Mugello MotoGP
Spoiler Alert: 2011 Mugello MotoGP race results below
The 2011 MotoGP Championship headed to Italy this weekend for the Gran Premio d’Italia at Mugello, round eight of 18 in the series.
Starting from his fifth pole position of 2011 MotoGP, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner lead the 16-rider MotoGP grid (short Pramac Ducati’s Loris Capirossi) into turn one. And for the first few laps it looked as if Stoner would have another run-away win, having more than a two-second lead.
But with nine laps remaining, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo began gaining on Stoner. And with six to go, Lorenzo caught and passed Stoner, taking his second win of the 2011 MotoGP Championship (first in Jerez).
On the final lap, Stoner would be passed once again, this time by teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Stoner would have to settle for third.
With his win, Lorenzo chipped away at Stoner’s lead in the overall championship. Stoner now has 152 MotoGP points, 19 ahead of Lorenzo. Dovizioso remains in third with 119 points.
As these three battled up front, behind Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli swapped positions a few times. But Spies would out-brake Simoncelli, taking fourth.
And there was also a huge battle for sixth between Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi, Mapfre Aspar Ducati’s Hector Barbera, Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards and Respol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.
But with 11 to go, Rossi took sixth from Barbera, leaving the Spainard a seventh-place finish. Last year’s winner Pedrosa took eight. Rounding out the top 10 were Edwards and Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden.
The only rider to not finish Sunday’s Mugello MotoGP was Cal Crutchlow. The Brit had front-tire issues on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1, similar issues plagued him last weekend at Assen.
The MotoGP Championship has a one-week break before continuing at Sachsenring in Germany July 14.
2011 Mugello MotoGP: Race Results
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 173.0 | 41’50.089 |
| 2. | 20 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 172.9 | +0.997 |
| 3. | 16 | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 172.9 | +1.143 |
| 4. | 13 | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 172.4 | +8.980 |
| 5. | 11 | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 172.4 | +9.076 |
| 6. | 10 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 171.2 | +26.450 |
| 7. | 9 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 171.1 | +28.745 |
| 8. | 8 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 170.8 | +32.043 |
| 9. | 7 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 170.7 | +33.421 |
| 10. | 6 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 170.7 | +34.724 |
| 11. | 5 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 170.5 | +37.359 |
| 12. | 4 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 170.0 | +43.964 |
| 13. | 3 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 169.8 | +47.654 |
| 14. | 2 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 169.7 | +48.840 |
| 15. | 1 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 168.0 | +1’15.199 |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| Â | Â | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 169.0 | 17 Laps |
 2011 MotoGP Point Standings (after eight of 18 rounds)
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Casey STONER | Honda | AUS | 152 |
| 2. | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | SPA | 133 |
| 3. | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Honda | ITA | 119 |
| 4. | Valentino ROSSI | Ducati | ITA | 91 |
| 5. | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati | USA | 77 |
| 6. | Ben SPIES | Yamaha | USA | 74 |
| 7. | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 69 |
| 8. | Hiroshi AOYAMA | Honda | JPN | 56 |
| 9. | Colin EDWARDS | Yamaha | USA | 53 |
| 10. | Marco SIMONCELLI | Honda | ITA | 50 |
| 11. | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 44 |
| 12. | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 37 |
| 13. | Toni ELIAS | Honda | SPA | 35 |
| 14. | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Yamaha | GBR | 32 |
| 15. | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Suzuki | SPA | 30 |
| 16. | Loris CAPIROSSI | Ducati | ITA | 22 |
| 17. | Randy DE PUNIET | Ducati | FRA | 12 |
| 18. | John HOPKINS | Suzuki | USA | 6 |
| 19. | Kousuke AKIYOSHI | Honda | JPN | 3 |
