Dani Pedrosa took his third victory of the season in fine style at Twin Ring Motegi this afternoon, moving him to within just a solitary point of Andrea Dovizioso in the championship standings The Spaniard gave Repsol Honda an important home victory ahead of compatriot Jorge Lorenzo, with Casey Stoner completing the podium.
Stoner made a strong start as the lights went out and kept his lead at the first corner, but a series of incidents behind began to shape the way the race would pan out. The first came when Valentino clipped Lorenzo at Turn 2, causing the former to fall off his bike and collect Ben Spies. Just a few laps later, a crucial error for Stoner at Turn 11 saw him fall back to seventh, leading to a forced but impressive comeback.
Dovizioso took over the lead after Stoner’s costly run through the gravel, but he was penalised for jumping the start and promptly served a ride-through. The battle for honours was then between Pedrosa and Lorenzo, but the latter could not do anything about the Honda rider’s rapid and relentless pace until the finish.
Stoner wound up behind the duo in third, fighting through the field extremely well. Marco Simoncelli fended off Dovizioso at the chequered flag to take fourth, while Spies got back up to sixth after his opening lap woes. Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards were next, while Hiroshi Aoyama and Randy de Puniet completed the top ten.
Post-race feelings from winner Dani Pedrosa
Round 16 of the championship takes place at Phillip Island in a fortnight's time
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  D. Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 42:47.481 |
| 2. | J. Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | +7.299 |
| 3. | C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | +18.380 |
| 4. | M. Simoncelli | Gresini | +23.550 |
| 5. | A. Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | +23.691 |
| 6. | B. Spies | Fiat Yamaha | +37.604 |
| 7. | N. Hayden | Ducati | +39.167 |
| 8. | C. Edwards | Tech 3 | +45.023 |
| 9. | H. Aoyama | Gresini | +49.074 |
| 10. | R. de Puniet | Pramac | +59.022 |
| Full results | |||
| Dani Pedrosa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Dani Pedrosa photos | |||
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