The Spanish Grand Prix was, yet another year, the scenario of the huge celebration of Spanish motorcycling, in which Dani Pedrosa was one of the leading players thanks to his second place in the MotoGP race. The Repsol rider started from the first position on the starting grid and dominated the race from the beginning until the last few turns when, after fending off the relentless pursuit of Jorge Lorenzo, he lost first position. Andrea Dovizioso, with setup problems throughout the weekend, finished sixth, climbing three positions compared to Saturday’s qualifying.
In front of over 120,000 fans, the MotoGP race was the height of the weekend, with a spectacular race decided in the last lap. Yesterday, Dani Pedrosa warned of the problems he is having keeping up a fast pace over several laps, so as soon as the lights went out, he tried to open a gap to break away. Proof of this is that he clocked up the fastest lap of the race and a new circuit record in the second lap, extending his advantage, tenth by tenth, over his immediate rival, Valentino Rossi, who was two seconds behind with just five laps to go.
The Repsol Honda Team rider was doing what seemed impossible, leading the race with authority, until the Italian was overtaken by his team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo, five laps from the end and he did so with little resistance from Rossi. Warned from his team’s board, Pedrosa knew that his pursuer was now Jorge Lorenzo, who was advancing at a pace of half a second per lap faster than the Repsol rider.
In the penultimate lap, Lorenzo was riding wheel to wheel with the number 26 Honda and although the Repsol rider fended off his rival’s first two attempts – maintaining his position firstly under braking into the Dry Sack turn and then, an attack with bump included in the last turn of the circuit during the penultimate lap -, a lap later; the last, Pedrosa was cleanly overtaken by the Yamaha rider. Pedrosa could not do anything to return the move on his countryman, who crossed the line first with a half a second advantage. Despite losing the victory in the last turn and by a minimum difference, for Pedrosa the result has added-value due to the setup problems that the Repsol Honda Team rider is having this season. With this result, Pedrosa is now third in the overall standings behind Lorenzo and Rossi.
In a difficult weekend, Andrea Dovizioso knew how to get through this complicated race, finishing in sixth place – he started ninth -, which gave him ten more points and fourth place in the overall standings. The Italian Repsol Honda Team rider has had many problems with his set up this weekend at a circuit that he said on Thursday was not one of his favourites. Despite everything, Dovizioso had a good start, climbing two positions after the first lap and another in the second lap, riding in sixth place from then until the end of the race, always solo.
Dani Pedrosa, 2º a 0.543 seg. >> Audio
“Este resultado es un poco sorprendente para mí, y aunque he estado muy cerca de la victoria, estoy contento por el pódium y por habernos acercado un poco más a los primeros. No pensaba que pudiera mantener el liderato de la carrera hasta prácticamente el final de la misma, y la verdad es que estaba muy nervioso en la salida, porque sabía que si lograba ponerme al frente iba a ser muy difícil mantener el ritmo. Así que estaba muy satisfecho de estar ahí rodando al frente de la carrera, pero entonces he visto en la pizarra que me mostraba mi equipo que Lorenzo llegaba, que rodaba medio segundo más rápido que yo y Rossi, y he pensado “mmm, tal vez esto va a ser más complicado”. He intentado defender y mantenerlo detrás de mí hasta el último momento, pero no me ha sido posible. Terminar segundo después de haber liderado la prueba hasta la mitad de la última vuelta obviamente es decepcionante, pero después de la carrera de Qatar este es un buen resultado para nosotros. Me gustaría dar las gracias a todos los aficionados que han venido a apoyarnos este fin de semana, y a todas las personas que trabajan alrededor de mí en el Repsol Honda Team. Y, ahora, a pensar en las pruebas de mañana; tendremos que trabajar muy duro para encontrar soluciones pensando en Le Mans”.
Andrea Dovizioso, 6º a 23.144 seg.
“He hecho una buena salida y las primeras vueltas han sido buenas; he podido adelantar a varios pilotos y escalar hasta la sexta posición. He tenido un buen ritmo, que comparado con los pilotos delanteros no era muy malo. Lo he mantenido hasta las últimas cinco vueltas, cuando ya ha sido claro que no podría alcanzar a los pilotos de delante y he aflojado un poco. El agarre aquí era bastante bajo, así que era importante mantener los controles electrónicos trabajando bien, aunque es un punto que no hemos acertado del todo. Así que a pesar de estar satisfecho con la mejora del ritmo respecto al año pasado, estoy decepcionado con el resultado final de la carrera. Seguiremos trabajando y estoy muy contento de que mañana tengamos la oportunidad de probar el nuevo material: un chasis nuevo y un nuevo motor. Tendremos una oportunidad de continuar con los progresos que hemos hecho durante el invierno y en la primera carrera. Dani [Pedrosa] ha sido muy rápido hoy, y quiero felicitarle porque ha hecho una carrera muy buena, demostrando de lo que es capaz esta moto. Confío en que seremos capaces de ser competitivos en la próxima carrera en Le Mans”.
