2012 Mugello MotoGP | Results

2012 MotoGP Championship

Spoiler Alert: 2012 MotoGP Championship results from Mugello, Italy, listed below

The 2012 MotoGP Championship wrapped up its third consecutive week of racing Sunday at Mugello, Italy.

And for the fifth time this season, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was first to take the checkered flag on his YZR-M1. Joining Lorenzo on the podium at the 3.259-mile circuit containing 15 turns was Respol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “From the beginning I felt great on this track, the asphalt was completely different to Sachsenring which was a nightmare for us. From the first practice here I felt very strong, very good on the bike and a fast constant pace.

“It was a pity that we had the problem in the last lap of qualifying but the important thing was the race. Today I was hammering a lot to open a gap at the beginning of the race as I thought my competitors would have problems on cold tires. Unfortunately I couldn’t do it immediately. Only hammering every lap and going faster and faster from 1’48.1 then into the 47s could I open a bit to Pedrosa then little by little it got better and I could start to breathe. It’s been a great win for the whole team’s efforts and for Yamaha who have given me such a good bike.”

Pedrosa got his usual great start, getting out front of the 20-rider field (minus Cardion AB Racing Ducati’s Karel Abraham, injury) first. But within a few second, Lorenzo, who started from the pole, took over the lead, and immediately began pulling away for Pedrosa.

Dovizioso then got pass Pedrosa, as Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden began battling with LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl. The reigning MotoGP Champion, Casey Stoner, didn’t get a great start aboard the Repsol Honda RC213V, but began pushing ahead, eventually passing Pramac Racing Ducati’s Hector Barbera for sixth. Meanwhile behind, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Michele Pirro was black flagged due to a cutting the track as he was heading back into pit lane with a technical issue.

By the second lap, Pedrosa found himself in an intense battle with Dovi. Behind, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi, who started the race from the 10th position, found himself in seventh, pleasing his home crowd as he battled with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow.

With 15 laps to go, Stoner’s special-compound Bridgestone tres had come up to temperature, and the Australian managed to push his way past Hayden into fifth. A lap later Bradl put in a brave move on Dovizioso in turn one to slot into third. This was followed up by big drama as Stoner ran off track into the gravel, managing to keep the bike upright and re-joining in tenth.

Meanwhile behind, Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez crashed out of 18th place, but managed to walk away unhurt. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards also had his race cut short as he retired with a mechanical issue.

With eight laps remaining the grid had spread out, yet Crutchlow was still dicing with Rossi. A lap later Stoner had caught up to the back of San Carlo’s Álvaro Bautista, and put in an aggressive move, pushing the Spaniard wide and moving up into ninth.

The final three laps promised further excitement as Dovizioso went past Bradl on the brakes into third, while Hayden, and the pursuing duo of Rossi and Crutchlow closed in on the podium battle. In the final lap Hayden made his way past Bradl, who fought back with a hard move, which pushed the American wide. This let Rossi through into fifth, with Crutchlow also taking advantage to nip into sixth.

Yet ultimately it was Lorenzo who took the checkered flag for his second successive victory, 5.223 seconds ahead of Pedrosa and Dovizioso, who recoded his fourth podium of the season. Bradl was however one of the happiest riders, as he recorded his best ever finish in the premier class.

Fifth went to Rossi, his best dry finish on the Ducati GP12, the Italian followed by Crutchlow, Hayden, Stoner, Barberá, Bautista and Yamaha’s Ben Spies, who was suffering from food poisoning. Top CRT spot went to De Puniet in 12th.

With his win, Lorenzo now has 185 points, 19 clear of Pedrosa in second. In third with 148 points is Stoner.

The 2012 MotoGP Championship now takes a week break before heading to the United States for the Red Bull Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, Calif.

2012 Mugello MotoGP Results:

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1.	25	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	173.9	41’37.477
2.	20	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	173.5	+5.223
3.	16	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	173.2	+10.665
4.	13	6	Stefan BRADL	GER	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	173.1	+10.711
5.	11	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	173.1	+11.695
6.	10	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	173.1	+12.060
7.	9	69	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	Ducati	173.0	+12.235
8.	8	1	Casey STONER	AUS	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	171.8	+30.617
9.	7	8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	Ducati	171.7	+31.728
10.	6	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	Honda	171.5	+34.589
11.	5	11	Ben SPIES	USA	Yamaha Factory Racing	Yamaha	170.0	+57.862
12.	4	14	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	169.8	+59.963
13.	3	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Power Electronics Aspar	ART	169.1	+1’11.200
14.	2	77	James ELLISON	GBR	Paul Bird Motorsport	ART	169.1	+1’11.458
15.	1	54	Mattia PASINI	ITA	Speed Master	ART	169.0	+1’11.828
16.		22	Ivan SILVA	SPA	Avintia Blusens	BQR	164.7	1 Lap
Not Classified
		5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	NGM Mobile Forward Racing	Suter	160.4	13 Laps
		68	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Avintia Blusens	BQR	167.9	14 Laps
		9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Came IodaRacing Project	Ioda	164.4	20 Laps
Excluded
		51	Michele PIRRO	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	FTR		0 Lap

2012 MotoGP Championship Point Standings (after nine of 18 rounds):

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1.	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	185
2.	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	166
3.	Casey STONER	Honda	AUS	148
4.	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Yamaha	ITA	108
5.	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Yamaha	GBR	95
6.	Valentino ROSSI	Ducati	ITA	82
7.	Stefan BRADL	Honda	GER	75
8.	Nicky HAYDEN	Ducati	USA	74
9.	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Honda	SPA	73
10.	Ben SPIES	Yamaha	USA	66
11.	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	60
12.	Randy DE PUNIET	ART	FRA	28
13.	Aleix ESPARGARO	ART	SPA	26
14.	Michele PIRRO	FTR	ITA	16
15.	Mattia PASINI	ART	ITA	13
16.	James ELLISON	ART	GBR	12
17.	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ioda	ITA	9
18.	Colin EDWARDS	Suter	USA	8
19.	Yonny HERNANDEZ	BQR	COL	6
20.	Ivan SILVA	BQR	SPA	5
21.	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	CZE	4