Pedrosa wins German MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa

I just watched Dani Pedrosa win a very exciting MotoGP Deutschland race in Sachsenring. This was the first time I sat through a MotoGP race as I never really had an interest in the sport before. I have to say though it is very exciting and much more watchable then Formula One. Knowing a few of the big names like Casey Stoner and Valentina Rossi,  meant I paid close attention to their progress. Stoner started at the front of the grid and Rossi started at the rear, due to a fall he had in qualifying.

The race itself got off to a good start and Stoner, on his Honda, swapped places a couple of times, over the first few laps, with Jorge Lorenzo who rode for Yamaha. At the back Rossi was impressively making ground and by the half way mark he had made it up to 9^th position. Considering he started from 16^th this was an achievement as none of the riders competing at this level are anyway slouches.

As the race continued the primary focus was the duel between Lorenzo and Stoner, with Pedrosa rarely venturing out of third place. Rossi was getting bogged down in a battle with Alvaro Bautista on his Suzuki and Rossi’s Ducati team mate Nicky Hayden, for seventh place. But seemingly Rossi is having trouble with his bike and does not trust it completely. This led to a defining moment towards the end of the race. He had just got into seventh place with a brilliant manoeuvre when he over-braked at a corner which led to his two rivals slipping back in front. Bautista finished 7^th and Hayden fractionally behind him, with Rossi then in 9^th.

As the war between Stoner and Lorenzo continued upfront Pedrosa was patiently biding his time waiting for an opening. And at the final corner his patience paid off. A big push, on the inside of Stoner, saw Pedrosa fly into the lead and power across the line for the win. This was his fifth win at the eni Motorad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenning Circuit - to give the race its full title – and a very deserving win it was too. Pedrosa showed his intelligence and class throughout the race and has ensured that the championship will be a much closer fought affair.

The world standings now has Stoner leading with 168 points; Lorenzo in second on 153 points, as he also managed to pip Stoner to second at the flag today; Andrea Dovizioso is third on 132 points; Rossi fourth with 98pts and Pedrosa fifth on 94pts.

All in all it was extremely enjoyable and well worth watching. As the races are only 30 laps they don’t seem to have the endless banality of Formula One. There is not a lot of over talking from the commentators either. In fact they seem to enjoy just shutting up and listening to riders roar through the corners and straights.

The next race is the Red Bull US Grand Prix in California, next Sunday night at 10pm, our time and to tell you the truth I can’t wait.