Sepang MotoGP: Casey Stoner takes 10th win of 2007 as Valentino Rossi salvages fifth

Casey Stoner has made history with his tenth victory of the 2007 MotoGP season, becoming the first rider to win the in the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Pole position had gone to Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, but the Casey Stoner, the 2007 world champion, was able to take the lead into the first turn, and despite never breaking clear of the trio of Pedrosa, Stoner was able to build a gap of between one and two seconds which kept him in front to the chequered flag, despite pressure and running wide at the final hairpin.

The pressure came from Marco Melandri, who had moved into second, passing Dani Pedrosa, before the halfway stage. Melandri closed with three laps to go, but Stoner was able to respond. Pedrosa stayed in third to put a sole Michelin-shod motorcycle on the podium.

Randy de Puniet had a great performance on the Kawasaki, despite a big slide on lap four, but dropped back towards the end of the race with a likely technical problem, as his motorcycle stopped on the slow down lap.

Valentino Rossi salvaged something from the weekend, and became the second Michelin finished with a fifth place, having dropped to 11th by the first corner. Toni ELias took sixth after a battle with Nicky Hayden ended at the final hairpin on lap 13, when the Repsol Honda rider ran off the track. Hayden recovered to finish ninth, behind Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins. COlin Edwards took 10th.

Wildcard Nobuatsu Aoki took 13th on the prototype 2008 Suzuki GSV-R, and Britain’s Chaz Davies finished 17th.

2007 MotoGP: Sepang, Malasyia results:

1. Stoner
2. Melandri
3. Pedrosa
4. de Puniet
5. Rossi
6. Elias
7. Vermeulen
8. Hopkins
9. Hayden
10. Edwards
11. Capirossi
12. Barros
13. Aoki
14. Checa
15. West
16. Nakano
17. Davies
18. Tamada
19. Guintoli
20. Roberts

 

Want to commemorate an historic season for Casey Stoner? You can find posters, models, signed memorabilia and even jigsaws of the 2007 world champion at Grands Prix Legends. Click here.