The Mugello race earlier today saw Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo strengthen his grip on the championship by taking a win on a day when Casey Stoner (Honda) uncharacteristically finished back in eighth place. Both Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa (Honda) were fast today, but Pedrosa was relegated to second place by the more consistent Lorenzo. Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha) won the battle for third, while the factory Ducatis of Valentino Rossi (5th place) and Nicky Hayden (7th) came through with pace in their home event that put them close to the podium.
For additional details, results and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
Mugello, Sunday, July 15, 2012
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 173.9 | 41’37.477 |
| 2 | 20 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 173.5 | +5.223 |
| 3 | 16 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 173.2 | +10.665 |
| 4 | 13 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 173.1 | +10.711 |
| 5 | 11 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 173.1 | +11.695 |
| 6 | 10 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 173.1 | +12.060 |
| 7 | 9 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 173.0 | +12.235 |
| 8 | 8 | 1 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 171.8 | +30.617 |
| 9 | 7 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 171.7 | +31.728 |
| 10 | 6 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 171.5 | +34.589 |
| 11 | 5 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 170.0 | +57.862 |
| 12 | 4 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 169.8 | +59.963 |
| 13 | 3 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 169.1 | +1’11.200 |
| 14 | 2 | 77 | James ELLISON | GBR | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART | 169.1 | +1’11.458 |
| 15 | 1 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Speed Master | ART | 169.0 | +1’11.828 |
| 16 | 22 | Ivan SILVA | SPA | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 164.7 | 1 Lap |
What’s the latest excuse/justification from the Spies’ sycophants? Shall we trot out the proverbial “Dog ate my homework,” or the excuse from the last race: “It’s the tire guy’s fault”?
I read it was a case of food poisoning.
i hear/tell he even missed the monday test.
I guess it was just a case of a talentless hack that barely had the talent to beat a CRT on the last lap.
What an utterly boring race. I’d rather watch 10 minutes of Moto2 than a full hour of MotoGP. There were maybe three or four exciting moments sprinkled amidst a full hour of narcolepsis. This series will die out if they don’t do something pronto to rejuvenate it.
This is the 2nd race where Spies suddenly doesn’t feel good internally. What’s up with that ? What does he eat? Why is he the only 1 this happens to?
Reminds me of the flat track racer Springer who had something like this for years of racing. Is it really their nerves?
Lorenzo is just so smooth. His riding is really a thing of beauty. How fast would he be if he had a Honda under him? Thoug I will say the Yamahas are looking a little faster every week.
I’m not sure what’s going on with Stoner. He may realize he’s not going to win the title, and maybe he’s settling in for his retirement, and not taking any risks.
Regarding Stoner: I think you are right…this has become a mental thing with him. He has made the decision that his riding career is ending, so why risk death or permanent paralysis and screw up a good life with his pretty wife and new child. I imagine the couple of recent hard crashes have made him think a lot more about this. It is probably a lot safer leading a race than being back in the pack with a lot of guys of varying ability fighting for the same racing line. It’s sad, I would have liked to see him go out on top.
Ducati continues to improve their performance in the dry. Dovisioso is going to make the BBC announcers eat their words from the starting of the race. He really deserves the factory seat over Spies.
Can’t disagree. Spies is struggling on a bike that Lorenzo is winning with. Has to be a tough pill to swallow. Also surprising is Bautista’s difficulty. He was pretty close to the front with the Suzuki and now on the Honda ht’s off the back. Spies on Tech 3 with Crutchlow is an interesting combination but I don;t know if Crutch will still be there when/if he arrives.
re: “Spies has to be worried about his ride at this point.”
only if COTA construction grinds to a halt.
not that it matters, years now without a main sponsor, yamaha won’t be pumping money into the #2 seat even if jesus christ expressed an interest.
I hear JC is a late-braking demon ….
Lorenzo sure looks like a World Champion. At this point I don’t think Pedrosa will ever win a Championship. Really good racer, just not good enough. Tough luck for stoner. The Ducati riders looked good. We were yelling for Nicky for the last 5 laps. Looked like he was going to go for podium. Man, one little mistake in this game can really cost them. Spies has to be worried about his ride at this point. Crutchlow, Dovisioso ,and Bradl are all looking for factory rides and getting the job done. Especially Dovisioso .