Wonder on two wheels says he read the German track perfectly to ward off rivals Stoner and Jorge
Wonder on two wheels says he read the German track perfectly to ward off rivals Stoner and Jorge
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Valentino Rossi held off Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to win a thrilling German MotoGP race yesterday, his 101st career victory.
The Italian veteran, who started in pole position, finished ahead of Spaniard Lorenzo, with Honda's Dani Pedrosa, also of Spain, taking third and Australian Casey Stoner in fourth.
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"It was another fantastic battle with (Casey) Stoner and then Jorge until the last lap. I knew that on this circuit it's very difficult to pass so I stayed ahead on the final lap."
The win saw Rossi extend his lead in the overall standings to 176 points after nine events, 14 ahead of Lorenzo, with Australian Casey Stoner in third on 148 and Pedrosa a further 40pts adrift in fourth.
Lorenzo said he was slightly disappointed.
He explained: "I rode a good race but made two minor mistakes. I didn't attack early enough. Perhaps if I had done I could have opened up a small gap.
"Then when I overtook Valentino I thought there were more laps to go than was the case."
French rider Randy De Puniet suffered a dramatic tumble on the opening lap in front of 98,000 spectators when pressing in third position behind Rossi and Pedrosa, sliding off the track as his bike bucked.
Ducati rider Stoner, last season's winner here, took advantage to move swiftly past Rossi and Pedrosa to take the lead on the seventh lap.
Stoner forced the pace, with only the final podium finishers able to stick to him. By the 11th lap there were already five seconds between the Australian and fifth place occupied by Alex De Angelis of San Marino.
Rossi retook the lead on the 16th lap, with Lorenzo and then Pedrosa overtaking Stoner, who finished fourth.
The two Yamahas then edged away, with Lorenzo taking the attack to Rossi and assuming the lead with five laps to go.
In a nail-biting climax, Rossi moved back into the lead with two laps to go and held off Lorenzo as the Spaniard pretender tried one last desperate pass on the final bend.
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