In one of the most exciting MotoGP races in years, Dani Pedrosa (#26) stormed back in Round 9 to take the win at Sachsenring. Battles for position among four different groups took place throughout the race, with one or more passes in most laps.
After an extraordinary first two laps, with multiple position changes among the top riders, Jorge Lorenzo (#1), on his Yamaha, was chased by the three Repsol Hondas ridden by Dani Pedrosa (#26), Andrea Dovizioso (#4) and Casey Stoner (#27) and the Gresini Honda ridden by Marco Simoncelli (#58). In sixth place, Ben Spies (#11) chased the pack on his Yamaha.
In spite of the non-stop overtaking throughout the race, this would also be notable for being one of the cleanest races of the 2011 season -- a season which has been marked by several spectacular combined crashes.
Dovizioso, Stoner, Pedrosa swapped places repeatedly during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th laps. With 25 laps to go (out of 30) Stoner took second, and then passed Lorenzo. Pedrosa passed into third with 21 laps remaining while setting a new circuit record of 1'21.846. With 17 laps to go, Simoncelli passed Dovizioso. With 16 laps to go, Lorenzo retook the lead. With 15 laps to go, Pedrosa passed Stoner on the straight to give chase to Lorenzo. With 13 laps to go, Dovizioso was through on Simoncelli.
With 12 laps to go, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner, Dovizioso, Simoncelli, and Spies led the way. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi (#46) worked his way through the field from 14th to 8th, and was poised to attack teammate Nicky Hayden (#69). With 11 laps to go Rossi passed Hayden, but was then retaken and lost position to Alvaro Bautista (#19).
With 9 laps to go, Pedrosa rocketed down the straight to take the lead from Lorenzo effortlessly. With 6 laps to go, Stoner passed Lorenzo on the inside at the end of the straight. With 3 laps to go, Dovizioso passed Simoncelli, and Spies closed the gap.
In the final turn of the final lap, Lorenzo passed Stoner to cross the finish line in second, yielding the podium lineup: Pedrosa first, Lorenzo second and Stoner third.
With this conclusion, Lorenzo closes the gap in the World Championship point standings to just 15 from the lead: Stoner (168), Lorenzo (153) and Dovizioso (132). Click through to motogp.com for the full race results.
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