MotoGP Sachsenring, Germany

Round 9 of the MotoGP Championship at Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland seemed like déjà vu of Barcelona, with Rossi and Lorenzo battling for first in the last laps of the race.

Tyler Hopper

AllAboutBikes Staff-Writer

In the difficult, squally conditions, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner filled the front line. The launch of the race saw Rossi take and early lead with Dani Pedrosa, Randy De Puniet, and Stoner close behind.

With still cold tires, on one of the few right-handers of the circuit, De Puniet crashed as he went up and over a slight right on one of the fastest corners on the circuit. Stoner nearly misses him as he goes down and slides off the track into the gravel.

Pedrosa chases Rossi’s tail and Nicky Hayden makes a move on Loris Capirosi, making his way around him on the outside. Into the start finish straight the front five breaks away and Andrea Dovizioso is the fastest man on the circuit so far in round 9 with only two laps down.

Dovizioso makes a move on the inside as Lorenzo tries to hold on to outside line, but Dovizioso takes the place from Jorge. Stoner moves to 3rd place, while Dovizioso receives pressure from Lorenzo as he tries to take back what was stolen from him moments earlier.

With 26 laps to go, Rossi tries to pull away from the pack as Stoner goes through Pedrosa into second. Stoner gets on the tail of Rossi on the second half of the track where he is strongest, looking for his chance to move into the leadership position.

With 24 laps to go, Stoner moves toward the inside of Rossi and takes him as they approach the start line. Coming up from fourth, Pedrosa begins to close in on Rossi and Lorenzo follows close behind. Rossi starts to slow down give Lorenzo and Pedrosa the opportunity to plan an overtaking, and Stoner gets the chance to pull away as they storm into the last half of the circuit.

Rossi sits on the tail of Stoner, he starts to take the outside but changes his mind. Into the starting line, with 18 to go, The Doctor still trails stoner, closing in and looking aggressive into the first two turns.

The sun begins to shine with 17 laps to go. Pedrosa starts to catch up with the pack. Rossi on the rear wheel of Stoner through turns 13 and 14 and Lorenzo moves up on Rossi. At around the half way point, in lap 15, Stoner pushes hard and Lorenzo and Rossi come up empty handed.

Pedrosa pushes hard and closes the gap, making it a 4 way battle for the podium. With 13 to go, Rossi takes the lead, and his fellow Yamaha rider follows him into second. Stoner and Pedrosa have to push even harder to make up for the dominance of the Yamaha machines. In turn 1, with 9 to go, Stoner is lagging behind number 1 and 2, the Yamahas lead the way, and Stoner begins to trail farther back, hope for his victory is diminishing.

Rossi pulls out an advantage on the front straight with 7 to go, Stoner and Pedrosa struggle to stay in the race. Lorenzo nearly makes it past Rossi on turn 12 in lap 24. Crossing the line with 6 to go, Lorenzo gets on the tail of Rossi and Pedrosa gets on the tail of Stoner. Two and two they race down the track, horizontally attacking the turns.

Lorenzo is showing signs of an overtaking, and side by side he and Rossi go into the first turn, Lorenzo leads. Pedrosa moves into third. The line up is Lorenzo, Rossi, Pedrosa, and Stoner. Rossi closes in on Lorenzo with three and a half laps to go, Rossi begins to make a move on Lorenzo, but falls back and rides his tail. On inside of turn one, Rossi sneaks past Lorenzo with two to go. Lorenzo only has two laps to take back the lead.

At the front, Rossi tries to pull away and take advantage of his lead; he doesn’t want to let Lorenzo get around him. Across the straight, Lorenzo goes around the outside, but Rossi takes shuts him down along the inside. With nearly half of a lap left, Lorenzo closes in, looking down across the inside of Rossi’s bike, but The Doctor defends his position. As they approach the finish line, Lorenzo accelerates, lining his front tire up with Rossi’s rear as they cross the line. But Lorenzo didn’t have enough room to get past Doctor Rossi. Finishing the podium in third, Pedrosa is followed by Stoner in fourth and Alex DeAngelis in fifth.