Dani Pedrosa has continued his unbroken streak of winning at least one race in every MotoGP season.
MotoGP Japan Race Report
At the beginning of the MotoGP 2015, it looked like Dani Pedrosa had a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning any races. With a painful arm pump injury that saw him miss several rounds, there was even talk of replacing him in the Repsol Honda team.
Now, the Spaniard is flying high after he crossed the line almost 9 seconds ahead of Valentino Rossi to take his 27th premier class win. After their thrilling battle in Aragon, it’s Pedrosa who came out ahead of the Doctor on a drying track in Motegi.
After the chaotic weather of the last few races, the Motegi Warm Up session was delayed by yet more rain. Dani Pedrosa set the fastest pace, and this performance was a sign of things to come…
After 5 laps, it looked as if Lorenzo was going to storm to victory, as he performed his usual trick of opening up a yawning gap as soon as possible. He started the race on wet tyres, but as the track started to dry, his bike started to falter.
Pedrosa picked up the pace in the second half of the race, as Lorenzo’s tyre started to disintegrate. The Honda rider rocketed past both Yamaha bikes in the later laps and found himself over 8 seconds ahead – a masterful performance in difficult track conditions.
A triumphant Dani Pedrosa said: “I’m so happy with this win! It has been a long time since my last one and I’m really pleased. It was a fun race… I’m happy to take this victory for Honda at their home track, for the team, the sponsors, my friends and family, because it has been a difficult season.”
Jorge Lorenzo had to settle for third, a disappointing result as the Doctor opens up a larger 18 point gap in the standings. It’s a two horse (or two bike) race as we go into the final three races, and the tension has never been higher. It’s all-or-nothing for Lorenzo now: either he wins every remaining race, or he kisses goodbye to another championship title.
Lorenzo explained his difficult race: “It was a pity because I think that on the dry I was the fastest and the more consistent rider. Also in the rain I was very fast, but unfortunately the track dried up and my push at the beginning of the race probably made my tyre a bit worse than Valentino’s and Dani’s.”
Once again, the weather has worked to Valentino Rossi’s advantage. He didn’t push too hard at the start of the race – which turned out to be the right decision as it saved his tyres! He finally passed Lorenzo on the 18th lap, securing second place.
Only once has Rossi missed out on the podium this year, and all he has to do is keep that consistency up to take his 10th MotoGP title. However, the 36-year-old is feeling the pressure now. He admits that at this stage it’s hard to stay focused – especially with a drying track and wet tyres.
Rossi commented: “Physically it wasn‘t so bad, but mentally it was very hard to always keep the concentration…Three or four times when I touched the throttle I felt the front go and said “no, no, no!”, so it was difficult, lots of stress.”
Our plucky Brits Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith came in 6th and 7th respectively. This is Crutchlow back on good form after a few unlucky races, his best result since he took sixth at Assen. He’ll be looking to keep this performance up for the last races, after coming in as the top Brit and the top satellite rider.
He said: “We are pleased with the result…I tried my best and we did a good job as a team today, we made sure we finished and got some good points heading into the next race in Australia.”
Bradley Smith wasn’t quite so triumphant, after Dani Pedrosa’s win pushed him down one place on the table to sixth. He now faces a tough final three races, as there are only two points separating him, Pedrosa above and Dovizioso below.
Hopefully, the young Brit can maintain sixth- or even climb back up to fifth- if he performs well in Australia on October 18th. He’ll have to give it one final push to finish off an excellent performance this season.
Despite losing 5th, Smith is still positive about the next race. He said: “I may have lost 5th in the championship but it was to the rider who won the race, so I can’t be too upset. Next up is Phillip Island, which I am looking forward to.”
Scott Redding just managed to stay inside the top ten, ahead of Aleix Espargaro in 11th. He opted for the harder option wet tyre, a decision which hugely benefitted him when the track started to dry.
Redding was happy with his performance in these tricky conditions: “We don’t get these conditions often, so it was a learning experience for me and I think today I learnt more than in a normal race. Overall I’m pretty happy we hit our target of a top ten finish here.”
The next round of the MotoGP is the Pramac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. On the 18th of October, we’ll all be nibbling our nails as we wait and see who will snatch those valuable points. Which Yamaha rider can take the crown? Will Pedrosa upset the apple cart and just keep winning? We’ll be back on the blog to give you the low-down next time.
Missed a race? No worries!
Our Racing News archive has a cornucopia of race commentary for you to browse, covering every MotoGP and BSB race this season. You’re welcome! Leave us a comment below to tell us what you’ve made of this fantastic 2015 MotoGP.
Photo courtesy of www.motogp.com
