Round nine for MotoGP is the Italian Grand Prix taking place at the Autodromo Nazionale del Mugello in Mugello, Italy, located near Florence.
Dani Pedrosa is the new challenger as the second half of the season starts. This time, it's the Grand Prix of Italy. This track is located in Tuscany, near Florence. The next two races will be back-to-back races in the United States. More info on that at the end of this blog entry. The fans at Mugello are primarily Ducati fans.
In qualifying, Dani Pedrosa took pole from Jorge Lorenzo. He has a new two year contract at Repsol Honda. Moto 2 star, Marc Marques will be his team mate, next year. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden also start on front row along with Hector Barbera. Actually, Hayden is fourth, on row two. Karel Abraham is not racing as his hand is not healed yet. He'll likely run again at Laguna Seca. The warmup lap is underway for round nine (the halfway mark of the season).
Mugello is a long, 3.2 mile track with a 7/10 mile straight and high speeds. The tires are going to be stressed in a big way over this 23 lap race. Here we go.
At the start, Nicky Hayden gets the jump and Casey Stoner flies by. But, Jorge Lorenzo slides around Dani Pedrosa immediately as the bikes go into San Donato. Alexei Espargaro moves up as Hector Barbera is sliding down the order. Stefan Bradl is into fifth. He runs wide into Borgo San Lorenzo and back into turn one as the riders actually complete lap one. Michele Pirro is out of the race already.; Andrea Dovizioso is battling Jorge Lorenzo who is currently leading. The bikes and riders run into Buccine, back onto the front straight. Into San Donato, Nicky Hayden in fourth is the quickest rider of all right now.
Bradl passes Hayden. The lap times are in the 1:47 to 1:48 bracket. Ivan Silva runs wide into turn one into the gravel trap, but continues. Michele Pirro is actually back in the race. But, he's a long way down the order. Ben Spies fends off Valentino Rossi who also passes Cal Crutchlow. Pirro has been black flagged and must pit. Lorenzo is gapping the others. Dani Pedrosa passes Andrea Dovizioso. But, Michele Pirro just has more issues. His race is getting worse. Lorenzo and Pedrosa are leading the field.
Five laps have been run. Valentino Rossi passes Hector Barbera and Cal Crutchlow also passes. Andrea Dovizioso is running well and he's matching Pedrosa in terms of lap times. Ben Spies is running slower, running a 1:56 compared to Lorenzo's 1:48. Spies runs just ahead of Randy de Puniet. He's got some tire troubles. Another lap begins into San Donato. Jorge Lorenzo sets a new lap record at Mugello. But, not sure what the time is. This race is full of action as MotoGP events always are. Spies' tire issues are worsening.
He's slowing down. Meanwhile, Stefan Bradl is running well. But, Casey Stoner is fastest of all except Jorge Lorenzo, running a 1:48.1. This race is flying by. It's half over as Dani Pedrosa closes on Jorge Lorenzo while Casey Stoner passes Nicky Hayden on the inside into fifth place. But, into Correntaio, Stoner nearly loses control. He stays on the bike, thankfully. Bacj through the same corner, it's going better for Lorenzo and Pedrosa, but, Lorenzo seems to have Pedrosa covered with eleven laps now left to run.
Colin Edwards is now out of the race, having gone through pit lane one time. Three CRT bikes are now out of the race. Colin Edwards has to now test a few more CRT bikes or it could be, his team has to test other riders. Casey Stoner closes on Alvaro Bautista. Jorge Lorenzo has won at this track on 250cc bikes earlier in his career. Lorenzo was really quick in practice with a 1:47.584 lap time. Nicky Hayden is fifth, still fending off Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow. Stefan Bradl pulls away from Andrea Dovizioso. Ben Spies continues to backpedal.
It looks like Jorge Lorenzo will consolidate his points lead. If he does go on to win, it will be his fifth win of 2012 and his second Mugello win. Dani Pedrosa is losing ground on track. Right now, Nicky Hayden is the top American rider. Ben Spies runs behind Randy de Puniet on another of the CRT bikes. Just eight laps left as Stoner closes up on Alvaro Bautista for ninth place. He's having a fraught race, another one. Valentino Rossi outruns Crutchlow into San Donato. Crutchlow continues battling Rossi. Stoner tries Rossi into Scarperia (turn ten). He can't make the move work.
The bikes fly down the straightaway at 215 miles an hour! Wow! Talk about fast! Stoner ran wide and he nearly clobbered Alvaro Bautista. Jorge Lorenzo is checking out. He's having a much better race than he has in the last few. Dovizioso is quicker than Bradl. Nicky Hayden is under attack from a couple of these riders for the last spot on the podium. Five laps remain as Bradl and Dovizioso scrap. Ditto for Nicky Hayden. Rossi is the fastest bike of all for the whole race.
This is probably the fastest track on the MotoGP calendar. 349 kilometers per hour! That's 218.1 miles an hour, folks! Bradl runs deep into Scarperia. He's trying hard to keep Bautista behind him. Cal Crutchlow is strong through the esses but he's still losing time to Rossi. Andrea Dovizioso outbrakes Bradl. Rossi is catching Hayden. Bradl runs deep into Correntaio (turn 12). He takes a tight line into the next corner (Buccine). Hector Barbera tries hanging onto Casey Stoner. Just a lap and a half to go. Nicky Hayden may be running out of time to catch Jorge Lorenzo.
Bradl and Hayden close on Dovizioso. It's going to be the last lap. Lorenzo can cruise to victory. It's going to be a battle between Bradl, Hayden and Dovizioso for the final podium spot. Hayden slides by Bradl into fourth. But Bradl pushes. Rossi flies by! Hayden won't get the podium now! Jorge Lorenzo is going to win his fifth race win this year. Cal Crutchlow wants to pass Nicky Hayden. Can Bradl pass Dovizioso? No. Jorge Lorenzo wins it! Dani Pedrosa gets second. Dovizioso gets his third podium in a row.
#99 Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha
The next race is going to be the first of two in the United States. It will be the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, coming up in two weeks. After that, there will be the Indianapolis Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, too. So, all MotoGP fans in the U.S., stay tuned and check out the races. They'll be very exciting.
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