ROSSI TAKES CHARGE IN CATALUNYA
By Motorsportchannel.com
16 June 2009

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo dominated an incredible Catalan Grand Prix, delivering a show-stopping performance from start to finish at the Circuit de Catalunya in front of a packed house.

It was the reigning MotoGP Champion Rossi who finally emerged the winner, taking a memorable 99th career victory after a stunning last-corner pass on his team-mate, but the Yamaha pair were separated by under one hundredth of a second after 25 thrilling laps.

After running at a near identical pace all weekend it always looked like being a head-to-head between them and they set off in grid order with Lorenzo leading from Rossi and Casey Stoner.

The Italian made his first move at the end of the straight on lap four and passed his young "pretender" team mate into turn one, but all three remained within half a second of each other until four laps later, when the Yamaha duo on their bikes began to pull away from Stoner, quickly opening out a second's gap and leaving the rest of the field trailing in their wake.

With just a couple of tenths between them there was no margin for error but at the end of the back straight on lap thirteen Lorenzo saw a way through and passed his team-mate to take the lead.

They continued wheel to wheel until Rossi made another move ten laps later, but the race still wasn't over and there were several more nail biting changes of lead between them before Lorenzo looked to have it sewn-up half way round the final lap.

The nine-time champion had one more card to play on the youngster however and edged his machine through in an inch-perfect last corner challenge to take his ninth win in all classes at this track.

With Stoner finishing third, the three incredibly now have 106 points apiece after six races, meaning something of a championship restart for them at the Dutch TT in Assen in two week's time, a favourite track for both Rossi and Lorenzo.

Stoner had to deal with a personal battle against illness at the start of the Grand Prix and eventually coped throughout the 25-lap race to secure a priceless third place.

The Ducati rider was so debilitated by stomach cramps a day before the race and at the halfway stage of the race he considered returning to the pits to retire.

However, after a weekend of hard work from Stoner and his crew, the Australian knew that the perfect set-up of his GP9 could help him and he steeled himself for a final push. He set the fastest lap of the race on his way to the final podium spot.

Team mate Nicky Hayden ended in another mediocre race finish position in tenth, while Pramac Ducati rider Mika Kallio finished a position higher in ninth, making it three Ducatis in the top ten for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Andrea Dovizioso came within the length of finishing on the podium in the highlight race of the 2009 season. Sixth ending lap one, Dovizioso passed fellow Randy De Puniet on the fourth of 25 laps only to find teammate Dani Pedrosa just ahead.

Two laps on, Dovizioso passed Pedrosa and settled into fourth, but at a distance of 2.5s to Stoner.

For the rest of the race, Dovizioso inched ever forward, making huge inroads in the final six laps. The interval continued to shrink on every lap, but on the crucial run from turn 13 to the stripe Stoner was just able to hold him off. Still, Dovizioso took solace in knowing the gap to the winner was only nine seconds.

Pedrosa was riding hurt and in pain from incidents two weeks ago in Mugello, but with the help of a pain-killing injection, Pedrosa was racing better than expected given the seriousness of his right leg and hip injuries.

Once passed by Dovizioso, he came under attack from Loris Capirossi. But it would take the Italian ten laps to slip past the gritty Spaniard, who was hoping for better in front of the home crowd. Pedrosa gave way on lap 17, but finished a valiant sixth, exhausted and in pain.

De Puniet got little rest once he was passed by Dovizioso. Pedrosa and Capirossi also passed him, as did Colin Edwards on lap 14.

But the Frenchman was close enough to re-take the position until the final few laps when the Texan edged ahead. He finished eighth, 1.7s behind Edwards.

Alex De Angelis was the final Honda finish in a deceptive 12th place, struggling with rear tyre grip due to high temperatures for much of the final stint of the race. Not as lucky were his teammate Toni Elias and Yuki Takahashi.

Takahashi crashed on the first lap while Elias lost the front end in the La Caixa left-hander at the end of the back straight on the tenth lap.

Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi finished his first MotoGP race in 17th place for Scot Honda.

Talmacsi had only ridden in a MotoGP race for the first time at the Spanish GP and was suffering from a slight virus for the entire race.

Capirossi rode a determined race for a satisfactory fifth position after an exciting 25-lap Catalan race. The veteran Italian was involved in a long battle with Pedrosa before finally getting the better of the Spaniard on lap 17.

The duel had cost him valuable time and Capirossi was unable to make up any more places as he brought his Suzuki home for his second successive fifth place.

Team mate Chris Vermeulen had a tough race as he was boxed in early on in and relegated down to 16th from 12th on the grid.

Vermeulen again showed his true racer spirit - and although he felt he never really got into a good rhythm - he gradually picked off riders one-by-one to get up to 11th when the chequered flag dropped.

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The next MotoGP engagement is scheduled for Assen for the Dutch TT on 25 - 27 June.