MotoGP Blog

Special Correspondent Dave Minella covers Mugello for MotoGPBlog this week. You can contact Dave on Twitter (@DaveMinella) and also on his blog, Cranial Ooze. Thanks very much Dave, and over to you…

As if to help silence the critics who’ve begun to cast off Grand Prix motorcycle racing as a boring spectacle, Mother Nature has decided to step in this season to add a little bit of excitement to the grid. The rain-drenched first race at Losail was a harbinger of what the weather was to bring to the other tracks at least during the first half of the MotoGP season, and the Le Mans debacle gave us a reason to scratch our heads at the lack of options the teams were given from the back of the Bridgestone truck. Although, for many teams and riders, the French Grand Prix was a demonstration of what not to do during a changing-condition, flag-to-flag race, it seems to have served as a valuable lesson in how to race in wet-to-dry conditions. The entire field seems to have brought those lessons with them to Mugello, and this stop on the MotoGP calendar was anything but boring.

Jorge Lorenzo was the first near-casualty of the early portion of the race as he went down in turn two of the sighting lap. He barely had time to switch bikes, and when he took his position on the grid, he was still covered in fresh dirt. New bike, new tires and a few bumps and bruises all contributed to a horrible start, and he was unable to gain traction when the red lights went off, quickly going backwards from pole position. In what would be another of the afternoon’s surprises, Randy De Puniet briefly took the hole shot before being passed by several riders, including Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen who charged from the 11th spot to take the lead. The Repsol Hondas fought hard for second, as Lorenzo found himself way back in the pack, trying to play catch up.

Marco Melandri was once again out to prove he could ride the Hayate as he quickly began to move up from 15th. After four laps in front, Vermeulen couldn’t hang on as the track began to dry and lost positions to both Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. With 20 laps remaining, Lorenzo found the throttle as he set the fastest lap with Melandri all over his rear tire. On the same lap, Stoner lost the battle for the lead to a hard-charging Dovizioso.

Lap five would find the first rider in the pits as James Toseland came in for a tire change. The early switch would pay off as JT heated the new slicks up quickly and began to make his way back up through the field. Melandri wouldn’t let the Spaniard on the Fiat Yamaha go without a fight, as #33 and #99 knocked each other around the corners. With 18 to go, Vermeulen’s shimmer of glory in what may very well be his last season in MotoGP began to fade just as Valentino Rossi began to make his move. By lap six, Rossi had moved into the second spot while Melandri found himself in sixth position and would soon make quick work of Casey Stoner to move into third behind the #46 and #4 machines. Pramac Ducati’s Nicolo Canepa was the second rider to switch bikes as he came in on lap seven. Hayden & De Puniet followed suit on lap eight.

With 16 to go, the top three were Rossi, Dovizioso and Melandri. Melandri passed Dovi on the next lap, and the Repsol rider subsequently peeled off for a bike change. Pedrosa, Capirossi, Edwards and De Angelis came in as well on lap nine. With 14 to go, Alex De Angelis put his Honda down in the gravel as Melandri took the lead from Rossi. One lap later, Melandri, Rossi, Lorenzo, Stoner and Elias came in putting an end to Melandri hopes for a victory and even a podium finish.

Once back on the track, the #33 Hayate began to fade fast just as Toseland was setting the field’s fastest lap times. Dovi took the lead on lap 11, and at the halfway point, Melandri was already back to the sixth spot. Yuki Takahashi took this opportunity to exit the race as he also decided to introduce the shiny side of his Honda to the asphalt. With 11 to go, Dani Pedrosa went down hard as Stoner and then Capirossi edged out Dovi for the one and two spots. Two laps later, Capirex took the lead from the Australian and held it for the next two trips around the circuit, but it just wasn’t to be as the Italian veteran lost a spot to Stoner, then Lorenzo, then Rossi and, finally, a last-lap pass by fellow Italian, Andrea Dovizioso, knocked the Suzuki off the podium. Ducati rider Casey Stoner led Lorenzo and Rossi past the checkered flag giving Ducati its first Mugello win in the 800cc era and giving Valentino Rossi his first loss at the track since he crashed out with two laps remaining in 2001.

The final results for Mugello are as follows:

1 27 Casey Stoner, Ducati
2 99 Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha
3 46 Valentino Rossi, Yamaha
4 4 Andrea Dovizioso, Honda
5 65 Loris Capirossi, Suzuki
6 5 Colin Edwards, Yamaha
7 52 James Toseland, Yamaha
8 14 Randy De Puniet, Honda
9 88 Nicolo Canepa, Ducati
10 7 Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki
11 33 Marco Melandri, Hayate (Kawasaki)
12 69 Nicky Hayden Ducati
13 36 Mika Kallio, Ducati
14 24 Toni Elias, Honda
15 15 Alex De Angeles, Honda
Not Classified
3 Dani Pedrosa, Honda
72 Yuki Takahashi, Honda

It’s difficult to judge who was deserving of the rider of the weekend honors, as there were more than a few moments of glory from riders on every type of machine. Of course, Loris Capirossi showed that he still has some fight left in him as he brilliantly held off charges from the series leaders. Perhaps age or perhaps the under-performing Suzuki is to blame for his late-race fade to fifth. James Toseland deserves a nod for his run from 15th to seventh, and even Randy De Puniet’s eight place finish should be looked at as the Frenchman seems to have forgotten how to crash this season, and currently finds himself in the top 10 in points. Melandri’s charge to the front was spectacular, and had the conditions remained wet, there’s no telling what would have happened with him as well as with Vermeulen. But, the MotoGPBlog Man of the Weekend award for Mugello goes to Jorge Lorenzo who came back from a sighting-lap crash and a horrible launch to regain second place. My black eye for the weekend goes to Ducati, which managed to take away Rossi’s Mugello crown, but once again only barely managed to keep another machine in the top 10.

Next up is Catalunya, where Dani Pedrosa shined last year. Casey Stoner, Loris Capirossi and Valentino Rossi have both stood atop the GP podium, but Jorge Lorenzo, Marco Melandri, Randy De Puniet and Andrea Dovizioso have won there on 250s. The weather shouldn’t play a role in Northern Spain, but with the way this season has started out, nothing is guaranteed.