10 races down, 8 more to go. The MotoGP riders embarked on the second half of the 2011 season with a thrilling round on American soil at Laguna Seca. Casey Stoner was able to extend his lead a bit ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, but the defending champ is just 20 points behind.
The MotoGP riders are on a little bit of a Summer break at the moment, as they won't return to the track until August 12th for the 11th round of the season at BRNO. So in the absence of MotoGP racing this weekend, here is a look back at the season so far.
Race 1 - Qatar - Winner: Casey Stoner
The first race of the season showed the beginnings of a familiar pattern for 2011. Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, and Jorge Lorenzo were going to battle for victory at nearly ever race this year. During the Qatar race, each rider held the lead at one point, but it was Stoner who would end up taking the victory. Lorenzo would take second ahead of Pedrosa.
The Qatar round was also centered around Valentino Rossi's much hyped debut with Ducati. Rossi would finish in 7th at Qatar, a position he would soon get used to as the 2011 season progressed.
Race 2 - Spain - Winner: Jorge Lorenzo
The MotoGP round at Spain was the home of our first big piece of controversy. Valentino Rossi crashed into Casey Stoner during a wet race in Jerez, leaving the Australian with his first DNF and his only non-podium finish of the season. (Rossi would finish in fifth.)
Rossi would apologize for the incident after the race, but Stoner was less than receptive. Stoner gave Rossi, and reporters, the most memorable sentence of the 2011 so far. The Repsol Honda rider told Rossi: "Your ambition outweighs your talent."
While the media world was focused on the "heated" battle between Rossi and Stoner, Lorenzo took the lead in the championship standings by taking his first win of the season at Jerez. Dani Pedrosa would take his second consecutive second place finish, while Nicky Hayden was able to put his Ducati on the podium.
Marco Simoncelli showed that he was a force to be reckoned with in Spain, as he nearly took his first win. But Simoncelli crashed out whilst leading, handing the win over to Lorenzo.
Race 3 - Portugal - Winner: Dani Pedrosa
In the first three races, the 2011 MotoGP season saw three different winners. Dani Pedrosa took the spoils in Portugal, and was joined by a familiar crew on the final steps of the podium. Lorenzo took second ahead of Pedrosa's teammate Casey Stoner.
The third race was also the site of another dramatic high-side crash by Marco Simoncelli. Lorenzo would criticize Simoncelli for his reckless riding, starting a conversation that would last the rest of the season.
Race 4 - France - Winner: Casey Stoner
Casey Stoner took his second win of the 2011 MotoGP season in France, but the big news from Le Mans was centered around another Simoncelli crash. Only this time, it wasn't Simoncelli who went down. A controversial pass by the Honda rider sent Dani Pedrosa to the pavement. Pedrosa, who had earned three podiums in three races, would be sidelined after his crash at Le Mans.
With Pedrosa out of the race, and Lorenzo banged up from a crash during warm-up, there was room on the podium for a few new riders. Repsol Honda Andrea Dovizioso stepped up to the challenge and beat Valentino Rossi across the line for second. Rossi would claim his first, and only podium, for Ducati at Le Mans.
Round 5 - Catalunya - Winner: Casey Stoner
Casey Stoner earned his second consecutive victory with a dominant performance at Catalunya. Stoner lead from the start of the race, and managed to cross the line 2.4 seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner's victory, his third of the season, would bring him to within 7 points of the season leader.
With Pedrosa out with a broken collarbone, Ben Spies was able to take his first podium of the season.
Simoncelli showed a few more flashes of greatness by capturing the pole position at Catalunya, but a poor start left him fighting for 6th with Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi.
Round 6 - Great Britain - Winner: Casey Stoner
The 6th round of the season saw another big shakeup at the top as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out of the Silverstone race. With Lorenzo's DNF, and Stoner's third consecutive win, the Repsol Honda rider left Great Britain with an 18 point lead in the standings.
Lorenzo's DNF also gave Andrea Dovizioso, who finished second, an opportunity to catch up to the 2010 champion. After Silverstone, Dovizioso was in third place by just 15 points behind Lorenzo.
Colin Edwards took the final spot in the podium with a brave effort in the rain at Silverstone. Edwards was racing just nine days after a surgery on his collarbone.
Round 7 - Netherlands - Winner: Ben Spies
Marco Simoncelli would take another pole position at Round 7, but the Honda wouldn't be able to make good use of his advantage. Simoncelli would crash before the end of the first lap, colliding with Jorge Lorenzo.
Both riders were able to remount, but neither had a chance of fighting for the win. After Lorenzo went down, Ben Spies slowly extended his lead ahead of Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. Spies would take his first victory in the MotoGP by more than 7 seconds.
Round 8 - Italy - Winner: Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo got back to his winning ways at Monza, despite a poor qualifying session that put him in fifth on the grid. But Lorenzo shot off the line and was quickly at the front battling with Casey Stoner. Lorenzo would eventually take the lead, and the win from Stoner, but Casey's podium finish meant that the Repsol Honda rider would still have a comfortable lead in the overall standings.
The Italy round also saw the return of Dani Pedrosa, who finished on his return from injury.
Round 9 - Germany - Winner: Dani Pedrosa
It only took Dani Pedrosa two races to return to winning form. Pedrosa secured his second victory of the season at Sachsenring ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner.
Stoner looked like he would be able to claim second place, but Lorenzo stole the second place spot on the final turn in Germany. Still, Stoner was able to set a personal record of 7 consecutive podiums.
Round 10 - United States - Casey Stoner
Stoner continued his streak of podiums at Laguna Seca by claiming his fifth win of the season. Stoner extended his lead to 20 points over Jorge Lorenzo, while his teammate Dani Pedrosa put in another inspiring performance to claim another podium.
Pedrosa's podium at Laguna Seca put him up into fourth place above Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa is more than 80 points from the top, but the Repsol Honda is definitely capable of challenging for race wins.
Lorenzo will be trying to cut down Stoner's 20 point lead over the next few rounds, but he'll also have to keep an eye on a capable Andrea Dovizioso, who is only 30 points behind Lorenzo in third.
MotoGP Standings After 10 Rounds
Stoner - 193
Lorenzo - 173
Dovizioso - 143
Pedrosa - 110
Rossi - 108
The MotoGP riders will now head to BRNO for the 11th round of the 2011 MotoGP season.
Comments
RSS feed for comments to this post