Casey Stoner was the fastest rider throughout the weekend, but at the end of the Motegi GP it was another Honda rider at the top of the box. Dani Pedrosa claimed his third win of the 2011 MotoGP season, beating out Jorge Lorenzo and teammate Stoner.
Pedrosa's victory gave Spain its 400th GP win and the Repsol Honda team its first ever win at Motegi.
"I'm super happy with this victory, for the team that has been working so well, for HRC because this is the first win in Motegi with the Repsol Honda Team and for myself because it is the first time I've won here in MotoGP after doing so in 125cc and 250cc," Pedrosa said. "I was alone in front with Lorenzo close, but I tried to put my head down and push every lap to pull away. I'm happy because at this track I've had a mix of good and bad results and some bad injuries, so to come back one year later and win in MotoGP is fantastic."
Behind Pedrosa came Jorge Lorenzo, who was able to shave off a few points from Stoner's championship lead. Lorenzo is now four points behind the Honda rider with three races left in the championship.
Stoner may have been able to challenge for the race win, but an incident on lap dropped Stoner back to the middle of the pack.
"The whole weekend had gone so well for us and we got a great start and I was able to pull a small advantage," Stoner said. "As I came out of the back straight I got a wobble on the bike, we hit the big bump and as the front came down it practically shook the bars out of my hands. I went for the brakes and there was nothing there so I had to pump them up a couple of times, when I pumped it the second time if flicked me up over the front and I was lucky to stay on the bike. Thankfully I avoided hitting the wall at the end of the gravel trap but it's really disappointing as we had the bike to win here to day, but in the end I guess I should be thankful that we were able to climb back up to a podium spot after other people's misfortunes and mistakes on track. I'm looking forward to going to Phillip Island now and to see what we can achieve there, I've got a Championship lead to protect but I also want to win races."
Motegi Results
Pedrosa
Lorenzo
Stoner
Simoncelli
Dovisiozo
Spies
Hayden
Edwards
Aoyoma
De Puniet
