Valentino Rossi

Casey Stoner was the winner at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday, however Valentino Rossi who placed third lay the basis of the story this weekend.

 

Stoner’s second consecutive victory was impressive, along his lengthy 14.666s margin, but it was the Doctor’s placing that claimed his ninth world title (seventh in the premier class) as he defended last seasons’s crown, Dani Pedrosa arrived in second place with his 78th stage appearance over all classes.

 

The event began on a wet circuit after a delay due to rain, there was drama from the beginning. An issue during the sighting lap with his engine for Jorge Lorenzo meant that he was unable to join the starting grid in time, resulting in relegation from second to the back.

 

It made no difference to the Spaniard as he raced up to pass Rossi, who fell to tenth after a sluggish beginning from pole position. Lorenzo eventually placed in fourth position.

 

Randy de Puniet had an early nasty high-side which luckily resulted in no injury for the Frenchman, as Stoner gained a four second lead at the front over Pedrosa after only two laps.

 

Nicky Hayden was dogged in his efforts to hold off Lorenzo in fifth spot, but the Fiat Yamaha racer was able to pass the Ducati Marlboro competitor before Rossi overtook both to move into fourth position after eight laps.

 

Shortly after, Stoner’s lead at the front had increased to a massive 15 seconds, however there was no such deficit between Pedrosa in third and his Repsol Honda colleague Andrea Dovizioso, who challenged for second place. Disaster arrived for the Italian as on lap 14 he gave way to the wet conditions and slid off the track, allowing Rossi to move up to third and take on Pedrosa.

 

The Spaniard was out of Rossi’s grasp for the rest of the event, third was one place better than he needed to claim the crown, and a flamboyant celebration ensued involving a chicken clad in the Italian’s blue and yellow colours.

 

Aleix Espargaró impressed with an eleventh position in his third MotoGP event for Pramac, whilst Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland both found the conditions difficult, finishing 13th and 15th respectively.

 

After Lorenzo claimed fourth spot, he gave his congratulations to Rossi, with Hayden equalling his second best result of the year in fifth. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) finished the top ten.