MotoGP: Pedrosa takes third victory at Indianapolis and Spies takes a podium on home turf

Aug 29th, Indianapolis – Repsol Honda Team rider, Dani Pedrosa, scored an important victory in the 11th race of the MotoGP 2010 Championship at the legendary Indianapolis circuit. Pedrosa, starting from fifth on the grid, notched up his third triumph of the season, with an exemplary ride at the US track.

Pedrosa began to move faster than anyone else on the track, setting fastest times lap after lap. By the seventh lap he was up with the Yamaha of Ben Spies and went past him on the following end straight. From then on, Pedrosa began to pull away from the field, marching to an undisputed victory, a victory denied him here last year by an unfortunate crash.

With an ultra-consistent ride, Pedrosa managed to keep his concentration on the tricky Indianapolis surface to the end, where US comedian Jay Leno did the honours of flagging him over the finish line.

Dani Pedrosa “I’m really happy with this win and it was an especially tough one because of the heat today. I didn’t make the perfect start but I was quite quick through the first few tight corners and stayed close to the leaders. My rhythm was good today and even though Spies was strong in front I was able to close him down and make the pass. I’m really pleased with the performance of my bike because it was fast on the straights and also was working well in the corners. When I was out in front it was quite hard to stay focused and at then end of the race I was really tired – but I’m very happy because last year I crashed when I could have won and now I have made up for it.

Ben Spies treated a patriotic home crowd to an all-action display.  The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider ending a fantastic weekend with a career best second position.

Starting from pole position for the first time in his premier class career, Spies made a blistering start and streaked away from the field in the early stages with a succession of fast laps as he looked at ease leading a MotoGP race for the first time.

Such was Spies’ phenomenal early speed that he was a second clear after just three laps, the reigning World Superbike champion leaving his illustrious rivals trailing in his wake. Only Dani Pedrosa was able to get close to matching his rhythm as a crowd of over 62,000 fans roared the Texan on.

Spies was producing heroics to keep Pedrosa at bay but the Spaniard made a decisive attack on lap seven to move into the lead. Spies produced a super human effort in grueling heat and humidity to try and keep the pressure on Pedrosa before he eventually eased off to secure a richly deserved second.

The 26-year-old’s performance received a huge ovation from the appreciative Indianapolis crowed with Spies celebrating being top Yamaha rider for the first time in his career. And marking his career best result in front of his home fans shortly after confirming his 2011 move to Yamaha’s factory team only made his accomplishment even more special

Ben Spies “I’m really happy to have got my best result in MotoGP in front of the American crowd and at a track as famous as Indianapolis. I always said I wanted my best result in my home race, so it’s mission accomplished. After the pole position I got a great start and it felt good to be out front for the first time in MotoGP. But I didn’t have the pace for Dani today and he rode a great race. I’m happy because I didn’t make too many mistakes when I was out in front and I was consistent for the whole race. When Dani passed me I knew I couldn’t follow him, so I let him go and concentrated on keeping a gap to Jorge in third and that’s what I achieved. I can’t complain because it was a great weekend and to be top Yamaha rider when you look at who else is on that bike is pretty satisfying. It hasn’t sunk in yet that I’ve finished second in my home race. But I’ll enjoy it before I hop on a plane and try and do it again in Misano next weekend.”

Jorge Lorenzo finished third at Indianapolis today and Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi fourth in a punishingly hot race won by Dani Pedrosa.

Lorenzo dropped three places on his grid position at the start and finished the first lap in fifth with his team-mate close behind. On lap three of 28 the championship leader made it past home favourite Nicky Hayden and he set off in pursuit of Andrea Dovizioso, arriving within striking distance by the eighth lap.

The Italian did not make it easy for Lorenzo however and it took the Mallorcan several more laps to pass him, which he did on the brakes into turn one on lap 12. By that time Spies was too far ahead for Lorenzo to make much headway on second place so he settled for third and 16 points to add to his already hefty season tally.

Rossi meanwhile had jumped from seventh to fifth at the start and looked more comfortable on the bike than he had all weekend, during which he had struggled for grip and rhythm. On the fourth lap he overtook Nicky Hayden and settled in fifth, a few tenths off the Lorenzo-Dovizioso battle. Once Lorenzo was past Dovizioso, the World Champion too began to close down his compatriot and with eight laps remaining he passed him for fourth place. By then however his lack of fitness following his injury had caught up with him in the searing heat and he was unable to push any more, coming home some six seconds behind his team-mate.

Lorenzo continues to sit comfortably at the top of the standings, with a 68-point lead over Pedrosa. Rossi remains fifth but has moved to within five points of Casey Stoner and fourth. The MotoGP paddock now has just a few days rest before it reconvenes at Misano in Italy for round 12 of the World Championship.

Jorge Lorenzo “Of course I shouldn’t be disappointed with third place but at the same time I’m not happy with my race today, I didn’t ride as well as I could have and I didn’t get a good start. The conditions were incredibly hard and I simply didn’t have the physical strength to push as hard or do the same times I did in practice; it was like a race in Malaysia! The track was so slippery and it was very difficult to use the tyres as you wanted to, I think honestly I’m quite lucky to have finished third today. The good thing is we took some points and now I have to concentrate on recovering before Misano because we don’t have much time.”