2010 MotoGP Round 9 - Laguna Seca, USA

2010 MotoGP Round 9 - Laguna Seca, California
Nicky Hayden, Laguna Seca.
Photo and Text Sources: Ducati Corse, Honda Racing, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing.

Yamaha One More Time

July 25, 2010 - Jorge Lorenzo took his sixth victory of the season at Laguna Seca today, romping home to win by over three seconds from Casey Stoner.

His team-mate Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the podium just seven weeks after breaking his right leg, overhauling Andrea Dovizioso during a thrilling last ten laps to finish third.

Starting from pole for the fifth time in a row, Lorenzo lost ground to his rivals at the fearsome downhill turn one and was relegated to third first time around. For the first few laps there was little he could do except hang on behind Pedrosa and Stoner but on the sixth lap Stoner ran wide and Lorenzo stormed through to take second.

By now Pedrosa was nearly a second clear but Lorenzo's pace had begun to improve and he started to push as hard as he could and exert some pressure on his fellow Spaniard. On lap twelve, with the gap now narrowed to half a second, Pedrosa crashed out and left Lorenzo in the lead and from then on it was plain sailing for the 23-year-old as he expertly controlled his advantage over Stoner to bring it home and take his second win on US soil.

Today's victory was his 11th in MotoGP, his 32nd in all classes and his 10th successive podium.

Rossi had suffered all weekend with pain in both his leg and his shoulder and today looked like it was going to be a tough day for the reigning champion, unable as he was to make any further headway after passing Nicky Hayden for fifth position.

Once Pedrosa had crashed out however and with Ben Spies exerting pressure on him from behind Rossi's fighting instinct kicked in as he spied a podium possibility, gradually closing down a two second gap to Dovizioso to come within striking distance with six laps remaining.

On the 27th lap he made his move and passed his countryman, managing to hold him off over the last couple of laps to make a popular return to the podium.

With exactly half of the season gone, Lorenzo heads the championship with an impressive 72-point lead over Pedrosa, whilst Rossi is 120 points adrift of his team-mate in fifth position. Both riders will enjoy a two and a half week holiday now and the Italian will be more glad than anyone for the time off, during which he will be working on his fitness in an effort to be back to his best next time out in Brno.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 43.54.873: "I am so happy to win here at Laguna Seca, it's something I've always dreamed of. I rode so well today, right on the limit and I had to push very hard to stay in touch with Dani. He is always so strong on race day but I knew if I kept the pressure on him then there was a chance he would make a mistake and I would be able to catch him. I'm sorry he crashed but from then on it was very easy for me because I had a big gap from Casey.

I really enjoyed riding my M1! I have a big lead in the championship but there is half of the season left and it wouldn't be the first time a rider has lost the title with such a big lead, so we can't take anything for granted.

I am really looking forward to some time to relax now after two very busy months. Thanks to everyone in my team for doing a brilliant job."

Laguna Seca Race Circuit - California.
2010 MotoGP Championship Race Calendar

2010 MotoGP United States - Laguna Seca - July 25, 2010

Circuit Length: 3,610 m. Temp: 23. Weather: Dry

Lap Record: 1'23.915 (Colin Edwards, 01/01/2005)

Fastest Lap Ever: 1'20.700 (Casey Stoner, 20/07/2008)

Last Year's Winner: Daniel Pedrosa

Race 1 - 32 Laps

1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 43'54.873

2 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'03.517

3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'13.420

4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'14.188

5 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'14.601

6 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'19.037

7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'40.721

8 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'47.219

9 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'52.813

10 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 0'52.814

11 Roger Lee Hayden Honda USA 1'14.089

12 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 1'14.666

Best Lap

Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'21.376

Rider Standings as of July 25, 2010

1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 210

2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 138

3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 115

4. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 103

5. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 90

6. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 89

7. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 77

8. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 69

9. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 53

10. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 49

11. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 48

12. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 41

13. Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 36

14. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 31

15. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 28

21. Wataru Yoshikawa Yamaha JPN 1

Manufacturer Standings as of July 25, 2010

1. Yamaha 215

2. Honda 175

3. Ducati 133

4. Suzuki 48

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