Spaniard Dani Pedrosa led from start to finish to claim an impressive win at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, the first of a series of MotoGP races without reigning world champion Valentino Rossi.
Rossi’s hopes of winning his eighth premium class crown this year are over as he is expected to be out for up to five months after crashing in practice on Saturday and suffering a fracture to his right shin and fibula.
The victory enables Honda’s Pedrosa to overtake Yamaha’s Rossi in second in the overall standings after four races.
Jorge Lorenzo still leads the championship, with 90 points, 25 more than his compatriot Pedrosa and 29 more than his teammate Rossi, after bringing his Yamaha home second ahead of Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda in third. – Reuters