Pedrosa powers home from pole to win at Indianapolis

Dani Pedrosa completed a dominant weekend on the Repsol Honda RC213V by scoring his second win of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to edge closer to rival Jorge Lorenzo in the MotoGP championship standings.
 
Starting from pole position on the combination of the harder slick options front and rear, Pedrosa lost out in the early stages of the race before working his way to the front where he established a fast pace – setting a new record fastest lap of 1’39.088 along the way - that would ultimately see him finish the race 10.823 seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Yamaha Factory Racing star Lorenzo scored a valuable twenty points for his championship bid by taking second place ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Andrea Dovizioso, who crossed the line in third place for the fifth time this season. Avintia Blusens rider Yonny Hernandez rode an impressive race to be the first CRT rider across the finish line in ninth place, the result catapulting the Columbian four places up the championship table.
 
Track temperatures were slightly lower for the race compared to yesterday’s qualifying session, with a peak of 48°C towards the end of the race but generally track conditions were very similar to those experienced in the other afternoon sessions. The abrasive tarmac of the Indianapolis circuit resulted in every rider opting for the harder front slick option, while rear tyre choice was split between the harder rear slick for the works bikes and softer rear slicks for the CRT bikes with a couple of exceptions; Jorge Lorenzo and Pramac Racing’s Toni Elias on works bikes opted for the softer rear slick, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards and Attack Performance’s Steve Rapp were the two CRT riders that selected the harder rear slick for the race.
 
Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
 “Though conditions were slightly cooler today, it was still quite warm and today’s race proved to be a real challenge for the riders, motorcycles and tyres, so congratulations to Dani and Repsol Honda for their win today and their impressive showing over the whole race weekend. Casey’s performance to finish in fourth place with his injured ankle was also very impressive and I would like to extend my best wishes to Casey, Hector and Nicky and I hope they make swift and full recoveries from their injuries. Our team now heads to Brno where we will support both the Czech Republic Grand Prix as well as the post-race test on Monday.”
 
Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
 “Weather and track conditions for today’s race were similar to yesterday and so tyre choice was largely reflected by what we saw in yesterday’s race simulations. Almost every rider on the more powerful works machines selected the harder rear slick, while the majority of the CRT bikes selected the softer rear slick for its slight advantage in edge grip. Overall our tyre allocation for this race worked well at a circuit that is quite punishing on tyres, with the special construction rear tyres we supplied performing well in the extreme conditions, while our revised compound selection provided riders with good options for the race with a new pole position record and race lap record being set, while the race time was thirteen seconds faster than last year. This was a positive outcome at a circuit that is one of the most gruelling en­vironments for race tyres.”
 
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda – Race winner
 
“It’s been a good weekend for me and for the race the bike was working well though we were sliding all the way around the track, although the bike did have a good feeling. I had good pace today, but it was a tough race and I had to work hard to keep my concentration, but thanks to my team and everyone around me for helping me get this win.”