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09/07/2012

Sachsenring MotoGP: 2nd Lorenzo, Stoner crashes on the last lap!

Fortune and misfortune are an important factor in sports as in life. Misfortune took away Lorenzo’s opportunity to defend his leading championship position with his crash, through no fault of his own, at Assen which allowed Stoner to join him on joint points for the championship lead.  But at Sachsenring the roles reversed as Stoner, with second place in his pocket, suffered a similar misfortune and crashed out on the last lap giving Lorenzo the advantage again in the championship where he returned to the top of the general classification.
 Stoner started from pole position, (after a fall in the warm up) and after a lap and a half, took the lead with a spectacular overtaking move on Pedrosa, but his teammate would not let him escape and at the 19th round Pedrosa overtook Stoner, who then made a mistake and took a few laps to get back up to speed and ready to fight the last lap. Meanwhile behind, Lorenzo stayed comfortable in third place. In the last lap Casey then made a mistake and fell into the left hand rising curve and gave an unexpected second place to Lorenzo.  Luck comes, luck goes!
 World ranking: first Lorenzo, Stoner is third, 20 points behind. Next Sunday, Mugello.
 
Here are the statements of the rider in the post-race.
 
Jorge Lorenzo (X-lite X-802)
"Well, things can change completely in one race. In Holland we had a 25 point advantage then suddenly zero, one engine less and we were very disappointed. Then today we had some luck from Casey’s unfortunate crash. I would have been happy to have finished in third position because today the bike and the rear tyre was not so good. The race was very tough; I always seem to finish second here! I would have preferred not to crash in Assen and for Casey not to crash here but that is racing sometimes. We struggled a little all weekend with the changing weather so we must be happy with the end result."
 
Casey Stoner (Nolan X-802)
"I'm pretty disappointed. I had planned to go for my 'win or bin' effort in the last corner not that one. I was happy on the bike and felt we had a few tenths a lap over Dani (Pedrosa) and confident I could pull him back in. On the final lap I made a mistake going into the first turn and I had to push a little more than I wanted through some of the sections, but I got on to Dani exactly where I wanted and planned to make my overtake in the last corner, if I didn't have an opportunity earlier in the lap. I felt confident, but as soon as I tried to turn in a little more, the front went. I was already off the brakes and not in the hard braking area; as soon as I eased of the brakes I guess the weight came off the front and down I went. I'm frustrated I wasn't allowed to get up and try and score some points, the bike was perfect, but the marshals pushed me away. It's our first crash in a race, down to our own mistake, for the first time in a long time, so I'm disappointed for sure, but we knew we had the pace. If we can continue this momentum for the rest of the season then we shouldn't be so worried for the championship."

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