Jorge Lorenzo stole a dramatic win from factory Honda rider, Danni Pedrosa after 27 laps of the Jerez circuit in Spain to put him at the top of the points standings for the season.
After the Japanese round of the Moto-GP Championship at the Motegi circuit was canceled due to the Volcano erupting in Iceland, disrupting air traffic, the race in Jerez became the second round of the series.
The unexpected break allowed both Jorge Lorenzo and reigning champion Valentino Rossi an extra week to heal from wounds suffered off track.
Pedrosa won the pole spot while American riders Hayden, Edwards and Spies got 4th, 7th and 8th respectively.
Off the start, Pedrosa got the holeshot, followed closely by Rossi, Hayden, Lorenzo and Spies. After one lap, Pedrosa and Rossi were pulling a gap from the rest of the field. On the second lap, Stoner took Lorenzo for the second spot.
On the third lap, Loris Capirossi crashed out, ending his bid for the win. At the same time, Ben Spies dropped back to the ninth position after being passed by both Melandri and Simoncelli.
Four laps in, Lorenzo passed Casey Stoner for the fourth spot. A few laps after that, Pedrosa managed a .6 second gap on Rossi and was pulling hard.
Eight laps into the race, American Yamaha rider Ben Spies bowed out with a front tire issue. On the ninth lap, Nicky Hayden ran wide allowing Lorenzo through for the third spot. Lorenzo wouldn't sit there for long!
At the thirteenth lap there were very large gaps between Pedrossa in first, Rossi in second, Lorenzo in third and Hayden in fourth. Lorenzo as it turns out was not content to settle for a less than top spot!
With five laps left, Lorenzo quickly closes on Rossi, passes him for the second position and promptly pulls away, clearly focusing his sights on Pedrosa at the front.
With three to go, Lorenzo is closing fast on Pedrosa and it's only a matter of when and where he's going to make his move.
Two left and they're right on top of each other; several corners go by with some questionable overtaking maneuvers...at points they touch and break away; making for truly edge-of-your-seat racing!
In the end it's Jorge Lorenzo stealing a win from Danni Pedrosa who led for 26 laps of a 27 lap race only to lose in the end to Lorenzo.
In the points standings it goes:
Lorenzo
Rossi
Pedrosa
Davizioso/Hayden
DePuniet
Edwards
Spies/Stoner
Simoncelli
The next round of Moto-GP racing is on 5/16 at the LeMans circuit. See you there!
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