Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo, on a Yamaha, won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, besting teammate and defending world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy.
Lorenzo crossed the finish line at the Motegi circuit in 43 minutes 47,238 seconds, with Rossi 1,304 seconds behind and Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, riding a Honda, in third 3,763 seconds back.
Australian Ducati ace Casey Stoner, the 2007 world champion who beat Rossi in the the season-opening MotoGP race in Qatar two weeks ago, finished in fourth place.
It was the 21-year-old Lorenzo’s second career MotoGP victory following one in Portugal a year ago.
The win put Lorenzo, who stepped up to the premier class last year after 21 wins in the 125cc and 250cc categories, at the top of the MotoGP standings with 41 points, ahead of Rossi at 40 and Stoner at 38.
Rossi started from the pole position at the 4,8km Motegi Twin Ring after heavy rain washed out the qualifying session on Saturday. He clocked the fastest time in free practice.
The Italian beat the pack around the first corner on a drying track after morning showers and led the race early, with Stoner lagging behind several riders.
Lorenzo overtook Rossi on the ninth lap, widening his lead to more than a second after 15 laps and two seconds after 17. Stoner meanwhile was trapped behind Pedrosa and Italian Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso.
Pedrosa overtook Rossi on the 18th lap but the Italian regained the second spot on the next lap. Stoner passed Dovizioso to claim the fourth spot in the next-to-last of the 24 laps. – AFP