Report: Harkamal Singh
Images : MotoGP.com
Jorge Lorenzo clinched his 6th win of the year after finishing first at Laguna Seca. The Spanish rider has shown a furious pace all through the weekend as he topped the time sheets in Saturday qualifying. On Sunday it was a normal routine for Dani pedrosa as he attacked Lorenzo at the very first corner and led the race from there. Both Lorenzo and Stoner were able to stick to dani’s tail though. The top three riders were churning out fastest laps one after another. Pedrosa was trying to shake off Lorenzo of his tail but to no avail. The Fiat Yamaha rider was pressurizing Dani so much that finally at one point Pedrosa made a mistake and crashed at turn 5. Pedrosa crashed out of the lead position when his front tire lost grip under braking. It was a fast crash and Pedrosa did take a good tumble but was on his feet immediately. The bike, however, was too damaged to continue. From that point the race belonged to Jorge as he settled in the top spot.
Halfway through the race the running order was Lorenzo, Stoner, Dovizioso, Rossi, Hayden, Spies, and Colin Edwards, with a 10 second gap separating first through seventh place. On Lap 15, San Carlo Honda’s Marco Simoncelli crashed when the front tire of his Honda lost traction during braking.
Meanwhile, Spies finally found his way around Hayden and set off for Rossi. For a few moments it appeared that he might actually catch him but then the Texan made a mistake which allowed Hayden back by and put him well off of Rossi’s back tire. Further back Aleix Espargaro made a move on Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi, but the series veteran would instantly retaliate taking ninth position away from the young Spaniard.
With five laps to go Rossi put a perfect pass on Dovizioso good for the final podium position. The pass was made under braking as the two entered the Turn 10, Laguna’s final corner.
Page 1 of 2. Go to Page 2 for overall race standings and Rossi’s quote