Casey Stoner Collects 3th Victory of MotoGP 2011 at Catalunya Grand Prix
At last Casey Stoner wins the battle of MotoGP at Catalunya Grand Prix, although initially start at 3th.
The result completed the Stoner’s victory to three in this session.
Jorge Lorenzo that initiated the start at second must satisfaction on the second place.
Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi finished on the fifth place.
Casey Stoner closed the gap on Jorge Lorenzo at the top of the MotoGP standings after easing to a convincing victory in tricky conditions at the Catalunya Grand Prix.
The Repsol Honda rider mastered both his rivals and a damp track to register his third victory in five races this season and move to within seven points of Spaniard Lorenzo, who had to settle for second place in front of his home fans.
Third place went to Ben Spies, the American claiming his first podium finish of the year for the factory Yamaha squad.
Andrea Dovizioso was fourth for Honda, ahead of Valentino Rossi (Ducati) and Marco Simoncelli, whose Gresini Honda appeared to lack the pace it showed when grabbing a surprise pole position from Stoner's grasp yesterday.
Britain's Cal Crutchlow took seventh for the Tech 3 Yamaha team.
At the start, Stoner got the jump on pole-sitter Simoncelli but was still in second place heading into turn one after Lorenzo made an even better getaway from third on his Yamaha.
But Lorenzo's time at the front was fleeting, and by the end of the opening tour Stoner was lining up a pass which he completed into the first turn on lap two.
Stoner, fastest in all the practice sessions prior to being pipped by Simoncelli in qualifying, quickly got the hammer down and was rarely in trouble out front as he kept a comfortable gap to Lorenzo.
Indeed it was only the weather which threatened to ruin the Australian's day, with light drizzle making life difficult for the riders, although it never became heavy enough to necessitate pit stops for wet-weather tyres.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Gresini Honda) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Ducati) were the race's only retirements after a collision at turn one.
The result of MotoGP Catalunya 2011:
1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team 43m 19.779s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 43m 22.182s
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 43m 24.070s
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 43m 25.034s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 27.150s
6. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 43m 31.610s
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43m 46.262s
8. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 53.022s
9. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team 44m 2.871s
10. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 44m 2.892s
11. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar Team 44m 4.003s
12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 44m 5.018s
13. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 44m 18.047s
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