Le Mans, France. Casey Stoner won the French MotoGP on Sunday in a fourth leg of the season that proved costly for his Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and Honda privateer team rider Marco Simoncelli.
Pedrosa had produced a flying start off the second row on the grid watched by a record 88,000-crowd to grab the lead from pole-sitter Stoner.
But Stoner wasted no time in reclaiming the advantage, with world champion Jorge Lorenzo on his Yamaha tracking them. Honda Gresini rider Simoncelli then made a forward move, surging past Lorenzo to third.
By the midway point, Stoner, winner of the season opener in Qatar, had pulled over two seconds clear of Pedrosa, the Spaniard who had shrugged off shoulder surgery to win in Estoril early this month.
Pedrosa’s race then ended spectacularly with 11 laps remaining after a high-speed crash as he dueled with Simoncelli, who had nipped past him only for Pedrosa’s front wheel to then clip the Italian’s bike. Pedrosa reportedly broke his right collarbone.
Simoncelli did not escape from the spat scot-free as he incurred a ride-through penalty for what race stewards considered an illegal maneuver on Pedrosa, resulting in him dropping down from second to sixth.
Valentino Rossi has had a quiet start to the season but the Ducati star was the main beneficiary of Simoncelli’s punishment, with the multiple former champion inheriting second place.
Rossi eventually came in third for his first podium under a new team, with Italian Andrea Dovizioso chasing Stoner across the line, 14 seconds adrift, in third. Stoner moved up to second place in the overall standings on 66 points, a dozen points behind Lorenzo, with Pedrosa in third with 61.
French hopes of glory in the home grand prix were carried by Ducati’s Randy de Puniet, who started from 11th but only made it as far as the second lap before crashing into the safety gravel.
Britain’s MotoGP rookie, Cal Crutchow, who had qualified in sixth, also bowed out prematurely after a spill on his Yamaha. (Agence France-Presse)
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com
Pedrosa had produced a flying start off the second row on the grid watched by a record 88,000-crowd to grab the lead from pole-sitter Stoner.
But Stoner wasted no time in reclaiming the advantage, with world champion Jorge Lorenzo on his Yamaha tracking them. Honda Gresini rider Simoncelli then made a forward move, surging past Lorenzo to third.
By the midway point, Stoner, winner of the season opener in Qatar, had pulled over two seconds clear of Pedrosa, the Spaniard who had shrugged off shoulder surgery to win in Estoril early this month.
Pedrosa’s race then ended spectacularly with 11 laps remaining after a high-speed crash as he dueled with Simoncelli, who had nipped past him only for Pedrosa’s front wheel to then clip the Italian’s bike. Pedrosa reportedly broke his right collarbone.
Simoncelli did not escape from the spat scot-free as he incurred a ride-through penalty for what race stewards considered an illegal maneuver on Pedrosa, resulting in him dropping down from second to sixth.
Valentino Rossi has had a quiet start to the season but the Ducati star was the main beneficiary of Simoncelli’s punishment, with the multiple former champion inheriting second place.
Rossi eventually came in third for his first podium under a new team, with Italian Andrea Dovizioso chasing Stoner across the line, 14 seconds adrift, in third. Stoner moved up to second place in the overall standings on 66 points, a dozen points behind Lorenzo, with Pedrosa in third with 61.
French hopes of glory in the home grand prix were carried by Ducati’s Randy de Puniet, who started from 11th but only made it as far as the second lap before crashing into the safety gravel.
Britain’s MotoGP rookie, Cal Crutchow, who had qualified in sixth, also bowed out prematurely after a spill on his Yamaha. (Agence France-Presse)
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com