LORENZO EXTENDS LEAD AT 2012 MUGELLO MOTOGP

Qualifying was a mixed affair, with the factory teams separated by notable margins. While Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa claimed pole with a 1'47.284 lap, team mate Casey Stoner could only manage a 1'47.689 for fifth on the grid. Similarly, almost a second separated the factory Yamahas of Lorenzo (second) and Spies (ninth), while Ducati's Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi qualified fourth and tenth respectively.

Stoner's uncharacteristically poor qualifying result was put down to setup problems that resulted in rear end chatter and made the RC213V difficult to turn. Hector Barbera (Pramac Racing Ducati) was the surprise of the qualifying session, claiming the final spot on the front row of the grid.

At the race start, Pedrosa led the field into turn one, however Lorenzo got past within a few bends, as the grid diced for positions in the early stages. Monster Yamaha Tech 3's Andrea Dovizioso also pushed past Pedrosa, as Hayden and LCR Honda MotoGP's Stefan Bradl fought for fourth. Stoner, clearly struggling with a new construction hard rear tyre fitted for this race, did not have a great start, and had to fight his way past Barbera to make up position. Meanwhile San Carlo Honda Gresini's Michele Pirro was black flagged due to cutting the track as he was heading back into pit lane with a technical issue.

Two laps on, Pedrosa was all over the back of Dovizioso, as Lorenzo started to pull out a small gap at the front. Ducati's Valentino Rossi had fought his way up to seventh, much to the delight of the home crowd, yet was having no easy ride, as Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow was on his tail and looking for a way past.

With 15 laps of the 23 lap race remaining, Stoner managed to push his way past Hayden into fifth when the new compound rubber came up to temperature. A lap later, Bradl put a brave move on Dovizioso in turn one to slot into third. On lap ten, Stoner ran off track into the gravel, but managed to keep the bike upright and re-join in tenth. Avintia Blusens' Yonny Hernandez crashed out of 18th place on the same lap, but managed to walk away unhurt. NGM Mobile Forward Racing's Colin Edwards also had his race cut short as he retired on lap ten with a mechanical issue.

With eight laps remaining, the field had spread out, yet Crutchlow was still dicing with Rossi. On lap 17, Stoner had caught up to the back of San Carlo Gresini Honda's Alvaro 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, with Hayden, and the pursuing duo of Rossi and Crutchlow close behind. On the final lap Hayden made his way past Bradl, who fought back with a hard move, which pushed the American wide. This let Rossi and Crutchlow through into fifth and sixth respectively. Stoner was a further 18 seconds behind this battle in eighth.

At the front of the field, Lorenzo rode a near faultless race, extending his lead from less than a second on lap 5 to more than five seconds at the chequered flag to notch up his second successive victory at Mugello. Pedrosa recorded a similar five-plus second margin over Dovizioso, who just pipped Bradl for the final podium spot. Despite missing the podium by less than a tenth of a second, Bradl was overjoyed with his best ever finish in the premier class.

Fifth spot went to Rossi, followed by Crutchlow, Hayden, Stoner, Barbera, Bautista and Yamaha's Ben Spies, who struggled through the race after suffering food poisoning. Top CRT spot went to Randy De Puniet (Power Electronics Aspar ART) in 12th.

"From the beginning I felt great on this track," Lorenzo said after the race. "The asphalt was completely different to Sachsenring which was a nightmare for us. 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 tyres. 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."

For his part, Stoner rued what was a lost opportunity to keep within sight of Lorenzo in the championship chase: "We just couldn't get the bike working. During our last attempts in warm up we couldn't get anything to work, we weren't very happy with the bike today and I just didn't feel comfortable," Stoner explained.
"I made a mistake in the race, I had a bit of a shake exiting turn 11 and when I arrived at turn 12 I had no brakes, I was squeezing them as hard as I could and thought I had enough brake power to stop before the edge of the track but I had too much momentum and had to ride through the gravel trap which wasted a lot of time."

Lorenzo now has a 19-point gap at the top of the championship ahead of Pedrosa and 37 ahead of Stoner.

2012 MOTOGP World Championship

Round 9 - Gran Premio d'Italia TIM
July 15, 2012

1. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 41'37.477
2. Dani PEDROSA Honda +5.223
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Yamaha +10.655
4. Stefan BRADL Honda +10.711
5. Valentino ROSSI Ducati +11.695
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW Yamaha +12.060
7. Nicky HAYDEN Ducati +12.235
8. Casey STONER Honda +30.617
9. Hector BARBERA Ducati +31.728
10. Alvaro BAUTISTA Honda +34.589

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS - after 9 of 18 rounds
1. LORENZO 185
2. PEDROSA 166
3. STONER 148
4. DOVIZOSO 108
5. CRUTCHLOW 95
6. ROSSI 82
7. BRADL 75
8. HAYDEN 74
9. BAUTISTA 73
10. SPIES 66