My Stoney Baby

Stoner was back on his game in the UK on Sunday. He started on pole and led from start to finish. Rossi, who started next to Stoner on the grid, had a bit of a sketchy start, but was able to maneuver back into second position by the first corner, where James Toseland, incidentally crashed. After that, Stoner opened up the gap by a few tenths each lap. Pedrosa gave Rossi a bit a of a battle for second place, 5 or 6 laps from the finish, but Rossi ultimately was able to shake him off. It was interesting to watch the spots that both riders chose for overtaking each other. Especially considering that Pedrosa’s RC211v was shod with Medium compound tires, front and rear, whereas Rossi went with a soft front and medium rear. Because of this, Rossi was able to easily overtake Pedrosa in the slower corners, but Pedrosa was able to out-brake Rossi, coming into the faster corners. After Sunday’s results, Rossi hangs onto the leader position in world championship points, Pedrosa remains in second and Stoner moves into third, ousting Lorenzo. Lorenzo, though, taking it easy while recovering from the concussion and hand surgery, was still able to manage 9th place on Sunday. I would expect to see him come back strong again later this season.