Dani Pedrosa ended his five-race
MotoGP podium drought with a stunning victory at Misano as the Repsol Honda
rider denied home hero Valentino Rossi a dream result in front of his
passionate fans.
Rossi took the lead from his
Movistar Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo on the second lap and set his pace for
much of the race, but it was Pedrosa who emerged as the surprise threat as the
30 year old Spaniard set a series of record laps to reel in the top three of
Rossi, Lorenzo and championship leader Marc Marquez. Pedrosa snatched third
place from team-mate Marquez with a clinical pass at turn 14, and three laps
later he made the same move on Lorenzo, quickly pulling away from the Yamaha
rider as he set off in pursuit of Rossi.
The Italian advantage at the front
was visibly reducing as Pedrosa maintained his relentless charge, slashing
Rossi lead from one second to 0.4 seconds with a few laps. Pedrosa continued to
apply the pressure and with six laps remaining, he was now right on Rossi’s
tail and the inevitable overtake came at the beginning of lap 22, with Pedrosa
making a block pass on the brakes.
The difference between them at the
finish was 2.8 seconds as Pedrosa returned to the premier class rostrum after a
run of five races without a top three finish – his longest spell without a
podium since its 125cc GP days. It was also Pedrosa first MotoGP win since
Sepang in 2015. Pole men Lorenzo consolidated third place on the second of the
Movistar Yamaha machines, 4.3 seconds behind Pedrosa, while championship leader
Marquez was a lonely fourth, his lead in the standings reduced by seven points
to 43 points by nine-time world Champion Rossi.
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