British MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso takes surprise win

Andrea Dovizioso takes his first MotoGP race victory. Colin Edwards finishes second and Randy de Puniet is third. What odds would you have got on that result for today’s Donington MotoGP race podium?

But in the most difficult of conditions that’s how it panned out.

It’s an especially amazing turnaround for Repsol Honda rider Dovizioso who hasn’t scored points in the last three MotoGP races.

He said: “The race was very difficult. For the first few laps there was not enough temperature in the tyres and it was quite dangerous. At the end, no one could understand which part of the track was wet and which part was dry.”

Even the first lap was filled with drama. Valentino Rossi led. Jorge Lorenzo slotted neatly into second at Redgate. Bounced off Rossi to take the lead then Toni Elias took Lorenzo with a lunge at Macleans.

Some semblance of order was restored by the fourth lap. Lorenzo led from Dovizioso, Dani Pedrosa, Rossi, Elias and fast-starting Toseland, while his team-mate Colin Edwards was languishing in 13th.

Lap seven Elias went down and a lap later Lorenzo touched the white line on the brakes into Goddard and his race was over.

Rossi assumed control with Dovizioso tucked in behind him, then came a gap to De Puniet and Pedrosa, then another gap to Alex De Angelis, Toseland, Loris Capirossi, Mika Kallio,  and Marco Melandri.

Edwards was still only tenth on the Tech 3 Yamaha.
Lap 13 Casey Stoner was lapped by Rossi, Stoner’s and team-mate Nicky Hayden’s Ducatis both starting on slicks and the rain only just starting to fall.

Lap 19 the unthinkable happened. Rossi lost the rear as he turned into the Foggy Esses. He remounted in 11th.

That left Dovizioso with a big lead from De Puniet’s LCR Honda with Edwards now third from De Angelis, Pedrosa and Toseland with Melandri, Capirossi, Vermeulen and Kallio all diving into the pits to switch to their wet-tyre-shod  spare bikes.

The last third of the race was ultra tense with Edwards chasing down de Puniet who was catching Dovizioso who held on to take his first MotoGP victory by 1.36s, while Edwards snatched second in the final corner from de Puniet.

Edwards said: “I had lots of moments and with two laps to go I thought I’d have to settle for what I had.

“I started on a front tyre I’d never used before all weekend and when we set off it was like, ‘whoa where are you all going man.” I was just trying to get a feel (for my tyres).

“I stared pushing but in the last seven or eight laps the left side of the rear tyre got cold but then the rain stopped, then it started again….. I was trying to ride down the straight on the left side of the tyre in a big arc just to try and get some heat in there.

“I don’t wish a race like that (in such conditions) on anybody.”

The drama didn’t end there.  De Angelis finished fourth but Rossi clinched fifth from Toseland on the last lap for 11 valuable points.

Championship-wise it means that Rossi is now 25 points ahead of Lorenzo with seven rounds left. Stoner scored two points and is now 37 adrift of Rossi.

1. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 48min 26.267 sec
2. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 48min 27.627 sec
3. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 48min 27.867 sec
4. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 48min 35.225 sec
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 48min 47.889 sec
6. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 48min 48.732 sec
7. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 49min 1.551 sec
8. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 49min 5.036 sec
9. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 49min 8.379 sec
10. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 49min 12.112 sec
11. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 49min 19.457 sec
12. Gabor Talmacsi HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 49min 38.582 sec
13. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 49min 46.665 sec
14. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team  1 lap 
15. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team  1 lap

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