MotoGP
Sachsenring: Dani pedrosa falls as De Angelis fights to fourth
14 luglio 2008
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As rain sheeted down the lights went out and Dani hit the front from second on the grid. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) snatched second from row two, Colin Edwards (Yamaha) was an early front-runner too and Stoner lay fourth having started from pole. At the end of lap one Dani had pulled out a staggering two second lead over Dovi. With a clear track in front of him Pedrosa was simply pulverising the rest of the grid. On a sodden track he set an early fastest lap of 1m 36.65s and the Spanish star was riding two seconds a lap faster than anyone. As he crossed the line for the start of lap six in this 30-lap encounter he enjoyed a seven second advantage over Stoner who had mover up to second past Dovizioso. Braking for the tricky right-hand turn one, Dani fell, his bike smashed beyond resumption of the race and Dani, fortunately, walking away, albeit carrying injuries. Now it was Stoner’s turn to enjoy a spray-less run at the front and the Aussie employed the same remorseless measures, hauling away from Dovi by more than two seconds in two laps. As the rain eased off slightly Rossi passed Dovi for second at turn one and Edwards moved past him for third shortly after. The order after one third race distance was Stoner by 2.9 seconds from Rossi with another 1.3 seconds back to Edwards, then Dovi, Vermeulen, De Angelis and Marco Melandri (Ducati) who would set a fastest lap before crashing out on lap 11. By mid-race distance the track was marginally less wet but still drenched in water and the order was Stoner by 4.4 seconds from Rossi, then a similar gap back to Vermeulen and De Angelis. Stoner by now had set a fastest lap of 1m 33.452s. De Angelis was working hard on Vermeulen, but try as he might the San Marinese rookie on his customer RCV couldn’t find a way past the acknowledged wet-weather expert Vermeulen on the factory Suzuki. It made for the most exciting duel of the race though. Edwards was to crash at two thirds race distance leaving Dovi in a safe fifth place. Stoner eased up in the final laps, Rossi taking a safe second then Vermeulen and De Angelis breasting the line just feet apart having lapped Toni Elias (Ducati) as they finished this cold, wet race. Dovi finished fifth, Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) eighth. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) pitted early on with electrical difficulties and grip problems. He rejoined the race to finish 13th while Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) finished ninth to continue his record of having scored points at all ten races so far this season. Dani, now nursing fracture to the index finger of his left hand and a suspected fracture to his right ankle, said: “It was a little strange. I had only just touched the brake and I crashed. It was a real pity because I’d got a great start and was going well. I had a good feeling. The front felt perfect, the rear was sliding just a little, but the general feeling was good considering the track conditions. It is a real pity.” |
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