Dani Pedrosa took his second victory of the season during the German grand prix at Sachsenring on Sunday, finishing 1.477 seconds ahead of defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, followed closely by current points leader Casey Stoner in third. The Spaniard put on a surprisingly strong performance in just his second race back after missing three rounds due to a broken collarbone.
Early in the race it was Stoner who looked to be on course for another win, after moving from fourth to first during the opening laps. He wasn’t able to shake Lorenzo and Pedrosa though, and the two passed the Australian just after the race’s halfway point. Pedrosa then broke clear of Lorenzo, leaving his Repsol Honda team-mate to fight with the Yamaha rider for second. With one lap remaining it looked like Stoner had done enough to garner the runner-up position, but the reigning world champ made a daring pass in the final corner of the race to snatch second place away from Stoner and cut his championship points advantage to 15.
Pedrosa’s victory at Sachsenring is his 14th in the premier-class, making him the most successful rider yet to win the title. He now sits fifth overall in the 2011 championship, 74 points adrift of Stoner.
The next race takes place on July 24 at Laguna Seca in California.
2011 Sachsenring MotoGP Race Results
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing +1.477
3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda +1.568
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda +10.513
5. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing +10.719
6. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini +10.923
7. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki +27.451
8. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro +27.510
9. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro +27.576
10. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +33.491
11. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar +38.944
12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing +39.148
13. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing +39.415
14. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +39.477
15. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini +54.516
16. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda +1’12.335
17. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Pramac Racing 1 Lap
2011 MotoGP Championship Standings
1 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 168
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 153
3 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 132
4 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Team 98
5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 94
6 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 85
= Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 85
8 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 60
9 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 59
10 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 57
11 Héctor Barberá Mapfre Aspar Team 49
12 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 41
13 Álvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 39
14 Toni Elías LCR Honda MotoGP 35
15 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 34
16 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team 22
17 Randy de Puniet Pramac Racing Team 15
18 John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 6
19 Kousuke Akiyoshi San Carlo Honda Gresini 3
