Repsol rider earns fifth win of the season at Japanese GP. Casey Stoner places fifth on return from Indianapolis injury.
Dani Pedrosa repeated his victory at Motegi from last year and today took win number five of his 2012 season. This was the second win in a row for the Repsol rider and his fourth from his last four finishes. Teammate Casey Stoner was fifth on his return to action from an ankle injury.
Making a strong start, Pedrosa almost took the holeshot from poleman Jorge Lorenzo. On the opening laps, the Repsol Honda Team rider stuck on the tail of the Yamaha man as both escaped, following the script from the previous race at Aragón. Pedrosa then broke away and ran off into the distance for his fifth win of the campaign. Pedrosa gave no chance to his rivals and crossed the line with a 4.275 second advantage.
Casey Stoner, who started from seventh, moved up two places off the line and went into fifth, behind Spies and Crutchlow. When Spies crashed out, the reigning World Champion went up into fourth, although a mistake on lap three allowed Álvaro Bautista past. Andrea Dovizioso also went ahead eight laps from the finish. Stoner placed fifth on his return to racing following an ankle injury suffered at Indianapolis.
With this result, Pedrosa reduces the gap to leader Lorenzo in the overall standings for the second race in a row. He leaves Japan 28 points behind with 3 races to go. Casey Stoner remains in third overall.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
1st – 42:31.569
“It was a hard race because the pace was very fast from the beginning. I tried to understand the bike, as yesterday we had a lot of chatter so I didn’t know how it would be today. In the beginning it wasn’t too bad but then it got a little worse during the race. I managed it as best I could and I stayed with Jorge [Lorenzo], I was able to get a better line out of the corner and pass him and then I put in some good laps and controlled the gap. Jorge tried to stay with me, but then decided to settle for the second place. We did what we needed to do and it’s just a pity that there is no one else who can stay with us because every race I win, he’s been second. But anyway, it’s a great feeling to win races and we are doing it now. Thanks to Honda and the whole team, I’m really happy to win again here in Motegi!”
Casey Stoner >> Audio
5th at 20.566 sec.
“I’m a little disappointed to be honest. We slowly improved over the weekend and got the bike to a point we were pretty happy with in warm up. At the start of the race I felt had the pace to stay with Dani [Pedrosa] and Jorge [Lorenzo] and the bike was feeling pretty good. Then as the race progressed my body started to suffer and ache in ways I didn’t expect. We had the pace to run a lot higher and be on the podium but unfortunately I couldn’t manage it physically today. A big thanks to my team, they gave me a fantastic bike today but I couldn’t do anymore in my condition.”
