Today, Dani Pedrosa has achieved his first podium finish in the wet in MotoGP at the Sepang Circuit, after a heavy downpour completely flooded the track at the end of the 250cc race. The Repsol rider finished second, chased for a large part of the race by his teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, who spun out seven laps from the end when he was wheel to wheel with the Spanish rider. This Grand Prix also crowned Valentino Rossi, once again –the ninth in the World Championship- MotoGP World Champion.
The race was delayed 35 minutes due to the weather conditions, as a strong topical storm dropped a violent downpour on the Sepang track, which left it almost unusable for several minutes. For safety reasons, the race organisers delayed the start until the downpour let up and the water drained from the track. With their second bikes ready in the pit lane in case the track did not dry, the riders took up their places on the starting grid and Dani Pedrosa climbed from third place to first as soon as the red light went out.
The Repsol rider overtook Rossi at the end of the straight, who when trying to pass him on the outside ran extremely wide, dropping several positions. Pedrosa led the race for half a lap, but then, Casey Stoner overtook him and setting a faster pace than his rivals, rode solo towards his second consecutive win. Pedrosa also opened a gap with group, from which his teammate Andrea Dovizioso also escaped later on.
Both Repsol Honda Team riders distanced themselves from the group, until after a few laps, Valentino Rossi came up behind them, with a five-second gap. The Italian rider started to close the gap on his countryman Andrea Dovizioso, and seven laps from the end, the rear tyre of Divizioso’s Honda lost grip in a turn, making it impossible for him not to fall. A sad end to the excellent performance the Italian Repsol Honda Team rider was demonstrating.
Pedrosa was alone in second place once again, but Rossi continued bearing down on him, closing the gap to just one and a half seconds, but Pedrosa kept focused and did not make any mistakes, finishing just over two and a half seconds clear at the end of the race, and achieving his first podium finish in the wet since he started competing in MotoGP. With this result, Pedrosa maintains fourth place in the championship standings, eleven points behind Casey Stoner, and with just the final race to go, at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Cheste, Valencia, in two weeks time.
Dani Pedrosa, 2nd at 14.666 sec. >> Audio
“Riding in the rain has always been one of my weakest points and so for a long time I have tried to improve this by working hard and going over my limit in the wet. This hasn’t been an easy process, but now, finally, I achieved a podium in the wet so I’m really happy and I want to thank all the people who have helped in this process. In the middle of the race Andrea was just behind and he was closing and was putting some pressure on me, but I was riding well and I was able to keep my focus and concentration. Finally when Andrea went off, another rider was coming and this time it was Valentino. He was going quite a lot faster than me, but in the last laps I kept my rhythm and was able to finish in second place. I’m very happy today. I also want to congratulate Valentino on the world championship – nine titles is amazing. Now we go to Valencia and we’ll be trying hard again there. It’s a track that I love and there will be a lot of fans there too, so I’m looking forward to it”.
Andrea Dovizioso, fall >> Audio
“I was having a really good race and a podium would have been a really positive result for me and the team in our current situation, so of course I’m very disappointed about how it finished. Actually I didn’t get off the line too well but in the braking zone into turn one and through the first two corners I was able to overtake many riders and climb up to fifth place. My first lap was very good and I was moving forward quickly. Once into third position, I was riding close to the limit and was closing on Dani – and I definitely had my sights set on the podium finish. The Bridgestone wet tyres were working well, though you always have to be very careful because they are very soft. Then, during the 15th lap, the front turned more quickly than usual and it tucked. It’s a shame today because I was feeling good on the machine and I really wanted this result for myself and the team. However, we’ll come back fighting for the final race of the year at Valencia”.
