Polini Grand Prix Of Japan 2009
The second leg of the 2009 Moto GP at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan, made for some spectacular racing. Things were off to a cold(or rather wet) start when the Saturday Qualifying session had to be cancelled due to heavy lunch-time rain. The grid positions were thus decided, in all three World Championship categories, according to Free Practice positions. This saw the pole position being gifted to Valentino Rossi. Series leader Casey Stoner lined-up alongside with Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo completing the front row.
On Sunday, Jorge Lorenzo decided to surprise all of us, by claiming the second win of his MotoGP career. Lorenzo was off the blocks first and maintained the lead right throughout the race. He eventually claimed victory about two seconds clear of his team-mate Valentino Rossi. Dani Pedrosa came home third for a superb result for the Repsol Honda team.
At the start of the race, Pedrosa was the rider on the move as he came out of nowhere(fourth row on the grid) to the 2nd place. It made for some
fascinating racing between Rossi and Pedrosa as the pair exchanged overtaking moves, with Rossi eventualy coming out on top. Casey Stoner was unable to break away, as he had done in Qatar and had to be content with 4th place. Nicky Hayden had another bad weekend, crashing with home rider Yuki Takahashi.
In the 125 cc category, Andrea Iannone was the principal gainer in the Qualifying session abandonment as he found himnself on pole position for the race. Sunday’s race was as much about the right tyre choice as it was about the grid position and bike performance. With a track that was damp in patches and with it drying rapidly, riders took their chances. In the early stages, those with rubber suitable for the wet weather took-off. As the track tried out, those on slicks were quicker. Danny Webb and Julián Simón were the front-runners. Poleman Iannone however, worked his way up the field after an atrocious start and claimed victory. He thus has two wins in two races this season.
The 250 cc saw Marco Simoncelli awarded pole position. Hiroshi Aoyama started right behind him on his and Honda’s home race. The race was a real thriller which saw Spanish rider Álvaro Bautista spoil the party for home hero Hiroshi Aoyama. Bautista had started from the front row, but had to battle hard over the course of the race with teammate Mike di Meglio and Gabor Talmacsi. Bautista soon put Aoyama under a lot of pressure for ten tough laps, beore passing him for the chequered flag.
The MotoGP championship is now led by Jorge Lorenzo ahead of defending champion Valentino Rossi. Casey Stoner moves down to the third spot. The circus now moves into Europe for round three of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship. The next stop is the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. As Rossi rightly pointed out, there are now four drivers in the hunt for this season’s championship - Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa. The racing is gonna get hotter for sure!
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