    +1’02.052
15    1    41    Aleix ESPARGARO    SPA    Pramac Racing Team    Ducati    136.4    3 Laps

MotoGP World Championship Standings
1    Jorge LORENZO    Yamaha    SPA    45
2    Valentino ROSSI    Yamaha    ITA    41
3    Dani PEDROSA    Honda    SPA    29
4    Andrea DOVIZIOSO    Honda    ITA    26
5    Nicky HAYDEN    Ducati    USA    26
6    Randy DE PUNIET    Honda    FRA    17
7    Colin EDWARDS    Yamaha    USA    12
8    Casey STONER    Ducati    AUS    11
9    Ben SPIES    Yamaha    USA    11
10    Marco MELANDRI    Honda    ITA    11
11    Marco SIMONCELLI    Honda    ITA    10
12    Mika KALLIO    Ducati    FIN    9
13    Hiroshi AOYAMA    Honda    JPN    8
14    Loris CAPIROSSI    Suzuki    ITA    7
15    Hector BARBERA    Ducati    SPA    7
16    Alvaro BAUTISTA    Suzuki    SPA    6
17    Aleix ESPARGARO    Ducati    SPA    1