Honda’s Dani Pedrosa continued his mid-season win streak, controlling the race from pole position. Fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) kept in close attendance, waiting for an error from Pedrosa that never came. Pedrosa’s win allowed him to cut 5 points off Lorenzo’s lead in the World Championship rider standings, with 6 rounds to go.

Lorenzo is clearly managing his Championship lead, letting Pedrosa force his way ahead. This strategy will work, unless of course Lorenzo falls and loses a bigger chunk of points. You can thus expect the Yamaha rider to push a little harder in one of the coming races to try and force a mistake from Pedrosa, and to make sure that he is reminded of his mental fragility under pressure while adding to his lead.

Valentino Rossi kept a beady eye on the proceedings, without interfering with the race and championship battles, and always ready to intervene and help team mate Lorenzo towards the championship. In the meantime, Vale is taking his time to fully recover from his broken legs and prepare for his switch to Ducati for 2011. Speaking of which, Ducati leader Casey Stoner went from second off the start to fifth at the end – a bad day for the All-Reds.

The young and promising Japanes rider, Shoya Tomizawa died as a result of injuries sustained in a Moto2 accident during the morning, the victim of a fall and then being hit by two riders right behind him, when even the best equipment and safety measure cannot help.

MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix - Results
Pos Rider Team Time/Gap
1. Dani Pedrosa Honda 44m 22.059s
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha + 1.900
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha + 3.183
4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda + 6.454
5. Casey Stoner Ducati + 18.479
6. Ben Spies Yamaha + 28.385
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha + 34.934
8. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki + 38.157
9. Hector Barbera Ducati + 40.943
10. Marco Melandri Honda + 42.377
11. Etc….

MotoGP Standings – After 12 of 18 rounds
Pos. Rider Points
1. Jorge Lorenzo 271
2. Dani Pedrosa 208
3. Andrea Dovizioso 139
4. Casey Stoner 130
-. Valentino Rossi 130