Dani Pedrosa wins in Germany
Stoner Fifth while Rossi Crashes Out
An eventful race saw Dani Pedrosa take his first victory since Donington last year. World Championship leader Casey Stoner finished fifth while Rossi failed to finish.
Dani Pedrosa rode a superb race at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany to take his first victory in over a year. The Spaniard took the lead in the first lap and never looked back. By the time he crossed the finish line he had built a lead of 13.166s: the biggest margin of victory this season. The Repsol Honda driver who is currently third in the overall standings boosted his points tally to 119.
Pedrosa’s win was only half of the story of success for the Repsol Honda team since teammate and reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden stormed through the field from fourteenth place to take third place. It was the American’s second consecutive podium this season.
The two Repsol Honda drivers sandwiched the Ducati Marlboro of Loris Capirossi who finished in second place. The Italian veteran was not a front runner throughout much of the race. But it became apparent that Capirossi was merely preserving his tires before making a late charge. His second place was the best finishing position among Bridgestone runners. His teammate and championship leader Casey Stoner could only manage fifth despite being in contention for the lead throughout the first half of the race. It was the best time for Stoner to fully capitalize on extending his advantage since Rossi failed to finish. Unfortunately for the Australian, he did not have the pace late in the race. Starting from pole, he was relegated to second place and remained there for much of the first half of the race. By the second half of the race, he moved down the order to as low as sixth before seizing back fifth place. As it stands, Casey Stoner is 32 points clear over Valentino Rossi.
Fiat Yamaha will be satisfied with Colin Edward’s effort to finish the race in fourth place. The American started in thirteenth place but steadily moved up the order as he displayed one of his better race forms this season. However, the team will have mixed emotions since Valentino Rossi crashed out early in the race. It was a case of ‘one-step forward two-steps back’ for the multiple world champion Italian. After a stunning effort to cut the lead of Stoner in Assen, a rare mistake from Rossi saw him slide off the track after losing the front end of the bike while attempting to overtake Randy de Puniet. Valentino Rossi attempted to rejoin the race but his Yamaha incurred a damaged handle bar in the whole ordeal thus ending the Italian’s race prematurely. It was an unfortunate incident for Rossi since the Michelin tire package seemed to have an advantage over the Bridgestone tires during the latter half of the race.
Marco Melandri, John Hopkins, Anthony West, Alex Hoffman and Michel Fabrizio round up the top ten as they finished sixth to tenth respectively.
The next race will be held July 22, 2007 in Laguna Seca.
