Australia’s Casey Stoner notched Ducati’s maiden MotoGP victory of the season when he dominated the Aragon Grand Prix from pole to the checkered flag yesterday.
The 2007 world champion, who started from pole for the 20th time in his career, finished 5.148 seconds ahead of Spain’s Dani Pedrosa (Honda) at the Motorland Aragon circuit in northeast Spain.
Nicky Hayden of the US, also on a Ducati, made it a memorable day for the Italian bike manufacturer when he trumped Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo on the final lap to claim third, 9.496 seconds back, and deprive the Yamaha rider a podium finish for the first time in 14 races.
“It’s been too long between wins, that’s for sure,” said Stoner, who last won in Malaysia in October last year. “We started out pretty well this weekend and we got on with the track. We progressed and got better.”
Stoner admitted to having fallen in final preparations ahead of the race, taking a tumble over the white lines at turn 14.
“I was a little bit nervous this morning, but I’m really happy to bring it home,” he said. “It was unexpected for us.”
Second-placed Pedrosa paid credit to the Ducati team.
“Ducati were very strong, with both riders on the podium,” Pedrosa said.
“I tried everything. I didn’t start well, but I recovered,” he said of his battle with Casey. “But I was too far from Casey. We did many laps at the same pace, but couldn’t get him on corners. He did good.”
Lorenzo finished fourth on Hayden’s coat-tails, but retained his lead in the overall standings.
“I didn’t mean to leave it that late,” said Hayden of his nail-biting fight with Lorenzo. “In the final laps, Jorge kept the doors shut. It’s been a very good weekend for us.”
With five races of the season remaining, Lorenzo has now amassed 284 points, with Pedrosa on 228 and Stoner in third place with 155.
Six-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi of Italy came in sixth, more than 27 seconds off the pace, and sits fourth in the standings on 140 points.
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