Pedrosa's strong win at Motegi

The Grand Prix of Japan saw a continuation of Pedrosa's great form, as he beat Lorenzo and Bautista. Stoner was fifth

Dani Pedrosa closed the gap on MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo with a strong win at the Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi this afternoon. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) finished ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Álvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

Australia’s Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda), making his return from injury, was fifth – gifted a extra spot on the last lap after Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ran out of fuel on the last lap.

Pedrosa’s win now cuts his deficit to Lorenzo to 28pts with three races remaining: Sepang, Phillip Island and Valencia.

"It was a hard race because the pace was very fast from the beginning. I tried to understand the bike, as yesterday we had a lot of chatter so I didn't know how it would be today,” said Pedrosa.

“In the beginning it wasn't too bad but then it got a little worse during the race. I managed it as best I could and I stayed with Jorge, I was able to get a better line out of the corner and pass him and then I put in some good laps and controlled the gap.

“Jorge tried to stay with me, but then decided to settle for the second place. We did what we needed to do and it's just a pity that there is no one else who can stay with us because every race I win, he's been second. But anyway, it's a great feeling to win races and we are doing it now.”

It was Lorenzo who got away best, yet had to be bold in turn one to hold off Pedrosa. Yamaha’s Ben Spies crashed out going into lap two.

Stoner had made a good start running fourth behind Crutchlow in third. Yet three laps in Stoner was taken by Bautista. LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl was stalking Stoner closely, whilst fending off Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso in seventh.

With 17 laps remaining Lorenzo and Pedrosa had pulled out a lead at the front with Crutchlow running a lonely third. Stoner was desperately looking for a way past Bautista, yet the Spaniard was battling hard to keep the Australian at bay. Meanwhile, Ducati’s Valentino Rossi was in eighth struggling to keep up with Dovizioso’s pace in front. It was then two laps later that Dovizioso forced his way past Bradl to hunt down Stoner in fifth.

With 13 laps remaining Pedrosa got better drive out of turn four and made his way past Lorenzo on the straight into the lead, looking instantly quicker on the Honda. As Lorenzo tried to keep up, it was Bautista who was slowly closing in on Crutchlow, who did well to save a near fall. At that time, Dovizioso made his way past Stoner into fifth.

With six laps left Pedrosa had built up a commanding lead over Lorenzo, whilst as a lap later Bautista muscled his way past Crutchlow into the final podium spot, and the pair provided a thrilling battle on track. The Brit fought almost straight back with a move up the inside, yet Bautista retook him in the next turn where the two touched. And it was heartbreak for Crutchlow on the last lap as he pulled over having run out of fuel, whilst looking to fight to the line.

It was ultimately Pedrosa who kept his nerve to take the chequered flag, with Lorenzo and Bautista completing the rostrum, making it the second ever premier-class podium for the San Carlo rider.

The first non-podium finisher in fourth was Dovizioso followed by Stoner, Bradl, Rossi, Ducati’s Nicky Hayden, Yamaha YSP Racing Team’s wildcard Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá.

"I'm a little disappointed to be honest,” said Stoner.

“We slowly improved over the weekend and got the bike to a point we were pretty happy with in warm-up. At the start of the race I felt had the pace to stay with Dani and Jorge and the bike was feeling pretty good. Then as the race progressed my body started to suffer and ache in ways I didn't expect.

“We had the pace to run a lot higher and be on the podium but unfortunately I couldn't manage it physically today. A big thanks to my team, they gave me a fantastic bike today but I couldn't do anymore in my condition.”

Anthony West was 12th in Moto2, and in Moto3 Arthur Sissis and Jack Miller were 11th and 19th respectively.

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

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Pedrosa's strong win at Motegi

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