MotoGP Sepang

When my alarm went off this morning I got up more excited than ever for the MotoGP race at Sepang. Title implications and growing rivalries between leading rider's made this race unmissable. I was not disapointed.

I could feel the tension on the track as the lights were on red, so much to gain and so much to lose.

Valentino Rossi powered off the starting line towards turn 1 with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in front.

Dani went about his business and proceeded to show his domination over the other riders around the Sepang circuit comfortably winning the race from title contender Jorge Lorenzo. This is the Dani Pedrosa of five years ago. It is great to see him back to his best, fit and healthy, and battling with the world's best again. In these three flyaway races Dani has won two. His first of the season at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit and his second today.

Dani Pedrosa is back on top

The battle of the GOAT

Jorge Lorenzo's aim for this race was to decrease championship leader Rossi's points advantage over him...which he succeeded in doing. Lorenzo finished in second position. At the beginning of the race it seemed it may not be so easy for him as he did battle with the Ducati's of Iannone and Dovizioso but he overtook both with ease and powered off into second position chasing down his Spanish compatriot Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo gained some ground on Pedrosa but never looked like he was going to trouble him for the race win. Maybe Lorenzo had already been told by his crew what had unfolded behind him and was playing it safe and happy to come out with twenty points!

The battle for third position is one that will be talked about for years to come. It was so crazy I wrote a separate post about that! After much close wheel to wheel action, aggressive racing and mind games Valentino Rossi came out on top over Marc Marquez to gain sixteen points, cutting his championship lead over Lorenzo down to four points. Valencia is going to be a very interesting race to say the least!

Elsewhere, Bradley Smith finished in fourth position. This is an excellent result for him. Throughout the weekend Bradley seemed to be struggling but he showed his mettle when the lights went green today. To me Bradley is able to take it up a notch on race day. He may struggle through practice and qualifying at times but he is a n out and out racer come Sunday. Well done Brad! Cal Crutchlow finished in a respectable fifth position also.

The rookie Vinales proved his worth with a great eight position, narrowly losing out to his Suzuki team mate Aleix Espargaro. Both of these men battled throughout the race and it was brilliant to watch. I expect Vinales will really show us what he is capable of next season