• Search:

Stonor overcame his recent habit of minor mishaps resulting in retiring his Ducati and led for much of the race.

Somewhere behind him, American Nicky Hayden's Honda followed him around with new World Champion Valentino Rossi's Yamaha sitting calmly on his back wheel in a typical Rossi "wait to pounce" move - but not until he had battled with the four riders following, at last breaking free to chase down Hayden.

But it was behind them that the real action took place. For more than half the race, Toseland, Lorenzo, Nakano and Dovizioso diced, often four abreast to finish within 1.2 seconds of each other. In the most exciting racing in any form of racing for a very long time, the four swapped places so quickly commentators struggled to keep up. The usual hand-overs were abandoned as one commentator simply too his turn as his partner ran out of breath.

The four provided not just breathtaking dives into corners but synchronised driving through them. The gap between riders was not inches - it was millimetres, and all at speeds of approaching 200 mph.The slightest mistake by any one of them would have caused a serious crash for at least one other rider.

Bookmark and Share

Tip a friend

Download PDF Download PDF version of this page





loading