Jorge Lorenzo threw away the chance to close on Valentino Rossi in the MotoGP title hunt in a thrilling battle at Brno, but Dani Pedrosa took advantage.
‘Gorgeous George’ had a made a poor start off the line from second on the grid, and Rossi took an early lead on the number 46 Fiat Yamaha, with Pedrosa on the Honda making up a place, passing Lorenzo with a trademark quick getaway. But Lorenzo had been the fastest man all weekend in the Czech Republic except in the crucial qualifying window, and he soon broke down Dani’s brave resistance to reclaim second spot, with a fine move on his 23-year-old compatriot on an uphill section of the track that left Pedrosa without the momentum to fight back.
Lorenzo immediately began pressuring Yamaha team-mate and 2009 series leader Rossi, but the Italian hasn’t won five world championships by giving away race leads without a fight, and he was making the wide turns at Brno look very narrow.
It was edge-of-the seat stuff, not least in the pair’s garage, with every turn bringing pressure from Lorenzo on Rossi, who has clearly been stung by the growing presence of the 22-year-old and his number 99 bike in the sport this year.
Then, six laps from the end, an inspired move saw Lorenzo pass for the lead, and it looked as if the old master might just falter in the Brno heat. But, in another of the twists that seem to have characterised grands prix this season, Lorenzo binned it less than two laps later, coursing off the track as Rossi swept by. The Spaniard quickly realised the bike had stalled and that it was game over as it lay prone in the gravel, its rear wheel spinning forlornly. As he threw his gloves to the ground and ripped open his race suit in disgust, hands were on heads in the Lorenzo half of the Fiat Yamaha garage – and Rossi simply cruised to a crucial win.
“I pushed very hard and made Jorge work hard,” said Rossi after his victory, which leaves him with 212pts, a full 50pts advantage over Lorenzo as the series heads to Indianapolis in two weeks’ time. “He was in good shape and very fast – when he overtook me, I thought, ‘OK, now we start the battle.’”
Pedrosa (pictured) took second, some 11 seconds behind, but commonsense riding from the Spaniard takes him to 135pts in the standings, 15pts behind third-placed Casey Stoner, absent at Brno through illness, and to within 27pts of second-placed Lorenzo.
“I didn’t expect that,” said Pedrosa of Lorenzo’s accident, which he described as a “good present”.
And Pedrosa took the positives from his second place, despite admitting he was unhappy at the Honda’s relative lack of pace and hoping to remedy the problem with testing early this week.
“It’s great to finish a race on the podium and feel in good physical condition after the problems I had in the first part of the season – especially because it was very hot out there today and this is a demanding track,” Pedrosa added.
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