Team Repsol Honda with good results in Japan

Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa has added a new victory to his palmarés today in the premier class, the 400th in the history of Spanish motorcycle racing, and his third this season. It was a crazy race, in which his teammates Stoner and Dovizioso found themselves out of the fight for the win —when they were leading the race—, the former due to a brake problem and the latter due to a ‘ride through’ penalty for jumping the start slightly. Despite this, Stoner finished on the podium —third—, and Dovizioso was fifth.

There is no doubt that Dani Pedrosa’s relationship with Japan is very special. He has won races here in both 125cc and 250cc, and in this same venue he suffered an injury last year that definitively took him out of the MotoGP title fight. Today, three days after turning 26, he gifted himself the victory in the premier class after a good start from fourth position, which put him second at the first corner behind Casey Stoner and ahead of Andrea Dovizioso. The Australian quickly opened a gap, setting a very high pace from the second lap, the lap on which Dovizioso overtook Pedrosa.

However, the scenario changed quickly when on the fourth lap, a strong shake from the front end of Casey Stoner’s Honda left him momentarily without brakes, forcing him to run wide. While returning to the asphalt he dropped to seventh position, leaving Dovizioso in the lead. That lead barely lasted a lap, because on the following lap he was forced to pass through the pit lane to serve a penalty for jumping the start.

From that moment on, Pedrosa found the path clear to secure a new victory, the first for a Honda rider at the circuit he owns since 2004. The Spaniard of the Repsol Honda Team withstood the initial pressure from Jorge Lorenzo, then shortly after intensified his pace, set the fastest lap of the race on the eleventh lap and secured the win with a margin of over seven seconds over Lorenzo and 18 over Stoner.

The championship leader came back four positions to return to the podium and score 16 very important points for the overall standings, which he leads by 40 points. His teammate at Repsol Honda Team, Andrea Dovizioso, rejoined the track in tenth place after serving his penalty for jumping the start and began to recover ground, overtaking Edwards, Aoyama and Elías. Benefiting from Bautista’s crash, he fought with Marco Simoncelli for fourth place in the final laps, but ultimately had to settle for fifth.

Statements from Dani Pedrosa:

I’m super happy with this victory! For the team, which has done a great job, for HRC, because it is the team’s first win at Motegi for Repsol Honda, and for me, because it is the first time I’ve managed to win in MotoGP at this circuit, after having done so in 125cc and 250cc.

The race was strange at the beginning; Stoner and Dovizioso were going very fast in the first two laps and started to pull away. But then Casey had a problem and Andrea had to go through the pit lane for jumping the start. I found myself alone in front, with Lorenzo very close, and I concentrated to the maximum, increasing the pace every lap to pull away.

I’m very happy because at this circuit I’ve had both good and bad results, and also some serious injuries, so coming back here after what happened last year and winning in MotoGP is fantastic.

Statements from Andrea Dovizioso:

I can’t believe it. I’ve never made a false start in my career and it happened today, in a race where I could have fought for the win! I don’t know why, the bike moved a little before the green light, but I realised straight away and accepted the penalty.

In the first laps I felt very comfortable and pushed hard, because I knew I was the only rider in front on the soft tyre. I think that was the right choice and I was catching Casey [Stoner]. Then he went off track and I found myself leading the race, but unfortunately it didn’t last long. When I rejoined I gave my maximum again, but it’s not the same as when you’re fighting for the win.

In the last five laps, the rear tyre dropped off a lot and I could no longer go fast through the corners. Meanwhile, Simoncelli was catching up and reached me. I did everything possible to keep my position, but I couldn’t.

I’m disappointed because I’m sure I could have fought for the win today; the time Dani [Pedrosa] gained on me is similar to what I lost with the ‘ride through’. I’m sorry for the team, we’ve done a great job and we’ve been competitive. It’s also a shame for my championship position. Anyway, we’ll go to Phillip Island eager, because we’ve shown that we can go fast.

Statements from Casey Stoner:

The whole weekend has gone very well for us, even the start of the race; everything was in place and I was able to push hard and gain some advantage. Andrea [Dovizioso] was riding very well on the soft tyre and we knew ours would hold up well until the end of the race, so the pace we had at that point was comfortable for me.

I went off because I got a strong jolt when I hit a bump and I could barely hold on to the handlebars; I was lucky to stay on the bike. Luckily I was able to avoid the wall by running over the gravel, but that practically ended my race.

It’s disappointing, because we had the bike to win today, but after all I suppose I should be happy to have been able to recover and get onto the podium thanks to the problems of other riders.

I’m eager to get to Phillip Island and see what we can do there. I have to protect my championship lead, but I also want to win races, which is why I’m disappointed today.

Source | Repsol Media Service