Thrilling win for Pedrosa in Czech Republic

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa scored his second consecutive win and eighth successive podium today in Brno, in an intense battle with Jorge Lorenzo that went down to the wire.

Dani starting from 3rd on the grid was able to pass Cal Crutchlow, in second position, before the first corner and closely tracked pole man Jorge for the first 11 laps, with the two Spanish riders trading record fastest race laps. Only hundredths of seconds separated the two and eventually on lap 12 Dani made a pass and held onto the lead until the final lap. With only a few corners remaining, Jorge passed Dani and both were involved in a dramatic final few turns which resulted in Dani squeezing out Jorge and taking the victory, a perfect gift to his father on his birthday!

This is Dani's 3rd win of 2012 and his 41st career victory, all on a Honda, equalling Mike Hailwood in most victories ever on a Honda, behind Mick Doohan (54) and Jim Redman (45).

Dani has now reduced the gap to Championship leader Jorge to 13 points with 6 rounds of the 2012 season remaining. Casey Stoner, ruled out of this race due to injury remains in 3rd position with 186 points.

The Repsol Honda Team will be back on track in Brno tomorrow for an Official Test day, which will see, as previously announced, Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea step in for the injured Casey Stoner.

DANI PEDROSA | 1st | World Championship Standing: 2nd with 232 points

["Today was one of my best races in MotoGP ever, to win with a big gap is always nice, but to have a battle like today with Jorge, it's sometimes more rewarding. It was a difficult last lap because I knew that Jorge was very fast in the middle of the corner and I could hear the bike right on me and I knew that just the smallest gap would allow him to pass. In fact, in that left corner I opened the door just a little more than normal and 'boom' he was there, I could see his bike in my face! With just half a lap to go, I was a little more nervous than before but I knew I had some strong points coming to the end of the lap. I tried to get the best drive out of the hill and then in the last corner I was beside him, when I released the brakes we were side by side in the corner and I was able to take my line and win the race. It was amazing and I'm really happy with this victory, for all my team and also for my father because it is his birthday! For the Championship we must keep up this momentum as Jorge is riding very strong and consistently in the top two. Testing will be important to set us up for the final part of the season, so let's see what we can do".

### Race Result - Round 12

1	Dani Pedrosa	42'51.570	SPA	HONDA	Repsol Honda Team
2	Jorge Lorenzo	+0.178	SPA	YAMAHA	Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3	Cal Crutchlow	+12.343	GBR	YAMAHA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4	Andrea Dovizioso	+18.591	ITA	YAMAHA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5	Stefan Bradl	+25.582	GER	HONDA	LCR Honda MotoGP
6	Alvaro Bautista	+29.451	SPA	HONDA	San Carlo Honda Gresini
7	Valentino Rossi	+34.514	ITA	DUCATI	Ducati Team
8	Randy De Puniet	+1'04.285	FRA	ART	Aspar Team MotoGP
9	Karel Abraham	+1'08.278	CZE	DUCATI	Cardion AB Motoracing
10	Aleix Espargaro	+1'09.972	ESP	ART	Aspar Team MotoGP
11	Toni Elías	+1'10.003	SPA	DUCATI	Pramac Racing
12	Yonny Hernandez	+1'24.040	COL	BQR-FTR	BQR
13	Colin Edwards	+1'27.898	USA	SUTER	NGM Mobile Forward Racing
14	Michele Pirro	+1'36.165	ITA	HONDA	San Carlo Honda Gresini
15	James Ellison	+1'40.565	GBR	ART	Paul Bird Racing
16	Mattia Pasini	+1'41.226	ITA	ART	Speed Master
17	Danilo Petrucci	+1 lap	ITA	IODA	Ioda Racing Project
18	Ivan Silva	DNF	SPA	BQR-FTR	BQR
19	Ben Spies	DNF	USA	YAMAHA	Yamaha Factory Racing Team
20	Casey Stoner	DNS	AUS	HONDA	Repsol Honda Team

 

### Championship standings

1	Jorge Lorenzo	245 pts	SPA	YAMAHA	Yamaha Factory Racing Team
2	Dani Pedrosa	232 pts	SPA	HONDA	Repsol Honda Team
3	Casey Stoner	186 pts	AUS	HONDA	Repsol Honda Team
4	Andrea Dovizioso	150 pts	ITA	YAMAHA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3
5	Cal Crutchlow	122 pts	GBR	YAMAHA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3
6	Stefan Bradl	105 pts	GER	HONDA	LCR Honda MotoGP
7	Alvaro Bautista	102 pts	SPA	HONDA	San Carlo Honda Gresini
8	Valentino Rossi	100 pts	ITA	DUCATI	Ducati Team
9	Nicky Hayden	84 pts	USA	DUCATI	Ducati Team
10	Ben Spies	66 pts	USA	YAMAHA	Yamaha Factory Racing Team
11	Hector Barbera	60 pts	SPA	DUCATI	Pramac Racing
12	Aleix Espargaro	45 pts	ESP	ART	Aspar Team MotoGP
13	Randy De Puniet	41 pts	FRA	ART	Aspar Team MotoGP
14	Karel Abraham	25 pts	CZE	DUCATI	Cardion AB Motoracing
15	Yonny Hernandez	21 pts	COL	BQR-FTR	BQR
16	Michele Pirro	18 pts	ITA	HONDA	San Carlo Honda Gresini
17	Colin Edwards	17 pts	USA	SUTER	NGM Mobile Forward Racing
18	James Ellison	14 pts	GBR	ART	Paul Bird Racing
19	Mattia Pasini	13 pts	ITA	ART	Speed Master
20	Ivan Silva	11 pts	SPA	BQR-FTR	BQR
21	Toni Elías	10 pts	SPA	DUCATI	Pramac Racing
22	Danilo Petrucci	9 pts	ITA	IODA	Ioda Racing Project
23	Steve Rapp	2 pts	USA	N/A	Attack Performance
24	Franco Battaini	0 pts	ITA	DUCATI	Ducati Team
25	Chris Vermeulen	0 pts	AUS	SUTER	NGM Mobile Forward Racing
26	Aaron Yates	0 pts	USA	N/A	GP Tech

 

### Circuit information
First race	1987
GPs held	25
Laps	22
Race distance	118.866km / 73.854miles
Track length	5.403km / 3.357miles
Track width	15m
Longest straight	0.636km / 0.395miles
Corners	14 (8 right, 6 left)
Pole position	Left

Automotodrom BrnoP.O.Box 1
641 00 Brno
Czech Republic

Website: www.automotodrombrno.cz
General: info@brno-circuit.com
Ticket: ticket@brno-circuit.com

 

[Circuit records
Pole position	1m 55.799s (167.970 km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2012)
Race lap	1m56.274s (167.284Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2012)
Race time	42m51.570s (166.403Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2012)
MotoGP Wins	5 (Valentino Rossi 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009)
2011 Winner	Casey Stoner (Honda)

 

[ [