Pedrosa takes US GP win
2009 hasn't been the best of years for Dani Pedrosa. The Spaniard has spent most of the season either injured or being flung off his Honda, while his compatriot and sworn enemy Jorge Lorenzo has been fighting Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner for the championship. Fortunately at Laguna Seca on Sunday, Pedrosa was able to improve his own chances by taking the US Grand Prix win.
Right from the start, the Honda rider took advantage of a quick getaway to take the lead with Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner pursuing him. Diving through the sweeps and turns of the superb Laguna Seca track, the top four chased each other, yet the Spaniard was able to keep in front and pull out a lead.
Britain's James Toseland had a race that he'd rather forget, having been deemed by the authorities to have made a jump start. JT then either missed the pit board asking him to come in for his drive through penalty, or he chose to ignore it. Either way, he was black flagged, adding another woe to a very difficult season for the Englishman.
For Lorenzo and Stoner this was to be a particularly gruelling race, as both riders had suffered massive high-side crashes in practice, yet they managed to finish third and fourth respectively. The Ducati rider gave Rossi a real challenge in the early stages of the race and we though that there maybe a repeat of last years race, albeit for second place. However, after a time, Rossi's superior fitness won through. Unfortunately, Stoner continues to be dogged by a mysterious illness that is affecting his stamina and is currently waiting to undergo tests to determine what the ailment is.
In the closing stages of the race it seemed that Pedrosa was taking it a little easy, trying to make savings on his tyres and brakes, as Rossi caught up with him rapidly. The Italian made a last minute lunge on the final corner aka Barcelona, but he was unable to snatch the victory. However, second place netted him plenty of points, putting him nine points ahead of Lorenzo in the championship.
