 Australian Casey Stoner continued his domination of the 2011 MotoGP motorcycle racing championship with yet another first place finish Stoner’s come-from-behind victory in California over defending champ Jorge Lorenzo catapults him over Lorenzo in the overall standings for 2011 Monterey, CA, July 24th—Australian Casey Stoner continued his domination of the 2011 MotoGP motorcycle racing championship with yet another first place finish, this time at the Mazda Laguna Seca racetrack in California. It was Stoner’s fifth first place finish in the first 10 races in the 18-event tour. Incredibly, Stoner, who rides for the Repsol Honda Team, has reached the podium—placing first, second or third—in nine races out of ten so far this season. With this victory, Stoner passed the 2010 champion, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo by more than 20 points and reached the top of the overall standings with 193 points. Lorenzo, who rides for the Yamaha Factory Team is in second with 173 points. Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso is in third with 143 points and Spaniard Dani Pedrosa is in fourth with 110 points. On a clear day with a dry track and more than 50,000 fans on hand, Lorenzo, who had won the pole position, took the lead followed by Stoner and Pedrosa: these three seemingly in a race of their own with all the others far behind. Stoner waited patiently and in lap 26 of the 32 lap race, he made his move, passed Lorenzo and held the lead, finishing in a total time of 43:52.145, an average speed of 158 km/hour (98.18 mph). Lorenzo finished 5.634 seconds behind averaging 157.7 km/hour (97.99 mph) with Pedrosa nearly 4 seconds behind him averaging 157.4 km/hr (97.81 mph). American Ben Spies, riding for Yamaha Factory, was fourth 20.512 seconds off the pace. With the tour now past its halfway point, only 8 of 18 contests remain, Stoner is the odds on favorite because of his amazing consistency thus far. But in MotoGP, where the speeds on straight-aways exceeds 200 mph, and the differences are measured in 1000ths of seconds, no one is safely in the lead. Dani Pedrosa is still in fourth place after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury.  Winner, Casey Stoner at post race conference. (Photo Robert HSU) At a press briefing following the race, a reporter asked Stoner if his commanding lead makes him confident he’ll be the 2011 champion. Stoner responded, “Although, I have the lead with 20 points, the title could go to anyone. Anything could happen with 8 races left to go. We have a lot of work to do to go on and win each race.” Lorenzo was asked what strategy he’d use to close the gap with Stoner; would he use his own determination or rely on his team, and he said, “We will make every effort to succeed. There is much work to do. The title could go to anyone even with 8 races left in the season. We will try very hard.” When asked why he continues to race after his shoulder injury forced him out of three events and the top ranks of the overall standings, Dani Pedrosa said, “I am getting stronger now and I will race and do my best for the last 8 races. I love to race and will continue as long as I can.”  The passion & beauty of motorcycle racing is not just on the tract. (Photo Robert HSU) That kind of passion and commitment is what defines the sport, its competitors and the excitement of the fans. And it will drive them again in the tour’s 11th event taking place in the Czech Republic on August 7th.
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