Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Bautista finish on the podium at MotoGP Motegi

The MotoGP World Championship was the last to take to the stage at the Motegi Circuit, where the Japanese Grand Prix was run in conditions different from the other categories: the morning started sunny, but by the time the premier class took to the track everything had darkened and the first signs of possible rain appeared.

The start was very good for Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. The Yamaha rider managed to hold pole position with a spectacular “around the outside” move, and from that point on he set lap after lap of fastest times, breaking up the group, with three riders involved: Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Spies. Behind them we saw Crutchlow, with Bautista and Stoner.

But they soon lost one member, as Spies went wide and crashed into one of the run-off areas. Everything points to brake problems caused by temperature, as could be seen in the crashes and off-track moments during the warm-up.

So Lorenzo was 1st, Pedrosa 2nd and Crutchlow 3rd, but the Briton was well behind the leading duo. It was a battle between our riders, but precisely on lap 13 the Catalan decided to overtake the Mallorcan, and at that moment he broke the contest open. After passing Lorenzo, Pedrosa set lap after lap of fastest times, managing to open a gap over the championship leader, while we saw a total battle between Cal and Álvaro for third place, and with it another podium. But on the final lap the Briton, who had been fighting hard, had problems with his Yamaha and retired.

In the end Dani Pedrosa won with more than four seconds’ advantage over Lorenzo, but it was not easy. He gave his all these days, as did the rest of the riders. Regarding crashes and off-track moments, we saw Randy de Puniet, Spies, Iván Silva and, unfortunately, Yonny Hernández, who appears to have suffered physical consequences, specifically a dislocated left collarbone, although he is still at the medical centre and we await confirmation.

The remaining positions were completed by Dovizioso 4th, Stoner 5th, Bradl 6th, Rossi 7th, Hayden 8th, Nakasuga 9th, Barberá 10th, Abraham 11th, Espargaró 12th, Edwards 13th, Ellison 14th, Pirro 15th, Petrucci 16th and Rolfo 17th. A difficult day for Stoner, who could not do much more given his physical condition. Without doubt, step by step, with everything focused on the Australian Grand Prix.

In Japan we witnessed a historic moment with Pedrosa 1st, Lorenzo 2nd and Bautista 3rd on the podium, as a Spanish triplet had never before been seen in the premier class, without doubt another step forward in continuing to demonstrate our strength. Our own Aleix Espargaró also won the CRT category, so in the closed paddock today a lot of Spanish was being spoken.

Right now Jorge remains leader of the overall standings with 28 points more than the Catalan; the Mallorcan has a comfortable cushion.

Photo | MotoGP Official website