Dani Pedrosa doubled his race-victory tally for the season in the final race of the year with a win at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on Sunday, as Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completed the podium.
It was a victory on home soil for Dani Pedrosa at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, as the Repsol Honda man enjoyed a start-to-finish win in the final race of the 2009 season.
The drama started before the race had even commenced, as pole position holder Casey Stoner’s high-side crash on the warm-up lap meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. That allowed Pedrosa to lead the charge from his position on the front row, and after taking the first corner in the lead the Repsol Honda rider never relinquished it, sealing third spot in the overall standings in the process.
World Champion Valentino Rossi followed the Spaniard home in second place, finishing 2.630s behind Pedrosa as he ended his title-winning season with his 13th podium of the campaign.
The Italian’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who did well to hold onto his bike when a moment on the opening lap almost threw him off, was a further 0.283s behind as he took third, having already sealed second spot in the Championship by virtue of Stoner’s non-start.
The Australian ended the season in fourth place overall, with Colin Edwards’ fourth place in the race allowing him to snatch fifth in the 2009 standings from Andrea Dovizioso.
The top five on the day was completed by Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden, who held off the challenge of Toni Elías as the Spaniard came in sixth in his final race with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team.
Wildcard rider Ben Spies rode to an impressive seventh-placed finish, and in depriving Dovizioso of that spot – the Italian finished eighth – played a direct role in helping his future Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Edwards take fifth in the Championship.
There were also top-ten finishes for Rookie of the Year Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini).
2009 Valencia MotoGP Results
1. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 46min 47.553 sec
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 46min 50.183 sec
3. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 46min 50.466 sec
4. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 47min 20.068 sec
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 47min 22.138 sec
6. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 47min 22.441 sec
7. Ben Spies USA Sterilgarda Yamaha Team 47min 25.259 sec
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 47min 25.917 sec
9. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 47min 30.044 sec
10. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 47min 31.242 sec
11. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 47min 33.571 sec
12. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 47min 37.779 sec
13. Aleix Espargaro SPA Pramac Racing 47min 44.721 sec
14. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 47min 54.430 sec
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 47min 59.254 sec
16. Gabor Talmacsi HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 48min 1.958 sec
17. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 48min 20.978 sec
DNS:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team
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