Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo claimed his first world MotoGP crown yesterday after finishing third in the Malaysian Grand Prix while team-mate Valentino Rossi won the race with a brilliant performance. Italian Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda came second.
Lorenzo set himself up to lift the crown by taking pole position, his sixth of the season, but 31 year old Rossi, who joins Ducati next season, put in a spectacular performance to power his machine from the second row to beat Dovizioso and his team-mate Lorenzo to the chequered flag. Rossi stamped his dominance over the other talented riders from the 10th lap, leading the pack until the end of the race. He had previously dropped to 11th on the first lap.
It was a dream weekend for Lorenzo after the only man who could stop him from being proclaimed champion, Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, pulled out after having fractured his collarbone in a crash in Motegi last week.”Today is the happiest day in my life and we have to celebrate it,” said Lorenzo, who held up a ‘game over’ sign at the end of the race.
Afterwards, he admitted he had feared at the start of the season that he was going to be in for a tough season, having missed pre-season testing with a hand injury, but luck had gone his way. “You always imagine this moment and dream about it but when it comes you don’t know how to act or what to say,” he said.
Rossi said he was “very happy” with his win and to end his barren streak, calling it “very important”. He also paid tribute to his successor as champion – although the pair have been team-mates for the last two years, the nature of their rivalry has led to a wall being built down the middle of the garage. “Jorge deserved the championship because he was the best rider,” he said.
Pedrosa, who is back in Spain recovering from surgery on his shoulder, also paid tribute to the new champion. “He rode very well this year right from the beginning of the season and made very few mistakes – so he deserves the title,” he said. “Of course, I would like to have been there today to try and keep the championship alive for a bit longer – even if we only had a very small chance of catching him. But it wasn’t to be.” AFP BBC
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