MotoGP Race Report: Grand Prix Of Japan

INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, April 26, 2009: Make room for a new man atop MotoGP.

Just when it appeared after the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar that World Champions Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi would be the riders to beat in 2009, Jorge Lorenzo charged to victory April 26 in the Grand Prix of Japan on his Fiat Yamaha Team machine, capturing the series lead.

Lorenzo edged teammate Rossi by 1.304 seconds in the 24-lap race at Twin Ring Motegi for the second victory of his MotoGP career, which started last season. Dani Pedrosa finished third on a Repsol Honda Team machine, 3.763 seconds behind Lorenzo.

“It was a difficult race because I didn’t really get a very good start,” Lorenzo said. “I think I even finished the first lap in third or fourth. After that, I began to catch up the pace. I passed Valentino and opened up a little gap, about a second and a half, and he was following me very hard. I had to ride the best I can to get the victory.”

Lorenzo started third after qualifying was rained out and the starting grid was based on practice times. He dropped to fourth during the first lap but climbed to third by the end of the opening circuit. Lorenzo then passed archrival Pedrosa for second on Lap 3 and began to bite into Rossi’s two-second lead.

On Lap 9, Lorenzo passed 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP winner Rossi for the lead, never trailing thereafter. Rossi and Lorenzo then engaged in a fierce fight for second, with Rossi prevailing.

It was a rough race for American riders Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden, as Edwards finished 12th and Hayden 17th.

Edwards, who was quickest overall in the wet practice session Saturday, suffered a mysterious mechanical problem early in the race, dropping quickly from the No. 5 starting spot on his Yamaha Tech 3 machine. He rallied with the sixth-quickest overall lap later in the race, missing a top-10 finish by three seconds.

Hayden hit the deck for the second consecutive race, as Japanese rookie Yuki Takahashi made a clumsy move in the fourth corner on the first lap, colliding with Hayden’s Ducati Team machine and eliminating both from the race. Neither was hurt, which was fortunate for 2006 MotoGP World Champion Hayden, still nursing back and chest injuries from a high-speed, high-side crash during qualifying April 11 for the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar.

“I don’t want to look like a cry-baby, but, you know, it was the first lap,” Hayden said. “Luckily, I feel OK.”

The next race is the Grand Prix of Spain on Sunday, May 3 at Jerez. The second annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.