Holy crap! Waiting the couple of extra days to see the first race of the 2009 season, was worth it. Stoner won by a solid margin. Rossi finished second, and second year rookie Lorenzo, took the last podium spot. Once Rossi fought his way up through the pack, he was able to keep a consistent gap between himself and Stoner. At times, he was even able to close it, a bit. It was clear though, that Rossi’s abuse to the tires getting into second position, prevented him from closing on Stoner at the end of the race. Just judging from this race, it appears that the 2009 season will be a fierce battle between Rossi and Stoner for the championship.
It is hard to make that kind of prediction, given all of the injuries and the incoming rookies. Pedrosa was riding with an injured left knee. I’m sure that it didn’t help being slammed into by De Angelis after running wide in a left hand corner. It was amazing the Pedrosa was even able to keep his bike on 2 wheels after that one. Hayden, was riding with several injuries sustained in a very ugly high-side crash sustained during practice.
There were a couple of rookie riders that were shooting the lights out. Andrea Dovizioso, Pedrosa new teammate, rode the wheels off of is Factory Honda Monday night finishing fifth. De Angelis, crossed the line right behind Dovizioso in 6th. Both rookies had very impressive rides. Lorenzo was also looking very promising with his third place finish. He is looking strong agian, after a his first season in GP, last year was plagued with several serious injuries. Yuki Takahasi (pictured below), another rookie, earned 1 GP world championship point finishing 15th.
Other Veteran in this race had varied results. Caprirossi actually got a great start and mainted second place for several laps. His race ended early, however, after a walk-away low-side tumble. Edwards finished just off the podium in 4th. Returning veteran, and nemesis of Rossi, Sete Gibernau, had an unimpressive performance finishing 13th. Here is a link to the full results.
The next race is slated for April 26th at Motegi Japan.