If Valentino Rossi can hang on to his points lead and win this year’s MotoGP world title he will have Mother Nature to thank as much as the Yamaha team he rides for.
During yesterday’s Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit it was the changing weather conditions which again became the deciding factor.
All eyes were on championship combatants Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi as the lights went out for the start of the Japanese MotogGP, but as he did at Aragon two weeks earlier, Honda rider Dani Pedrosa stole the limelight with a skilful display of on-the-edge riding as the drying track destroyed the wet weather tyres.
Pedrosa not only caught and passed Rossi for second place, he then eroded Lorenzo’s seemingly unassailable lead, dragging Rossi along for the ride. When Pedrosa moved to the front, the Italian followed, relegating Lorenzo to third and placing a tentative finger of the 2015 title by opening his championship lead to 18 points with three races remaining. A lap earlier – with the order Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi – his lead had been reduced to just five points.
While third-place Lorenzo struggled to keep his Yamaha M1 ¬and championship hopes on track during the final laps, Pedrosa pulled away from Rossi to claim his first win of 2015 and his 50th grand prix victory.
The championship now moves to Phillip Island this weekend, and while Rossi cannot secure the crown even if he wins and Lorenzo finishes out of the points, the nine-time world champion is now in the box seat to claim the 2015 title.
Grab our bumper, 180-page Australian MotoGP preview issue, on sale Thursday, for all the latest news and gossip from the MotoGP paddock.
MotoGP Race Results: Motegi, Sunday, October 11, 2015
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 147.5 | 46’50.767 |
| 2 | 20 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 147.1 | +8.573 |
| 3 | 16 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 146.9 | +12.127 |
| 4 | 13 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 146.1 | +27.841 |
| 5 | 11 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 145.7 | +35.085 |
| 6 | 10 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | 145.6 | 37.263 |
| 7 | 9 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 145.6 | +37.667 |
| 8 | 8 | 21 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | JPN | Yamaha Factory Racing Team | Yamaha | 145.2 | +44.654 |
| 9 | 7 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 145.0 | +48.572 |
| 10 | 6 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 144.9 | +50.121 |
| 11 | 5 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 144.4 | +1’00.535 |
| 12 | 4 | 72 | Takumi TAKAHASHI | JPN | Team HRC with Nissin | Honda | 144.4 | +1’01.211 |
| 13 | 3 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | 143.9 | +1’11.261 |
| 14 | 2 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 143.7 | +1’13.896 |
| 15 | 1 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 143.7 | +1’15.421 |
| 16 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 143.4 | +1’20.507 | |
| 17 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | 142.9 | +1’31.224 | |
| 18 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 142.1 | +1’46.833 | |
| 19 | 64 | Kousuke AKIYOSHI | JPN | AB Motoracing | Honda | 141.5 | +2’00.072 | |
| 20 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 139.1 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 144.9 | 2 Laps | ||
| 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | LCR Honda | Honda | 144.0 | 8 Laps | ||
| 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 145.9 | 11 Laps | ||
| 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 139.5 | 11 Laps | ||
| 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 146.1 | 14 Laps | ||
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 145.7 | 16 Laps | ||