MotoGP news
Rossi satisfied after 'different' race
05 July 2009Valentino Rossi was pleased after Sunday's American Grand Prix despite being beaten to the race win by Dani Pedrosa at Laguna Seca. By finishing second, reigning Champion Rossi has stretched his championship lead to nine and sixteen points from team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner respectively.
|
|
From second on the starting grid, Italian Rossi effectively had lost no places by the end of the race as Lorenzo and Pedrosa suffered contrasting starts. "The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren't at one hundred percent today," six-time Champion Rossi explained. "I didn't expect Dani to be so fast but he was very strong and there wasn't much I could do to go with him!"
 |
| Rossi held off hard-charging Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo |
With a recovering team-mate having zoomed through from eighth to third during the race, Rossi's concentration was put more to the test. "The last ten laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me!" continued Rossi, who eventually pulled away from Lorenzo when the Spaniard ran wide.
Pushing Pedrosa until the final corner of the American Grand Prix, the Yamaha crossed the finish line just three tenths of a second behind. "I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk," Valentino added. "Second is good because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the settings and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with twenty points."
more news
- 24 Nov.
- 20 Nov.
- 18 Nov.
- 17 Nov.
- 13 Nov.
- 11 Nov.
- 10 Nov.
- 09 Nov.
- 08 Nov.
- 07 Nov.
- 06 Nov.
- 05 Nov.
- 04 Nov.
- 03 Nov.
more news
Test Schedule
| 11 Nov. | 
Valencia |
 |
| 10 Nov. |
Valencia |
|
| 09 Nov. |
Valencia |
|
| full overview | ||
|---|---|---|