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Dani Pedrosa (Honda) took the the honours in a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix where only two of the top seven riders didn't either run off the circuit or incur a ride-through penalty (or both!). Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Pedrosa's Honda team mate Casey Stoner completed the podium.
MOTOGP
The 24-lap race began with pole man Stoner launching into Turn 1 at the head of the field, while team mate Andrea Dovizioso jumped the start from the front row, with Marco Simoncelli (Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Tech 3) also incurring ride through penalties for the same mistake.
Ducati's Valentino Rossi crashed out on the first lap, colliding with Yamaha rider Ben Spies and forcing off the track and down the order. Meanwhile Stoner appeared set to take another victory, leading clear and free until running off the track on lap five, just before Ducati privateer Hector Barbera crashed out, and Nicky Hayden on the second works Ducati went farming while running fourth.
Lorenzo had some catching up to do, and made his way through the field to come home second, while Stoner climbed back to third. Simoncelli and Dovizioso took their ride-through penalties and then got into a dice for fourth that went all the way to the line, with Simoncelli in front by a scant 0.141sec when it mattered.
Three Americans followed next, with Spies sixth in front of Hayden and Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3). Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) avoided any drama to finish ninth in his home race with Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) tenth.
Crutchlow was 11th despite an off-track excursion in addition to his ride-through penalty.
Stoner's lead at the top of the Championship over Lorenzo now stands at 40 points with three rounds of the 2011 season remaining.
MOTO2
Front-row starter Andrea Iannone (Suter) took the hole shot and got the best of a race-long battle with pole starter Marc Marquez (Suter) for his third win of the season.
Thomas Luthi completed an all-Suter podium after Kalex rider Stefan Bradl, who led the Championship at the start of the race but now trails Marquez in the standings by a single point, briefly entered the challenge but dropped off the pace to finish a second behind Luthi in fourth.
Simone Corsi (FTR) took fifth ahead of Alex de Angelis (Motobi), with Bradley Smith (Tech 3) coming home a further 5.5sec adrift to take seventh.
ominique Aegerter (Suter) was eighth with Esteve Rabat (FTR) and Mika Kallio (Suter) rounding out the top 10.
125
Johann Zarco (Derbi) took a long-awaited first victory with a clear win from championship leader Nico Terol and Terol's Aprilia team mate Hector Faubel.
Zarco started from pole but rival Terol blasted off the start into the lead, taking team mate Faubel, with him along with a determined Zarco. The three broke from the pack, opening up a five-second gap with Faubel dropping back halfway through the race.
Zarco made his move on Terol on lap 14; the Aprilia rider tried to take back the lead but ran too deep on the brakes and gifted Zarco a five-second lead, which he held to the end, with Faubel a further 13 seconds back in third.
Sixteen-year-old Maverick Vinales on the Paris Hilton Aprilia broke a chain on the warm-up lap and had to start from the back of the grid, but fought his way through the 25-bike field to finish fourth, ahead of a four-way fight for fifth between Sandro Cortese, Jonas Folger, Alberto Moncayo and Adrian Martin (each on an Aprilia) who finished in that order in less than a second.
tks to IOL Motoring
Dani Pedrosa (Honda) took the the honours in a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix where only two of the top seven riders didn't either run off the circuit or incur a ride-through penalty (or both!). Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and Pedrosa's Honda team mate Casey Stoner completed the podium.
The 24-lap race began with pole man Stoner launching into Turn 1 at the head of the field, while team mate Andrea Dovizioso jumped the start from the front row, with Marco Simoncelli (Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Tech 3) also incurring ride through penalties for the same mistake.
Ducati's Valentino Rossi crashed out on the first lap, colliding with Yamaha rider Ben Spies and forcing off the track and down the order. Meanwhile Stoner appeared set to take another victory, leading clear and free until running off the track on lap five, just before Ducati privateer Hector Barbera crashed out, and Nicky Hayden on the second works Ducati went farming while running fourth.
Lorenzo had some catching up to do, and made his way through the field to come home second, while Stoner climbed back to third. Simoncelli and Dovizioso took their ride-through penalties and then got into a dice for fourth that went all the way to the line, with Simoncelli in front by a scant 0.141sec when it mattered.
Three Americans followed next, with Spies sixth in front of Hayden and Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3). Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) avoided any drama to finish ninth in his home race with Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) tenth.
Crutchlow was 11th despite an off-track excursion in addition to his ride-through penalty.
Stoner's lead at the top of the Championship over Lorenzo now stands at 40 points with three rounds of the 2011 season remaining.
Thanks to IOL Motoring
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