Winner of the last two grands prix, Dani Pedrosa was hopeful of a great result on home soil, especially since his Honda benefited from plenty of speed in comparison to rival Lorenzo. However, the Spaniard ran wide in Turn 1 after the start and dropped to 5th overall, after which he started his recovery race. In only a matter of laps, he managed to climb up to 2nd, but that was as high as he could on Sunday.
Even if he managed to keep contact with Stoner and stay within less than a second from the Aussie midway through the race, tire wear prevented him from keeping the pace later on. He was therefore forced to settle for the runner-up spot, ahead of the second Ducati rider Nicky Hayden.
The Kentucky Kid stayed behind Lorenzo for the majority of the race, only to pass him heading into the back straight of the final lap. The Spaniard therefore crossed the finish line in 4th place and lost 7 points to Pedrosa in the overall classification.
Ben Spies finished on a distant 5th place, but not before his fight for that position against Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso ended with the latter crashing out in the last lap. The American was followed by Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli, while the Top 10 was completed by Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista, Gresini’s Marco Melandri and Pramac’s Aleix Espargaro.
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