Round two of the MotoGP World Championship is the Spanish Grand Prix. It takes place at the Circuito de Jerez in Jerez, Spain. Here are the race highlights.
Jorge Lorenzo is looking to win his home race. Can he do it? Fellow Spaniard Alex Criville. Criville won the Spanish Grand Prix three consecutive times in 1997, '98, and '99.
Qualifying was dry. There were many clouds over the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. But, the session remained dry. Starting on pole will be Jorge Lorenzo. Valentino Rossi makes his 200th start in the premier class of MotoGP which used to be the 500cc World Championship before the bigger bikes were introduced in 2002 after Criville (the 500 cc world champ), retired. A decade ago, the 500cc bikes did run together with the new 1000cc MotoGP machines of today.
The riders are out on their pace lap. The weather will really play a huge factor. The track is 2.7 miles with 13 corners. Tires are going to be a big factor.
The race is dry. 27 laps ahead. There's a bike stalled on the grid. It's Yenny Hernandez. But, the race will go ahead. At the start, Dani Pedrosa got the jump on the Repsol bike. Nicky Hayden is fourth. Hernandez returns to the race as Dani Pedrosa leads. Nicky Hayden passes Cal Crutchlow. Meanwhile, they almost touch and Andrea Dovizioso finds an opening to pass. Pedrosa is pulling away. Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden and Stefan Braml are moving up quickly. Ben Spies had a lackluster qualifying run and is hoping for better in the race. Lorenzo squeezes by Dovizioso. But Dani Pedrosa pulls out his lead.
Casey Stoner passes Lorenzo for second spot. Stoner ran fast lap at 1:43.9. Great racing once again in MotoGP. Stoner passes into Dry Sec corner. Stoner passes Lorenzo and takes the lead. Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow are at the tail end of the top six. Lorenzo apologized for making a desperate move with a hand signal. It's still Dovizioso vs. Pedrosa. No change at the front on this lap. There's a ways to go yet. Stefan Bradl is seventh while Crutchlow passes Pedrosa. Alvaro Bautista, Ben Spies, and Hector Barbera round out the top ten.
Nicky Hayden is losing spots. Dovizioso passes Hayden. Stefan Bradl also went by. Nicky Hayden languishes in sixth spot. Alvaro Bautista seems to be performing just as well as he did in the previous round in Qatar. Braml is doing well after running Moto 2 last year. Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Crutchlow and Dovizioso have all set their personal best lap times on lap six. Crutchlow is closing in on Pedrosa, and fast. Stoner resets fast lap at 1:40.151. Dani Pedrosa has a good record at Jerez. He's run six races and finished either first or second in every one.
The top CRT bike is running further down the order. Not sure who it is, though. Casey Stoner is still in the lead. By the way, there will be a Moto 2 race from Spain a bit later on. Stay tuned for those results. Pedrosa still holds off Crutchlow. Stoner leads Lorenzo by 8/10 of a second. Stoner has only been on the podium once at Jerez and has never won. There's a battle for ninth between Valentino Rossi and Hector Barbera. Pedrosa and Crutchlow continue their scrap. Just ten laps remain in the race. The laps wind down. Reminder, Moto 2 will be highlighted a bit later. Stay tuned.
Does Stoner have an issue? Is it a tire? Is his arm bothering him? This is a two man race into Curva Expo '92. There are 13 turns on this track. Incidentally, a Formula One car race was run at Jerez in 1997. Michele Pirro pits his bike. Not sure of the problem. Lorenzo is right on Stoner's rear tire through Curva Ducados and onto the front straight. Lorenzo has a bit of a slip up and loses time with just four laps remaining in the race. Six laps left to run. Lorenzo ran wide through Dry Sac the last time. He can't afford a repeat of that. The top four are getting closer together with four laps left.
Pedrosa and Crutchlow battle between the Flying Saucer and the Expo and Michelin curves. Stoner leads into Dry Sac. Stoner is gapping Lorenzo. But Jorge Lorenzo is quicker. Can he win his home Grand Prix? Too little too late, possibly. Ditto for Pedrosa and Crutchlow. The bikes go through Curva Sito Pons, back into Dry Sac. Stoner still has the edge. There's some passing further back in the pack between CRT bikes. But, the lead battle is more important. Through Dry Sac for the final time, Stoner is still ahead. Lorenzo can gain between Curva Peluqui and Curva Alex Criville. But, will it be enough?
Randy de Puniet stops on the track. Casey Stoner will win this race. He kept speed in reserve for the very end of the race. He turns into Curva Angel Nieto. Casey Stoner wins the Spanish Grand Prix!
#1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda
The next MotoGP race will take place in Estoril, Portugal, next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment