Casey Stoner completed a perfect weekend today with his victory at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, celebrating Honda's second successive win here at the brickyard and marking Honda's third consecutive win on American shores.
After recording the a new circuit best lap record yesterday whilst claiming pole position for today's race with a 1'38.850 lap, Stoner also achieved a new fastest race lap record of 1'39.807. This is Stoner's seventh win of the season and third consecutive win in a row after Laguna Seca and Brno.
Dani Pedrosa rode a great race to finish second behind Stoner. Pedrosa made one of his trademark flying starts and took an early lead in the 26 lap race however, Stoner passed him on lap seven and Pedrosa maintained second position comfortably, fending off the Yamaha's.
Andrea Dovizioso was hoping for a podium here in Indianapolis, but he endured some tough laps early in the race after being blocked by Hayden which knocked him down a few positions. Andrea remained focused and recovered these positions to finish the race in fifth position.
Casey Stoner now leads the Championship with 243 points (a 44 point margin over Lorenzo), with Andrea Dovizioso in 3rd position on 174 points and Dani Pedrosa, 4th position on 130 points.
Casey Stoner:
"We got an OK start and I should have been a little more aggressive in the first corner. As I entered turn two, Dani hit the breaks quite hard and I just had nothing, my brakes weren't warmed up yet and I had trouble stopping, I was lucky to get through the first lap. The race was tough, conditions were very hot and the track surface a little more slippery than practice and qualifying which made things difficult to know how much to push. At one point, I closed the front and dropped the bike on my knee, I was pretty much down but managed to pick it back up and not lose too much confidence. From there we started to make our way past Dani, put in a few good lap times and pull an advantage. Under challenging track conditions everything has worked really well this weekend, the crew did a fantastic job and gave me a great bike so a huge thanks to them all!"
Dani Pedrosa:
"We are very happy with second place today for several reasons. After yesterday's qualifying session, we had to work hard to reduce the one second gap we had from Casey, it wasn't normal to be so far away from him. To finish second after the crash in Brno is a great feeling. I knew that my race pace wouldn't be as fast as Casey's, but the team did a very good job, helped me to feel more comfortable with the front and I was able to find a good rhythm, just 3-4 tenths slower than Casey. It was a tough race being alone, but I focused on my lap times and I made my best lap at the end, so I'm happy with my performance and the bike. To get 20 points is not so bad after the crash in Brno and I look forward to going to Misano next week to try and take another step forward."
Andrea Dovizioso:
?I can?t be happy with today?s result because our target was the podium and gaining some points on Lorenzo, but we also have to look at the positives and I'm pleased I managed a 1?40.1 lap time, my fastest of the race on my final lap. Considering the demanding conditions of this track and the hot temperatures, this lap time shows that we were fast even at the end. We had a bad start, Nicky (Hayden) blocked me and then Ben (Spies) and I touched in turn four and I lost valuable time. From that moment I tried to remain focused and lap by lap I found the pace that allowed me to recover positions. We knew that the race would be tough and it really was. It was also a strange race, from the beginning we had no rear grip and especially in the first laps I had the feeling that the front was closing a lot. However, I was able to adapt my riding style to the conditions to manage the tyres in the best way and ride consistently. We are competitive and we go to Misano, my home GP very determined and confident of a good result?.
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/y7fqUC1j2tG/Stoner+storms+seventh+victory+season+Pedrosa
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