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Jun 22 2009

Going into the early hours of June 12th, 2009, high above the earth and stretched out for billions of miles through countless galaxies, stars themselves were lining up in preparation for what was to come just two days later. Here on earth, as the morning sun shone across the Circuit de Catalunya, the crack of 800cc MotoGP motors could be heard sucking air through their lungs for the second Spanish race of the MotoGP calendar. For through their first outing into the final qualifying practice, it was clear that there was going to be an another epic battle come Sunday afternoon.

First up, Valentino Rossi came out of the gate with a commanding lead followed closest by his rival teammate, Jorge Lorenzo. In qualifying, the two members of the Fiat Yamaha factory team, split by a wall down the middle of their garage, set lap times just .013 seconds apart. On the same Bridgestone tires and mostly identical Yamaha M1s, there were no safe bets on this round. To further drive home how little there was between them, both riders set identical lap times on their closing laps, a 1’41.987.

The beginning of this race was like many others before it. Dani Pedrosa, injured, but still able to get a rocket start moved up from 8th position to 5th in the first few corners. Lorenzo, Rossi, and Stoner got to the first corner in the order in which they started and remained as such for the first 3 laps. Not so much as a razors edge separated the three as they glided into turn one for the fourth time. Rossi and Stoner went in hotter on the brakes and Rossi was able to slip past Lorenzo with ease while Stoner remained third.

Things at the front remained close but steady until Casey Stoner started to struggle with 17 laps left on the clock. By the next lap, his pace had dropped off enough to show an unrecoverable gap back to the front two riders. He’d ride out the rest of this race in 3rd position, eventually fending off a charge from Andre Dovizioso who was looking for his first MotoGP podium. Continue »

Jun 14 2009

A three way tie with Valentino Rossi in the lead due to placing higher in all six of the races so far. It doesn’t get any closer than this.

Pos. Rider Nation Team Points
1 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 106
2 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 106
3 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 106
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 69
5 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 67
6 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 54
7 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team 50
8 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 49
9 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 42
10 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42
11 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 29
12 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 26
13 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 25
14 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 23
15 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team 19
16 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing 10
17 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 9
18 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 8
Jun 14 2009

A head to head between equal bikes with riders matching each others moves the entire weekend. In the end it was down to the last corner on the last lap after an amazing final lap battle. This is what MotoGP is meant to be. A full race wrap-up is coming soon, but if you missed this race, do yourself a favor and find a way to see it. Like Laguna Seca in 2008, this is a must see.

Pos. Rider Team Total time     Km/h     Gap
1 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 43’11.897 164.138  
2 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 43’11.992 164.132 0.095
3 Casey STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 43’20.781 163.577 8.884
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 43’20.833 163.574 8.936
5 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43’31.728 162.892 19.831
6 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 43’34.079 162.745 22.182
7 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43’35.444 162.660 23.547
8 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 43’37.162 162.553 25.265
9 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 43’43.694 162.149 31.797
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team 43’45.490 162.038 33.593
11 Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43’48.580 161.847 36.683
12 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 43’48.771 161.836 36.874
13 James TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43’51.330 161.678 39.433
14 Marco MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 43’56.685 161.350 44.788
15 Sete GIBERNAU Grupo Francisco Hernando 43’58.651 161.230 46.754
16 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 44’07.770 160.674 55.873
17 Gabor TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 44’39.537 158.769 1’27.640
  Not classified
  Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 15’45.214   16 Lap
  Not finished 1st lap
  Yuki TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team MotoGP      
Jun 13 2009

Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo’s final lap times were identical at 1’41.987. Dani Pedrosa crashed with less than five minutes to go, but appears to be OK, except for his previous hip injury. He shouldn’t miss the race. Full QP write up coming later today.

Pos. Rider Team Lap time     Km/h     Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1’41.974 324.421  
2 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 1’41.987 322.677 0.013
3 Casey STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 1’42.426 326.678 0.452
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’42.594 325.791 0.620
5 Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’43.139 323.256 1.165
6 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’43.168 319.054 1.194
7 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 1’43.175 320.760 1.201
8 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’43.207 326.876 1.233
9 James TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’43.233 316.437 1.259
10 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 1’43.336 326.876 1.362
11 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’43.365 323.547 1.391
12 Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’43.411 314.136 1.437
13 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team 1’43.414 320.950 1.440
14 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’43.422 322.003 1.448
15 Sete GIBERNAU Grupo Francisco Hernando 1’43.714 321.907 1.740
16 Yuki TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’43.777 318.490 1.803
17 Marco MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 1’43.792 322.580 1.818
18 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 1’43.991 320.950 2.017
19 Gabor TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’45.833 317.180 3.859
Jun 13 2009
Pos. Rider Team Lap time     Km/h     Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1’41.899 324.032  
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’42.573 322.966 0.674
3 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 1’42.810 325.595 0.911
4 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’43.049 328.867 1.150
5 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 1’43.316 322.388 1.417
6 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’43.409 320.950 1.510
7 Casey STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 1’43.496 326.086 1.597
8 James TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’43.628 316.622 1.729
9 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 1’43.635 322.580 1.736
10 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team 1’43.658 322.773 1.759
11 Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’43.682 316.808 1.783
12 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’43.726 322.677 1.827
13 Yuki TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’43.772 320.094 1.873
14 Sete GIBERNAU Grupo Francisco Hernando 1’43.799 320.000 1.900
15 Marco MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 1’43.840 322.291 1.941
16 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’43.857 321.237 1.958
17 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 1’43.969 326.975 2.070
18 Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’44.295 321.715 2.396
19 Gabor TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’46.844 313.862 4.945
Jun 12 2009
Pos. Rider Team Lap time     Km/h     Gap
1 Valentino ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 1’43.038 324.226  
2 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1’43.340 324.324 0.302
3 Casey STONER Ducati Marlboro Team 1’43.636 324.714 0.598
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’43.684 322.580 0.646
5 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 1’43.871 318.960 0.833
6 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Marlboro Team 1’44.152 320.665 1.114
7 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’44.340 321.332 1.302
8 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’44.419 320.665 1.381
9 Yuki TAKAHASHI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’44.484 318.114 1.446
10 James TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’44.580 314.960 1.542
11 Marco MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 1’44.649 320.665 1.611
12 Sete GIBERNAU Grupo Francisco Hernando 1’44.678 318.490 1.640
13 Chris VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’44.744 318.021 1.706
14 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’45.043 327.173 2.005
15 Toni ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’45.101 320.950 2.063
16 Alex DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’45.126 321.046 2.088
17 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing 1’45.394 322.773 2.356
18 Niccolo CANEPA Pramac Racing 1’45.454 321.524 2.416
19 Gabor TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1’47.654 307.955 4.616
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