Racing: Lorenzo wins at Indianapolis
As Rossi and Pedrosa both crashFiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo got his third victory of 2009 at Indianapolis, as his teammate Valentino Rossi and Spanish rival Dani Pedrosa both crashed in the 28-lap Brickyard contest and blew open the 2009 world championship.
Lorenzo eventually crossed the line with 9.5secs to spare over San Carlo Honda Gresini's Alex de Angelis, cutting Rossi's lead in half - back to 25pts - with five races remaining.
Nicky Hayden also rode brilliantly after qualifying sixth, repeating his 2008 Indianapolis podium, this time in third position - his best result to date with Ducati.
Hayden got the better of Andrea Dovizioso, despite a stiff challenge from the man who replaced him in the Repsol Honda team, the Italian yet again having to settle for fourth on the last lap.
World champion Rossi hit the ground on lap nine when battling for the race lead with Lorenzo, the Italian able to remount and try to continue only to have to retire a couple of laps later due to the damage his M1 machine sustained. It was the first time Rossi has failed to finish a race since Valencia in 2007.
Earlier in the race there was also a crash for Dani Pedrosa on the fourth lap when the pole man was leading the race. He bravely picked up his RC212V and rejoined in last place, doing well to finally finish in 10th position, just ahead of Australia's Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki).
Adding to the American representation towards the front Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) finished in fifth place, whilst there was a late crash from Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) when battling with James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) for sixth. Melandri's mishap left the Englishman to again equal his best ever MotoGP result.
The top 10 also featured Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), Mika Kallio (Ducati) and Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini). A special mention must go to Pramac Racing's temporary replacement rider Aleix Espargaró who earned three points in 13th place on his MotoGP debut.
Click on the following link for full results and standings after Indianapolis.
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