Return of the Mac

Jorge Lorenzo has won an atypical Motegi Grand Prix under brilliant sunshine today in Japan. After the rain cancelled qualifying session left riders gridding up in combined practice time order Rossi and Stoner lined up pole and position two, with Rossi’s teammate Lorenzo third. But as the flag dropped it was Rossi who bolted early in a surprising race.

Australia’s Chris Vermeulen got a brilliant start, jumping from fourth to second under compatriot Casey Stoner, but it was Dani Pedrosa who surprised everyone, the Repsol HRC Honda rounding up the front runners on the outside of turn one to be second by turn two.

At the end of lap one it was Valentino Rossi from Dani Pedrosa with Casey Stoner fading back to seventh behind surprise packet Marco Melandri in sixth.

A furious Nicky Hayden was the victim of Honda rider Yuki Takahashi early in the race, the Ducati factory rider clearly aggravated as medics worked on him alongside the track. Replays showed Takahashi diving under the inside and colliding with the Ducati rider, ending both their races.

Lorenzo made it a Yamaha one-two with 22 to go, relegating the Honda of Pedrosa to third ahead of his teammate Andrea Dovizioso. The image of the two Respol bikes running together must have warmed the hearts of the Japanese executives after a string of disappointing results for the marque.

Stoner’s old teammate Melandri helped justify tenuous hold on a MotoGP seat with a heated battle that saw the “Dornasaki” rider forcing Stoner and Vermeulen wide before making a mistake himself. Less than a quarter of the way through the race Stoner finally broke through to fifth position and set off after the Yamaha and Honda factory quartet ahead as Toni Elias gained his sponsors some coverage with a lowside after losing the front end.

The first move from Lorenzo on teammate Rossi came on lap 8, the charismatic Spaniard spearing up the inside of Rossi before running wide. Rossi the consummate professional retook the lead with a switchback but on the run under the bridge Lorenzo made his final move stick, and immediately gapped the reigning champ.

Just over half way through the race Sete Gibernau saw his own opportunity for some TV time. Gibercry throwing his Ducati down the road while chasing the Suzuki of Chris Vermeulen in 11^th.

With eight to go Valentino Rossi gave his old HRC bosses heart, falling back into the clutches of Dani Pedrosa. The two scrapped, swapping second place like a child’s party parcel before a mistake from Pedrosa allowed Rossi breathing space.

The battle between the two had held up Dovi, and with just two laps to go Stoner managed to salvage critical points, snatching fourth in a late race run that sadly came too late.

In the end though it was Lorenzo who was unheaded, the Spaniard planting his flag in the Motegi sand after claiming a dominant win, the second of his MotoGP career. The championship leader-board now sees Lorenzo on 41 points ahead of Rossi on 40 and Stoner on 38.