Pedrosa wins in Japan

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa kept his cool during an incident-packed Japanese MotoGP yesterday, easing to victory over reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by more than seven seconds.

Spain’s Pedrosa sealed his third win of the season at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 42min 47.481sec, while championship leader Casey Stoner, who started on pole, finished third despite ending up in the gravel during the fifth lap.

Pedrosa kept his calm throughout the action-packed race which saw five riders crashing out and three others handed ride-through penalties.

But despite his victory, Stoner, who finished more than 18 seconds behind Pedrosa, still leads Lorenzo (Yamaha) in the championship standings by a commanding 40 points with just three races remaining, in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia.

Stoner was in command early in the race before running off the track and into the gravel on lap five, which saw him drop to seventh. He said his brakes had failed to respond after his bike began shaking but he managed to stay on his Honda and return to the track.

His Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso led the race briefly before he had to perform a ride-through penalty for jumping the start.

Ducati’s Valentino Rossi crashed out on the first lap, dragging along Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who rejoined the race, and also almost taking down Lorenzo.

Pedrosa, who finished second in the previous three races, seized his opportunity and powered to the front, steadily increasing the gap over Lorenzo to earn a home victory for his team.

“Obviously, when you win, it’s a great feeling,” said Pedrosa, who missed three races this season after breaking his right collarbone in France in May.

“The race from the start was very weird because Casey had some problems and missed the corner. And then Dovi (Dovizioso) had to stop for the penalty. And then I found myself suddenly alone in first place.”

MotoGP standings
1. Stoner (Honda) 300; 2. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 260; 3. Dovizioso (Honda) 196; 4. Pedrosa (Honda) 195; 5. Spies (Yamaha) 156; 6. Rossi (Ducati) 139; 7. Hayden (Ducati) 123; 8. Simoncelli (Honda) 119; 9. Edwards (Yamaha) 98; 10. Aoyama (Honda) 94.