MotoGP Info 2012: Stoner takes first ever Jerez victory in epic race

2012-04-29 17:28
On a day when MotoGP™ fans around the globe were treated to three absolutely thrilling races, reigning World Champion Casey Stoner took his first premier-class victory at the Jerez track at the Gran Premio bwin de España, as he fought an epic battle with championship rival Jorge Lorenzo. With rain throughout much of the practice sessions, and the ever-imminent threat of rain, it had looked like a wet race may ensue. However the Jerez sky was kind to the riders and the fans, resulting in some tremendous racing from the off.

Repsol Honda Team´s Dani Pedrosa took the wholeshot in front of Yamaha Factory Racing´s pole-sitter Lorenzo, with Monster Yamaha Tech3´s Cal Crutchlow charging behind. Some tough overtaking saw the pack shuffled numerous times in the opening four laps, as Ducati Team´s Nicky Hayden was bumped wide by Crutchlow, and Lorenzo touched Tech3´s Andrea Dovizioso´s bike after an aggressive move up the inside.

Pedrosa´s team mate Casey Stoner then found his stride and moved to the front as he passed Lorenzo and then team mate Pedrosa, after which he did not relinquish the lead all race, despite being taken right down to the wire by Lorenzo in the closing stages.

Pedrosa had to hold off the advances of Crutchlow until the bitter end as well, as the Briton continues to impress in his second-only season in MotoGP. His team mate Dovizioso could not keep up the pace, having opted for a soft front tyre compared to Crutchlow´s hard choice, and finished fifth in front of San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Álvaro Bautista and LCR Honda MotoGP´s rookie Stefan Bradl, who is having a solid start to his debut season.

Hayden, who had started on the front row and was pushing hard in the opening stages, dropped off towards the end of the race and finished seventh. This put him ahead of team mate Valentino Rossi, who tussled with Pramac Racing´s Hector Barberá throughout. Lorenzo´s team mate Ben Spies had another disappointing race, as he finished a full eight places behind his team mate in 10th.

An annoyed Randy de Puniet, who had looked on course to finish top CRT in 12th, pulled off in the last lap with mechanical issues, leaving the way for his team mate Aleix Espargaró to take top CRT honours. Britain´s James Ellison of the Paul Bird Motorsport team also pulled into the pits on the last lap with a mechanical issue.




P.Espargaró

Spanish youngster Pol Espargaró took his maiden Moto2™ victory in front of his home crowd at the Gran Premio bwin de España in a thrilling Moto2™ race that was cut short by rain.

The Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider led the race early on, yet was soon entangled in the usual Moto2™ first lap melee. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol´s Marc Marquez, Interwetten-Paddock´s Tom Lüthi and Marc VDS´ Scott Redding were not giving each other any room, as they swapped positions throughout the race.

It was a tough fight to the end, which saw Redding´s team mate Mika Kallio run onto the gravel from fifth, and GP Team Switzerland´s Randy Krummenacher and S/Master Speed Up´s Mike Di Meglio both crash out simultaneously while chasing the front pack.

With 11 laps left it started to rain, causing riders to push for front positions in case of a red flag. As the riders pushed harder and harder as conditions worsened, Márquez tried to pull out a lead, yet was overtaken by old 125cc foe Espargaró on lap 16. Márquez once again pushed past Espargaró, yet it was too late, as the red flag came out shortly after.

With regulations stating that the person who led the last full lap (17 in this case) wins, provided that over 2/3rd of the race distance has been covered, it was Espargaró who took the win ahead of Marquez in second and Lüthi in third, in what was once again a breathtaking Moto2™ encounter.

The top ten were rounded out by Scott Redding, Italtrans Racing Team´s Takaaki Nakagami, team mate Claudio Corti, Mika Kallio, Technomag-CIP´s Dominique Aegerter, Mapfre Aspar Team´s Toni Elias and JiR Moto2´s Johann Zarco.

QMMF Racing Team rider Elena Rosell crashed out of her home race, as she continues to struggle with the Moriwaki bike. Pons 40 HP Tuenti´s Esteve Rabat suffered a fall towards the latter stages and returned to the pits, before heading back out on track and finishing 28th.




R.Fenati

Italian rookie Romano Fenati confirmed himself as a star of the future with a dominant maiden win in tricky conditions at the Gran Premio bwin de España, which saw almost half the field crash out.

Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta´s Jakub Kornfeil got the best start and led the frantic opening stages in a race that was declared dry, despite a few damp patches still out on track. Red Bull KTM Ajo´s Danny Kent, Caretta Technology´s Jack Miller and Ambrogio Next Racing´s Simone Grotzkyj were soon caught out by the conditions, coming off at turn 10 on lap two simultaneously.

Estrella Galicia 0,0´s Miguel Oliveira was soon in the lead, yet Kornfeil was not giving up without a fight. However, he too came off spectacularly in turn 13, followed closely by RW Racing GP´s Brad Binder. Yet the drama continued as Oliveira followed suit a few turns later, with Kent´s team mate Arthur Sissis high-siding his bike as well.

This left Estrella Galicia 0,0´s pole sitter Alex Rins in the lead ahead of Team Italia FMI´s Romano Fenati and Racing Team Germany´s Louis Rossi. Rossi soon got past the Italian to chased down Rins, who saved a near spectacular crash, leaving him to dice with Fenati and Rossi for first.

The three riders swapped positions frequently, though soon Rossi joined the list of crashers, as he skid out on turn one, leaving the Italian rookie and Spanish wildcard to lead the way. Further down the grid, Moto FGR´s Jasper Iwema slid his bike into the gravel, after which JHK T-Shirt Laglisse´s Adrian Martin followed suit in turn one, crashing out from seventh. Mahindra Racing´s Danny Webb retired with a mechanical problem with seven laps to go, while on the same lap Technomag-CIP-TSR´s Kenta Fujii crashed in the final turn.

At the end it was Romano Fenati who took the checker flag with a 31 second lead to take the lead in the Moto3 championship, ahead of RW Racing´s Luis Salom, who won the battle to take second spot ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo´s Sandro Cortese in third, and Rins in fourth. Miller´s team mate Alexis Masbou finished fifth ahead Blusens Avintia´s championship favourite Maverick Viñales in sixth, who recovered from an earlier run off track.

Jack Miller was confirmed to have fractured his collarbone, with Danny Kent suffering multiple contusions. Sissis suffered multiple contusions to his chest and hand, while Fujii was taken to the medical centre for X-rays.

Source: MotoGP

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