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News, Views & Racing Results ....
.gif&w=300) MotoGP Catalunya : Nip and Took all the way - 10-06-2007
Casey Stoner took his fourth World Championship victory of the season in an absolute thriller of a race at Catalunya. The Ducati factory rider rode the race of his life to deny Valentino Rossi his third consecutive win at the Spanish circuit, but was pushed all the way as he headed a podium separated by under four tenths of a second.
Stoner absorbed every manoeuvre that Rossi threw at him in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the Circuit de Catalunya, never losing his cool despite being put on the back foot on more than one occasion. The Australian first took the lead on the second lap as he roared down the home straight, but had home rider Dani Pedrosa to contend with in the early going. When Rossi finally showed his cards on lap ten to give the Spaniard a back seat view of an epic battle, the two way duel between the championship leader and the experienced race winner was set. Stalking Stoner at every turn, Rossi assessed his options in cerebral fashion; letting the 21 year old know that he was there as he slipped through on a number of corners.
‘The Doctor’ finally made the lead stick on lap 21, resisting an attempt at a quick comeback on the home straight. Stoner learnt his lesson, and pulled ahead on the next lap before predicting his Italian rival’s line. He continued in the lead until the finish line, passing the flag just 0.069 ahead of Rossi.
After taking the holeshot, Pedrosa had been expected to push for the win on his Honda RC212V, but was only really able to make advances on the second placed rider after the midway point. Tucked in behind the leading duo, the Spaniard waited to capitalise on any possible mistake from either rider, making overtures towards overtaking moves when Rossi or Stoner strayed from their lines. In the end Pedrosa had to settle for third, meaning that his winless run extends to fifteen races; the last time that he stepped onto the top of the rostrum being at Donington Park where the riders return in two weeks time. A home victory in MotoGP still eludes the former 125cc and 250cc World Champion.
John Hopkins took a comfortable fourth place on the Suzuki GSV-R800, separated from the top three dragging each other further away from the Anglo-American as the race went on. Gutsy Frenchman Randy de Puniet took his best ever MotoGP result from second on the grid, gritting his teeth to take fifth despite a nasty haematoma in his leg restricting his movement onboard the Kawasaki ZX-RR.
Loris Capirossi took the second Ducati home in sixth from seventeenth on the grid, ahead of Chris Vermeulen, Alex Barros , Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards. Toni Elias was the only rider not to finish the race, retiring with engine problems.
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