Japan GP. Race

Repsol Rider Valentino Rossi takes the first MotoGP victory of the season
The rain forecasted yesterday showed up as expected and turned the Japanese Grand Prix into a lottery. The only race that kept the forecasts was the MotoGP race, where the Repsol Honda Team rider Valentino Rossi, took the victory after an extremely contended first Grand Prix of the season. With regard to the first race of the day, from the moment Daniel Pedrosa saw the rain falling on the circuit, he knew that he wouldn’t have much possibilities to fight for his first victory in the 125 GP. Despite a very good start from the front position of the grid and leading the race during the first corners, he was overtaken by several riders and relegated to intermediate positions halfway through the race. The continuous crashes and his constant pace allowed him to make up positions until crossing the finish line as eight fastest. His teammate Joan Olivé made a good race that allowed him to get his first points of the year thanks to his thirteenth final position. In the 250 GP, Fonsi Nieto wasn’t able to undersign the excellent performance he showed yesterday, when he managed to make the fastest time of the grid. The difficult weather conditions and a crash two laps before the end of the race, pushed the Repsol rider back to the thirteenth position despite being sixth fastest until that moment. His teammate Toni Elías got his first points in his debut in this category, crossing the finish line in eleventh position after a very complicated race due to the track conditions.The highest category was witness to an intense fight for the leadership. The local Suzuki rider, Akira Ryo, set a fast pace from the first lap. Yet, the plans of the Repsol rider Valentino Rossi were completely different, starting this difficult race with ease. Lap by lap, Rossi began to overtake riders until he reached Ryo about the middle of the race. With five laps to go Rossi overtook Ryo taking the leading position and stayed there until crossing the finish line. His teammate, Tohru Ukawa, wasn’t able to offer another good result for the Team Repsol Honda MotoGP today. Ukawa crashed three laps before the end of the race while being on fifth position in a hard fight with his fellow countryman Norick Abe.