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| Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo escaped ahead of the two Repsol Hondas of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa to win the British round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship and extend his lead in the standings |
Clear skies greeted the MotoGP grid at the
Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix round of the World Championship. As the
lights went off, first row starter Ben Spies of Yamaha Racing shot past pole-sitter Alvaro
Bautista of San Carlo Honda Gresini to take the lead going into turn one. Soon the Repsol
Honda rider Casey Stoner and Ducati’s Nicky Hayden also joined the front pack, while
Spies’s team-mate and championship leader Jorge Lorenzo was relegated one place
during the start and was a distant fifth leading the second pack.
However, as the race progressed and the
front-runners battled for lead, Lorenzo upped his pace and began closing in on the leading
four riders, while being closely followed by Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Andrea Dovizioso
and Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa. In the front, Spies made a mistake and ran
wide, handing Stoner the lead while Hayden tried to pass Bautista but could not stick his
move allowing the Spaniard to retain his position. Hayden’s mistake presented
Lorenzo the opportunity to close in and the Spaniard quickly overtook the American rider.
Soon thereafter, Dovizioso too made his move on Hayden while Lorenzo moved up one place
passing Bautista for third.
Now riding behind Ben Spies, Lorenzo made sure
that Stoner did not escape ahead in the lead and swiftly passed his team-mate and began
sizing up Stoner. Pole-starter Bautista too was in superb form and he too put in his Honda
in the gap left open by Spies to take third. While Lorenzo was climbing up the order,
Stoner’s team-mate Pedrosa too made strong comeback joined by Dovizioso, as the pair
made snappy overtakes and relegated Spies to sixth. The highlight comeback though came
from Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Cal Crutchlow, who was forced to start last on the grid
after missing the qualifying when declared unfit to ride on Saturday. Midway into the race
the Brit forced his way into the top ten and kept going with his charge as the race
progressed.
Meanwhile, at the front Lorenzo and Stoner were
engaged in a dogfight and the two top title contenders swapped positions on multiple
occasions. Dovizioso, who appeared to be in solid form and pace suffered a nasty crash and
was only able to join at the back of the pack. Halfway into the race Lorenzo passed Stoner
to take the lead while Dani Pedrosa too upped the game and charged past the front-runners
to take third followed closely by Bautista. Thereon the title leader Lorenzo further
increased his pace and pulled a gap ahead of Stoner, who seemed to be struggling to keep
up with Lorenzo. As the Spaniard escaped ahead in the lead, a three-way fight raged
between Stoner, Pedrosa and Bautista for second spot.
As the race drew to an end, it was Lorenzo who
claimed the top spot on the podium followed by Stoner in second and Pedrosa in third. This
was the third successive victory for Lorenzo and his fourth in the season, which extended
his lead in the championship. Bautista showcased superb racecraft starting from pole to
finish in fourth place, battling Pedrosa all through. Fifth place went to Ben Spies while
Cal Crutchlow, despite a severe leg injury and starting 20th, finished the race
in a well deserved sixth place. The highest finishing Ducati was of Hayden in seventh
place followed by MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl of LCR Honda in eighth. Valentino Rossi could
only manage to place his Ducati in ninth spot, while completing the top ten was Hector
Barbera of Pramac Racing. The highest finishing CRT entry was Aleix Espargaro riding for
Power Electronics Aspar in 11th spot followed by his
team-mate and Frenchman Randy de Puniet in
12th position.
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