Dani Pedrosa wins eventful Indianapolis MotoGP race

Dani Pedrosa has recorded a dominant victory at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix in an eventful race.

The Repsol Honda Team rider scored his second win for the year, racing him back into title contention.

Pedrosa got the holeshot, but it was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies who led the opening laps after overtaking the Spaniard early on.

Pedrosa and Spies provided an entertaining battle at the front in the early stages, but Spies’ challenge ended on lap 22 when his engine blew up.

The only threat for Pedrosa came with 12 laps to go when he endured a big wobble. He managed to stop himself running onto the grass and soon rediscovered his rhythm to race on to a big win.

Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, the only prototype rider to opt for the soft option rear tyre, had a less than ideal start, but was soon up into third, forcing his way past Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso.

Third became second when Spies dropped out, and he remained in that position until the end. The result retains his title lead, but the lead is now just 18 points ahead of Pedrosa.

Dovizioso took third having run behind Honda’s injured star Casey Stoner for much of the race. Stoner, riding with a pain killing injection due to his fractured right ankle with torn ligaments, was in remarkable form, considering his injuries, but was no match for his race-winning team-mate.

Stoner and Dovizioso swapped positions on a number of occasions, with Stoner eventually losing his podium place with a handful of laps remaining.

Alvaro Bautista came in fifth, ahead of Stefan Bradl, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi and Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham.

The top CRT rider was Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez in ninth, ahead of Randy de Puniet’s team-mate Aleix Espargaró.

Results, Indianapolis MotoGP

World standings

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