Dani Pedrosa took his maiden victory of the 2012 season at the Grand Prix of Germany in a dramatic race which saw team mate Casey Stoner crash out just two turns from the checkered flag whilst running in second position.
I tried to brake hard, close all the doors and to take the win - Pedrosa
The Repsol Honda riders set an incredible pace from the beginning that no one else could match and they arrived at the final lap neck and neck, almost fifteen seconds ahead of Lorenzo in third position. Riding on the limit, Dani and Casey were matching times in a fantastic battle and on this occasion Dani emerged victorious, celebrating his third victory in a row (fourth in MotoGP and fifth in all classes) at Sachsenring.
With this win, Dani moves up to second in the Championship standings with 146 points and Casey, who today had his first crash due to his own mistake after 25 starts with Repsol Honda, is now third with 140.
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DANI PEDROSA: 1st
World Championship Position: 2nd with 146 points
"I'm really very happy with this win. We finally made it happen and it's great not only for me, but also for my team that never gave up, for my family and fans that have been pushing and supporting me all this time when we were taking second and third places, but missing out on the victory. The podiums we had this season were very important, but I really wanted to give a victory to my team and it arrived today at a circuit that I always enjoy. It's been a really hard day though. Casey had a superb race also and put a lot of pressure on me at the end, but I knew that I had the pace and that we both would need to fight for the victory until the last turn. I tried to brake hard, close all the doors and to take the win. Finally it is a great feeling and sure will give us a lot of motivation for the next races. It's also good for the Championship, but we will not relax; victory this season has not been easy for any of us, so we have to keep pushing as we do".
CASEY STONER: DNF
World Championship Position: 3rd with 140 points
"I'm pretty disappointed, I had planned to go for my 'win or bin' effort in the last corner not that one! I was happy on the bike and felt we had a few tenths a lap over Dani and confident I could pull him back in. On the final lap I made a mistake going into the first turn and I had to push a little more than I wanted through some of the sections but I got on to Dani exactly where I wanted and planned to make my overtake in the last corner, if I didn't have an opportunity earlier in the lap. I felt confident but as soon as I tried to turn in a little more, the front went. I was already off the brakes and not in the hard braking area, as soon as I eased of the brakes I guess the weight came off the front and down I went. I'm frustrated I wasn't allowed to get up and try and score some points, the bike was perfect, but the marshals pushed me away. It's our first crash in a race, down to our own mistake, for the first time in a long time so I'm disappointed for sure, but we knew we had the pace. If we can continue this momentum for the rest of the season then we shouldn't be so worried for the Championship".
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Race Result - Round 8
1 Dani Pedrosa 41'28.396 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo +14.996 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
3 Andrea Dovizioso +20.669 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Ben Spies +20.740 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
5 Stefan Bradl +27.893 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
6 Valentino Rossi +28.050 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Alvaro Bautista +28.246 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
8 Cal Crutchlow +28.447 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Hector Barbera +29.053 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
10 Nicky Hayden +29.226 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
11 Randy De Puniet +53.176 FRA ART Aspar Team MotoGP
12 Colin Edwards +58.204 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
13 Aleix Espargaro +1'04.654 ESP ART Aspar Team MotoGP
14 Yonny Hernandez +1'13.543 COL BQR-FTR BQR
15 James Ellison +1'30.318 GBR ART Paul Bird Racing
16 Franco Battaini +1 lap ITA DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
17 Danilo Petrucci +1 lap ITA IODA Ioda Racing Project
18 Ivan Silva +1 lap SPA BQR-FTR BQR
19 Casey Stoner DNF AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
20 Mattia Pasini DNF ITA ART Speed Master
21 Michelle Pirro DNF ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
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