Rossi pips Lorenzo in Catalunya thriller

Eurosport - Mon, 15 Jun 07:14:00 2009

Italian Valentino Rossi won a monumental battle with Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to triumph in the Catalan's home MotoGP race.

MOTORCYCLING 2009 Catalan GP Cataluña Valentino Rossi Jorge Lorenzo - 0

The riders are now tied on 106 points at the summit of the World Championship standings alongside Ducati's Casey Stoner, who finished third in Sunday's race.

Lorenzo, who had snatched a last-gasp pole from six-times champion Rossi, led for long stretches before the lead swapped several times on the final three laps.

There were several occasions where the two Yamahas almost touched as the fans - who were supporting FC Barcelona fan Lorenzo, but had a huge soft spot for Rossi - blared airhorns and bellowed them on.

It was edge-of-the-seat stuff, but Lorenzo left himself slightly open as they came around the final corner and Rossi tore up the inside for a memorable victory.

"It was a fantastic battle," Rossi said.

"The Yamahas were flying, we got away from the field and I quickly saw that it would be between Jorge and I," he added.

"The final lap was incredible, with two or three incredible braking manoeuvres, and I didn't know whether I could overtake on the last corner but I went for it."

Lorenzo was amazed at his arch-rival's audacity.

"I wasn't expecting him to take me at that point but he was more courageous than me and deserved the win," he said after the race.

"He's an old dog and I wasn't intelligent enough to anticipate his move but it's fine.

"The important thing is that the spectators were able to enjoy a race that went to the very last corner."

Behind the leaders Stoner eventually managed to open up a gap on the excellent Andrea Dovizioso, who matched his fourth-placed grid spot in the race, while Loris Capirossi took an impressive fifth after starting from 11th.

Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who suffered injury in qualifying and started from eighth, was rampant in the early stages as he went past Repsol Honda team-mate Dovizioso, but was unable to make it stick and trailed Rizla Suzuki's Capirossi by the finish.

In seventh was Yamaha Tech 3's Colin Edwards - his British team-mate James Toseland came in 13th - with Honda's Randy De Puniet leading home Ducati Pramac's Mika Kallio and factory Ducati man Nicky Hayden for eighth.

Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) and Alex de Angelis (Honda Gresini) finished ahead of Toseland, with Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) and Sete Gibernau (Ducati Onde 2000) behind the Sheffield rider.

Hungarian 250cc star Gabor Talmacsi trailed in last on his MotoGP debut behind Niccolo Canepa, while Yuki Takahashi and Antonio Elias retired.

MotoGP Catalunya: Watch highlights of the MotoGP, 125cc and 250cc races on British Eurosport or the Eurosport Player at 19:30 on Sunday; Also available on your PC via the Player are the complete races, without commentary - click on the link under the photo to subscribe

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport

Comment 87 - 106 of 106

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  1. "rossifan" Well Done !!!, Congratulations,­ your brighter than the average rossi fan, keep­ trying...

    From bigairbaz, on Wed 17 Jun 2:44PM

  2. LOL LOL BIG - AIR - BAG you should be called­ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Katrina O, on Wed 17 Jun 2:12PM

  3. rossifan, please try really hard......use both of your­ brain cells & think of your own­ comeback.....PS.(its still gonna happen)

    Mirek P, ok,­ please help me, tell me everything you know about­ motogp, oh go on please, everyone look out for the­ depth of intellect in this one.....

    Please, now with­ the greatest of respect, try to think for yourselves,­ go on, just once, it wont hurt.....

    From bigairbaz, on Wed 17 Jun 10:30AM

  4. bigairbaz: you NEED help! plus you know nothing MGP. go­ get your pills and chill - mental case! VALE for­ EVER!!!

    From Mirek P, on Wed 17 Jun 12:32AM

  5. HE HE who's biting now HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Katrina O, on Tue 16 Jun 4:11PM

  6. hehe, ya still biting !!! and yes, probably sad enough­ to count 99 ha's

    Rossi's days are numbered,­ then most of you w*nkers will disappear...!!! Looking­ forward to it, what ever sad dribble you carry on­ with... its gonna happen.

    From bigairbaz, on Tue 16 Jun 2:56PM

  7. bigairbaz suck on that last corner pass wastemannn. ­
    valeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
    truth is mate they are all­ top class amazing riders but rossi is not human lol
    the­ thing is lorenzo was ill on sunday morning he thought­ that he was the king of motogp the doctor had to­ operate him on the last corner lol x
    46

    From vale46, on Tue 16 Jun 12:27AM

  8. That was possibly the best fight in Moto GP that I have­ ever seen. Lorenzo vs Rossi in the final lap, that was­ brilliant. I hope this happens again, best time final­ race of the season. Well done Rossi, keep that­ "Doctor" spirit up!

    From Seb C, on Mon 15 Jun 9:29PM

  9. kaveiros75 you are right it was a great race,i was­ there.But yesterday's race shows Rossi stil rules

    From naterciapimentel, on Mon 15 Jun 9:19PM

  10. bigairbaz HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA­ HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA­ HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA­ HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA­ HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA­ HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ALL 99 OF THEM­ JUST FOR YOU

    From Katrina O, on Mon 15 Jun 7:50PM

  11. HaHa, scouse mark YNWA, rossifan, hehehehe... i thought­ you would be dumb enough to bite­ again..........hehehehe

    From bigairbaz, on Mon 15 Jun 6:37PM

  12. MotoGP Catalunya Rossi and Lorenzo Fantastic to see­ real racing no quarter given simply the best. F1 you­ have not got a price.

    From Big Ken, on Mon 15 Jun 5:08PM

  13. An amazing battle between Valentino and Jorge.
    What a­ superb move by Valentino in the last corner!
    What a­ superb victory!

    99th victory over 99!

    (unlike some­ "other") Jorge was humble and sporting in­ defeat: I tried to be brave... Being honest Valentino­ was braver than me and he overtook me in the last­ corner...
    All credid to him. One day, he can be a­ great champion.
    Now- it is VALENTINO!

    FORZA VALE!!!

    From Emilija Jana, on Mon 15 Jun 4:16PM

  14. bigairbaz... your a @#$%

    From scouse mark YNWA, on Mon 15 Jun 3:35PM

  15. SORPRENDENTE!
    MAGNIFICO IL DOTTORE!
    PIU GRANDE DEI­ GRANDI!
    IL MIGLIORE!

    FORZA VALE!!!

    From Emilija Jana, on Mon 15 Jun 3:31PM

  16. to bigairbaz I am proud to say i am a huge ROSSI fan i­ am neither a groupie with herd mentalities nor a moron­ . I respect every guy in moto gp . pity some people­ like yourself have to throw your toys out of your­ pram!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    when the CHAMP­ WINS

    From Katrina O, on Mon 15 Jun 3:22PM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    It is sad that most rossi fans are pathetic­­ "groupies" with "herd­ mentalities".
    Give his rivals some respect you­ morons!

    From bigairbaz, on Mon 15 Jun 2:46PM

  18. one of the worst articles about one of the best races­ ever raced. awesome riding, Rossi had bigger balls ftw.

    From shambala180, on Mon 15 Jun 2:16PM

  19. So far, THE most amazing race has been Estoril in 2006­ and Elias' win there. But this was a truly a­ breathtaking race, too.
    Rossi may be a truly great­ rider, but his fans must have serious brain­ damage!!!
    Anyone that is not blind saw that Stoner­ could hardly stand on his feet after he got off the­ bike. And he said that because the bike worked so­ fantastic he was able to keep the podium. What's­ the "pathetic" or the "excuse" in­ that?
    He is human, he got sick... yet he gave 110% of­ himself in order to keep his place. He fought hard for­ his win in last race too. And he is still in 1st­ position together with the other 2 guys, and with the­ same number of victories.
    I only wish he was fit, so­ that we could see him right up there with the others...­ a fierce battle between 3 riders for the victory!!! But­ I hope we will see such battles later this year.
    The­ championship has still a long way to go and anyone can­ grab it. And this can be only a good thing for­ motorsport.

    From kaveiros75, on Mon 15 Jun 1:34PM

  20. jorge dosent know what hit him. those yamahas are­ simply amazing nobody can cope with them. stoner has­ lost this championship this year its gonna be a rossi­ or lorenzo year. guess im proud to be italian finally­ :)

    From jamesparker18, on Mon 15 Jun 11:50AM
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