Dani Pedrosa Wins Last Race of Season

Texan Ben Spies started from ninth place on the race grid for Sunday’s Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana on the pavement of Ricardo Tormo Circuit near Valencia, Spain. Racing for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team in his first MotoGP Premier Class race Ben did an excellent job with a seventh place finish, just ahead of Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso. His seventh place finish was something he raced for near the end of the race and he obviously wanted to beat Dovizioso and he did. His placing did knock Dovizioso back to eighth place and in combination with Colin Edwards fourth place finish, means Edwards jumps ahead of Dovizioso into fifth place in the final standings.

Dani Pedrosa was in front from the opening moments until he crossed the finish line

Ben Spies looked great on the track in his first MotoGP and never out of place at any time during the competition. He’ll have three days to enjoy this with his future team, with a smile on his face, before jumping to his step.

Casey Stoner was left wondering what 2009 could have been after a spill on his warm-up lap for the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana left him unable to take advantage of his position on the pole of the race grid. This is a tough end to the 2009 season for a racer that spent time on the side lines due to fatigue, only to return with a vengeance to score a second place finish and two victories in his last three starts. He came into the race looking to win three in a row and ring the bell for the beginning of the 2010 campaign with a bang and momentum. Instead, a problem with the tire temperature on his Desmosedici GP9 resulted in him flying from the bike and left him unable to continue.

Dani Pedrosa on the other hand rode to victory for Repsol Honda in front of a packed house of his hometown fans at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit. Pedrosa thanked the crowds after the race for helping him win and showing up to support him. This win in the 17^th and final Grand Prix of the 2009 MotoGP season leaves Pedrosa in third place in the final standings and looking forward to next year. Pedrosa obviously took advantage of Stoner’s fall and inability to start to take control from his grid position and never look back. He was in the lead from the start to finish and was never threatened by Jorge or Valentino. Jorge and Valentino had less to race for in this one, but that will change when they start the 2010 MotoGP season.

“Image: Zuma Press”