Casey Stoner stormed from behind to capture his fifth victory of the 2011 MotoGP season on Sunday and give him a 20 point championship lead heading into the series’ summer break. Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, who had recovered from a nasty highside during Saturday morning’s practice session to very convincingly qualify on pole, led most of the race at Laguna Seca while being followed closely by fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa and behind him, Stoner.
The Australian worked hard to keep up with the Spaniards during the first half of the race, but once his fuel load dropped he went on the attack, first dispatching Pedrosa at the circuit’s famous Corkscrew turn on lap 18 of 32 and then passing Lorenzo around the outside of turn one, nine laps later. Lorenzo, still sore from his frightening get-off the day before, couldn’t match Stoner’s pace and settled for second, while Pedrosa held third. Ben Spies was the top American rider at the U.S. event, finishing a distant fourth, with Andrea Dovizioso finishing close on the Texan’s heels to round out the top five.
The next round takes place at Brno in the Czech Republic on August 14, where American John Hopkins will be riding for the second time this season as a wildcard entry with Rizla Suzuki.
2011 Laguna Seca MotoGP Results
1. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team 43’52.145
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing +5.634
3. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team +9.467
4. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing +20.562
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team +20.885
6. Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team +30.351
7. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team +31.031
8. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +45.502
9. Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP +51.549
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini +1’08.850
11. Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing +1’09.132
12. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team 1 Lap
13. Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP 1 Lap
Not Classified
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 19 Laps
23 Ben BOSTROM USA LCR Honda MotoGP 24 Laps
58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 26 Laps
35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 29 Laps
2011 MotoGP Championship Standings
1 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 193
2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 173
3 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 143
4 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 110
5 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Team 108
6 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 98
7 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team 94
8 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 67
9 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini 63
10 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 60
11 Héctor Barberá Mapfre Aspar Team 56
12 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 46
13 Álvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 39
14 Toni Elías LCR Honda MotoGP 38
15 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 34
16 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Team 26
17 Randy de Puniet Pramac Racing Team 15
18 John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 6
19 Kousuke Akiyoshi San Carlo Honda Gresini 3
