MOTEGI: Spain’s Dani Pedrosa came from behind to grab his first win of the season in stunning fashion at the Japanese MotoGP on Sunday as runner-up Valentino Rossi extended his lead in the championship standings with a second-place finish.

Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa, who almost quit the sport earlier this year because of an arm problem that needed surgery, grabbed the lead seven laps from the end of a wet race at the Twin Ring circuit for his 50th career victory.

He clocked 46 minutes 50.767 seconds, 8.573 seconds ahead of Rossi on Yamaha and 12.127seconds in front of Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who finished third after leading for most of the race until dropping back when having tyre problems.

With three races left, Rossi now has 283 points for an 18-point lead over Lorenzo. Defending world champion Marc Marquez is a distant third with 197 points.

Marquez was fourth on a Repsol Honda followed in fifth by Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso. The next race will be held at Phillip Island, Australia, on October 18.

Published in Dawn, October 12th , 2015

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