Round ten of the MotoGP World Championship is the first of two appearances by the series in the United States. This first race is at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.
This race has been one of the major ones on the world motorcycle racing calendar for many years, hosting all the champions of the sport. This is the 14th running of the MotoGP championship on the Monterey peninsula. It starts the second half of the MotoGP season.
There have been a lot of crashes. Ben Spies did well in qualifying and crashed. He broke some bones in his heel, but he should be OK. In the morning warmup, Nicky Hayden and Alvaro Bautista both crashed. Jorge Lorenzo will start on pole. Many of the big names have deals with their contracts coming up for next year. Nicky Hayden stays with Ducati. Ben Spies' plans are uncertain right now. Colin Edwards will be back, but needs to figure out what his overall plans will be.
In qualifying, Jorge Lorenzo stole pole from Casey Stoner by a tenth of a second. It's his third pole of the year and his fourth straight at Laguna Seca. Ben Spies had a big high side, banging his head and his heel in qualifying. He'll need to be careful. Nicky Hayden has signed a new contract with Ducati for next year as mentioned. Valentino Rossi is also a question mark. Will he continue with Ducati? Ducati has been taken over by Audi.
The bikes are on their warmup lap. They come to the grid.
At the start, Jorge Lorenzo is leading into the Andretti hairpin in this 33 lap race. A bike goes down. Not sure who it is. Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow are fifth and sixth. Michele Pirro went down as the bikes go into The corkscrew and through Wayne Rainey corner. Stoner wants by Dani Pedrosa. Ben Spies is fourth. He's trying to find a pace he can run at while Lorenzo still leads. Pedrosa and Stoner on the Repsol Honda's are following Lorenzo. Stoner wants to win since he'll retire. He doesn't really care what Pedrosa does.
Toni Elias falls down. He's filling in for Hector Barbera who is hurt. Stoner passes Pedrosa and is going after Lorenzo now. Stefan Bradl runs seventh. Bradl ran his bike down Lombard Street in San Francisco during the race weekend. When Michele Pirro went down at the start, Toni Elias and Randy de Puniet were also involved. The bikes drop down through The Corkscrew. Dani Pedrosa is trying to make up ground while Stoner battles Lorenzo. Jorge Lorenzo sets a new lap record in the 1:21 bracket. Three time world champion Wayne Rainey lives in Monterey, California.
Josh Herrin (AMA Superbike rider) is watching the race with three champion Wayne Rainey. Steve Rapp was supposed to be in this race with a Kawasaki. But, he might make it to the next U.S. round at Indianapolis. He missed the field for Laguna Seca. Jorge Lorenzo still leads Casey Stoner with Dani Pedrosa also right there on the brand new RC213V Honda. Stoner likes the new engine on the bike, but not necessarily the chassis. Ben Spies is running fourth even though he's injured. Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow on the Tech 3 Yamaha's still follow Spies. The Tech 3 riders are not signed for next year. Bradley Smith from Moto 2 will move up to Tech 3 on one bike.
Valentino Rossi is not sure where he'll go for next year. Will Rossi be at Yamaha like he was years ago? Time will tell. Jorge Lorenzo is still holding off the Repsol bikes on lap twelve. In 1993, John Kocinski won over Alex Barros in the old 500cc class on a Cagiva bike. The fast laps are in the 1:21.7 and 1:21.8 range while other riders run in the 1:22 slot. Wayne Rainey won three consecutive U.S. Grand Prix races at Laguna Seca in 1989, '90, and '91. Rider Mattia Passini on the ART Rimini bike is out of the race. Spies holds down fourth, closing up on Stefan Bradl.
Valentino Rossi on the Ducati has said that a new development for the bike won't come yet. Well, they struggle because they don't build as many bikes as Yamaha and Honda do. It is clear that the Audi management will change how Ducati builds their racing bikes and their street bikes. Rossi is a legend. He's got nine titles and 105 wins. He's one of the greats. Danilo Petrucci retires his bike as James Ellison crashes and Casey Stoner retakes the lead. He slides by Lorenzo early before the first turn. Stoner is five to six kilometers quicker than Jorge Lorenzo.
Ben Spies has crashed at the bottom of the corkscrew! This has been a dreadful weekend for Ben Spies. He didn't high side the bike. But, he still had a big wreck as he slides across the top of the bike. He'll have to take a shot at Indianapolis coming up. The tire strategies seem to be working well as the leader catch the CRT bikes such as Colin Edwards. Just nine laps remain in the race. It's gone by fast. Alexei Espargaro is the quickest CRT bike. Alvaro Bautista runs ninth ahead of Espargaro with Rossi in eighth. Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow fight for fourth. Stefan Bradl is sixth.
In 2005, Nicky Hayden won the U.S. Grand Prix. He also won in 2006 when he was also World Champion. This is the 20th race for MotoGP in the U.S. They've been held at Laguna Seca, Indianapolis, and, Daytona International Speedway (which hosted the races in 1964 and '65). Just four laps remain at Laguna Seca. Stefan Bradl continues to battle Hayden over sixth. Nicky Hayden goes inside and passes Bradl who runs wide.
Dovizioso and Crutchlow still shadow each other. Something has to happen. Both these guys need a ride for 2013. These bikes are satellite bikes and not the factory equipment. The last time a British rider was on a MotoGP podium was Jeremy McWilliams in 2000. Now,. Valentino Rossi has spilled his bike at The Corkscrew! He's had a ton of crashes this year and those continue. He has a savage high side and that motorcycle is severely compromised. It's the final lap. Casey Stoner needs a good result after not doing well at Mugello and having to struggle at Laguna Seca. He'll win this race!
#1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda
Jorge Lorenzo is not happy with second place. Dovizioso beats Crutchlow to the line. Nicky Hayden gets sixth. Once again, the next race on the schedule for MotoGP will also be in the United States. It will be the fifth appearance for MotoGP at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway ("The Brickyard"). That race will take place in less than three weeks.
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