Jorge Lorenzo put in a stellar performance to claim a come-from-behind victory at Mugello in Italy on Sunday. The defending champion started the race fifth on the grid, but worked his factory Yamaha ride up to second place and then caught and passed points leader Casey Stoner with six laps remaining to move within 19 points of the Repsol Honda rider in the standings.
It seemed that Stoner, who had racked up three wins and a second in his previous four races, was once again on his way to victory, having led the race from pole position for 17 of 23 laps. But the summer heat wreaked havoc with his tires, allowing not just the hard charging Lorenzo to get by but also Andrea Dovizioso, who snatched the runner-up position from his team-mate on the final lap. Lorenzo’s Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies followed up his previous race win at Assen with a solid fourth place outing, while the fourth factory Honda rider Marco Simoncelli managed to stay out of trouble and round out the top five. Dani Pedrosa, back in action after missing three races due to injury, placed eighth.
Lorenzo was clearly very happy with his performance, saying after the race, “I pushed and tried to be there with all of my heart. I tried to overtake Andrea in the downhill at the chicane and then I did the same with Casey because I thought it was the perfect corner for it. Now we have a competitive bike and I hope to keep this pace. Now I am more motivated and confident for the future after this great result.”
The next round takes place July 17 at Sachsenring in Germany.
2011 Mugello MotoGP Race Results
1. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team +0.997
3. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team +1.143
4. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing +8.980
5. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini +9.076
6. Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team +26.450
7. Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP +28.745
8. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team +32.043
9. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +33.421
10. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team +34.724
11. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini +37.359
12. Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing +43.964
13. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +47.654
14. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team +48.840
15. Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP +1’15.199
DNF
Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 17 laps
2011 MotoGP Championship Standings
1. Casey STONER Honda AUS 152
2. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha SPA 133
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda ITA 119
4. Valentino ROSSI Ducati ITA 91
5. Nicky HAYDEN Ducati USA 77
6. Ben SPIES Yamaha USA 74
7. Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 69
8. Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda JPN 56
9. Colin EDWARDS Yamaha USA 53
10. Marco SIMONCELLI Honda ITA 50
11. Hector BARBERA Ducati SPA 44
12. Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE 37
13. Toni ELIAS Honda SPA 35
14. Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha GBR 32
15. Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki SPA 30
16. Loris CAPIROSSI Ducati ITA 22
17. Randy DE PUNIET Ducati FRA 12
18. John HOPKINS Suzuki USA 6
19. Kousuke AKIYOSHI Honda JPN 3
