Defending world champion Valentino Rossi claimed his seventh MotoGP title in a rain soaked event on Sunday at the Malaysian MotoGP. Australian Casey Stoner won his second consecutive race aboard a Ducati, but the 30-year-old Italian secured the title by coming in third on his Yamaha. Spain’s Dani Pedrosa was second while Jorge Lorenzo, the only rider still in title contention, placed fourth. Lorenzo, second on the grid, was relegated to the back of the field after arriving late to his start position. Starting problems with his number one bike forced a change to his spare machine.
Torrential rain delayed the start of the race by 35 minutes and played a major role when the action finally got under way. Rossi started on pole, but went wide into the first corner and quickly lost the lead. A pack of riders led by Pedrosa and Stoner overtook him with ease and left him in eleventh place at one point. Undaunted, Rossi worked his way back to third, nipping at Pedrosa’s heels for the remainder of the race, while Stoner stayed well ahead, crossing the finish line with a commanding 14.666 second advantage.
“With one round to go, I have clinched the world title. I thank all the people who helped me achieve this achievement. We did some great fight,”said Rossi “It’s a great achievement, and for me it’s the ninth championship, the seventh in MotoGP,” he said.
The final race of the 2009 MotoGP season takes place in Valencia, Spain on November 8.
2009 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle GP Results
1 C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 47’24.834
2 D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team + 14.666
3 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team + 19.385
4 J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team + 25.850
5 N. HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team + 38.705
6 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 41.061
7 T. ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini + 48.555
8 M. MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team + 55.557
9 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1’00.303
10 M. KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing + 1’00.440
11 A. ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing + 1’01.655
12 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1’01.847
13 C. EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1’10.778
14 G. TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1’15.851
15 J. TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1’50.672
Not classified
A. DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 7 Lap
R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 20 Lap
2009 MotoGP Championship Standings
1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 286
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 245
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 220
4 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 209
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 152
6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 148
7 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 108
8 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 108
9 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 105
10 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 105
11 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 105
12 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 101
13 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 93
14 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 88
15 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 64
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 38
17 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 19
18 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing 13
19 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 12
20 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 9
