Casey Stoner won his eighth victory of the season and moves 85 points clear of his nearest rival Valentino Rossi.
It was supposed to be a race of unprecedented excitement and drama all because of the backdrop that is San Marino. After all, the venue was the home race of Rossi who was determined to please his loyal fans. Stoner on the other hand was determined to stamp his authority to move that much closer to his dream of becoming world champion. The perfect scenario was brewing between two riders who were unwilling to back down.
Qualifying seemed to be the prelude of the anticipated epic battle. Valentino Rossi had a magnificent final run to lead the timesheets. Stoner, however, lapped even better by becoming the first man to go under 1’ 34” of the new Misano circuit and thus snatching pole from the Italian. The desire to win for both drivers was evident on Saturday. The mood was no different come Sunday.
But when the race commenced, it became all too clear that the pace of Stoner riding his Bridgestone shod Ducati was clearly unbeatable. The Australian led from start to finish as he built a comfortable cushion by the time he crossed the finish line. In turn, he also became the only active rider other than Rossi to win three races in a row.
Stoner’s victory on its own was already a huge step forward for his championship bid. But the gravity of the win was accentuated even more because of an engine failure that forced Valentino Rossi to retire early during the race. As a result, Stoner’s lead grew to a staggering 85 points. With only five races remaining, it seems like only a matter of time before the young Australian is crowned as the next world champion.
The other story of the day was the fantastic showing of the Rizla Suzuki team. Both of the team’s riders, Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins finished second and third respectively. Both Suzuki’s demonstrated a more competitive race pace than the Fiat Yamaha of Rossi early in the race. At one point, Vermeulen was able to keep up with race leader Stoner. However, Vermeulen had to ease his pace down as his front tires started to lose its grip and hence settled for second place.
Marco Melandri, the highest finishing Italian, will be pleased with his fourth place. Despite suffering from a series of crashes during the weekend including a major shunt last Saturday, the Italian courageously decided to participate in the race anyway. The Honda Gresini team should be happy with Melandri’s result.
Melandri’s compatriot, Ducati’s Loris Capirossi was next in fifth. He was followed by Carlos Checa and Toni Elias who finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Rounding up the top ten was Kawasaki’s Anthony West, Fiat Yamaha’s Colin Edwards and Konica Minolta Honda rider Shinya Nakano.
