Lorenzo marches on, Stoner second

Casey Stoner’s ongoing set-up issues with his factory Repsol Honda continued at Silverstone on June 17, with his rear tyre virtually giving up the fight soon after the start en route to an eventual second place for the Australian behind arch-rival Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Honda) was third to make it two Spaniards on the podium.

"It wasn't a great race for us today, we saw the pace the Yamahas had in the early laps and it was really worrying to me,” said Stoner. “As early as lap three the bike wasn't feeling good, especially on the left side, the tyre destroyed itself almost immediately. My plan was to try and get to the front and hold them up but Ben (Spies) was proving difficult to pass, then he made a small mistake and I was able to slip through and I tried to hold it from there.

“We knew we didn't have a better pace than the other riders and it wouldn't be long until they were on us so I did what I could to stay in front. Today we needed a little more grip and we would have been able to fight for the win but looking at the rear tyres at the end of the race, there was definitely something wrong with ours.”

The predicted rain stayed away for the MotoGP grid as Yamaha’s Spies took the holeshot ahead of Stoner, polesitter Álvaro Bautista (Honda) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati). Lorenzo lost a place in the first bends, and was soon leading a separated group for fifth place.

With 17 laps remaining Lorenzo started to find his rhythm as he looked to close the gap to the front four, followed by Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha) and Pedrosa. A lap later Hayden tried to dart past Bautista into third, but ran too wide, allowing the Spaniard back in. Soon after Stoner made his move past Spies, as the Texan made a mistake, also going too hot into a turn.

More overtaking was to follow, as Lorenzo took advantage of a gap left by Hayden to hunt down Bautista. Just seconds after, Hayden left yet another gap for Dovizioso to push the American even further back. With Stoner having pulled out a small gap at the front, Lorenzo did not want his rival to get way and forced his way past Bautista, relegating the Spaniard into fourth.

The tussle was not to stop, as Lorenzo stormed past his teammate into second, with Spies being overtaken by Bautista as well a corner later. In the same bend Pedrosa snuck past Dovizioso, who kept on the Spaniard’s rear wheel to retake him just a few corners later. The Italian continued his charge as he fought past early leader Spies, with Pedrosa following suit, relegating the Texan into sixth.

With 11 laps left Lorenzo was closing in on the rear wheel of Stoner, starting a thrilling battle for top spot. On the same lap Dovizioso crashed out of his positions, while his teammate Cal Crutchlow fought past Stefan Bradl (Honda) into seventh.

Heading into lap nine, Lorenzo took Stoner on the final turn, yet the Australian fought straight back in the next turn, as the pair kept the crowd on their toes with some thrilling moves. As one Repsol Honda was overtaken, the other in the form of Pedrosa went up into third.

A lap further on, the duo of Pedrosa and Bautista started to slowly close the gap on Stoner, who looked to be slowing. With six laps left it turned into a three-way battle for second place, as Lorenzo was opening a gap at the front. On the same lap, Ducati’s Valentino Rossi, who was the only rider to pick the hard rear tyre, took Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá for ninth.

Lorenzo suffered a slight scare with four laps left as he was almost thrown from his bike, but he managed to save it and retain the lead, albeit with a reduced gap to the pursuing Stoner. In the latter stages there were thrilling battles further back as Crutchlow battled past Hayden into sixth, and Power Electronics Aspar pair Aleix Espargaró and Randy de Puniet were fairing to fairing until the finish line.

In the end it was Lorenzo who held his nerve to cross the finish line first to take the top step of the podium and extend his championship lead, ahead of Stoner and Pedrosa who complete the rostrum. Fourth went to Bautista, ahead of Spies and Crutchlow, who put in a brave ride with his injury. The top 10 was completed Hayden, Bradl, Rossi and Hector Barberá (Ducati).

“Today was a very difficult race, the front guys were very strong and very fast so it was very hard for me to catch them and stay with them,” said Lorenzo. “Little by little the rear tyre drops a bit more, I had good confidence and I was faster than them and I started to catch them. When I caught up I didn’t want to crash so I waited for my moment and was patient.

“When I caught Casey we had a wonderful fight, luckily for us I had a better pace and I passed him. Four laps from the end I made a big mistake and almost crashed! I’m very happy with the result, and for the team who gave me a good bike again.”

In the other world championship classes, Arthur Sissis (KTM) was eighth in Moto3, with Jack Miller (Honda) failing to finish, while Anthony West (Moriwaki) finished well out of the points in Moto2.

For full results and standings, visit www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics.

Next up on the calendar is the Dutch TT at Assen from June 28-30.