We are living an era of domination, motorcycle style, where this means managed wins just a few seconds in front of the pack, but with a lasting impression that the winner went just fast enough to win.

At the Assen round for MotoGP, Yamaha lead rider Jorge Lorenzo took off from pole position and never let anyone threaten him over the full race, ending up six seconds ahead of new “second-place specialist” Dani Pedrosa aboard the lead Honda. Casey Stoner (Ducati) grabbed third, just ahead of wonder-rookie Ben Spies aboard his Yamaha, in a race that was called boring by most observers.

Photo: Yamaha Racing

At the Assen round for MotoGP, Yamaha lead rider Jorge Lorenzo took off from pole position and never let anyone threaten him over the full race, ending up six seconds ahead of new “second-place specialist” Dani Pedrosa aboard the lead Honda. Casey Stoner (Ducati) grabbed third, just ahead of wonder-rookie Ben Spies aboard his Yamaha, in a race that was called boring by most observers.

Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi is reporting great progress in his recovery from his broken leg, and expects to be back on track in four to six weeks. The MotoGP show needs him!

MotoGP Assen, Netherlands - Results
Pos Rider Make Time
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 41:18.629
2 Dani Pedrosa Honda -2.935 seconds
3 Casey Stoner Ducati -7.022
4 Ben Spies Yamaha -13.265
5 Andrea Dovizioso Honda -15.323
6 Randy De Puniet Honda -15.772
7 Nicky Hayden Ducati -25.867
8 Colin Edwards Yamaha -28.991
9 Marco Somoncelli Honda -35.658


MotoGP Rider Standings (after 6 of 18 races):
Pos Rider Points
1 Lorenzo 140
2 Pedrosa 93
3 Dovizioso 89
4/5 Rossi
Hayden 61
6 De Puniet 56
7 Stoner 51
8 Spies 49
9 Simoncelli 39
10 Edwards 34

World Superbike
In SBK, Max Biaggi (Aprilia) stole a win in the first race held yesterday at Misano, just ahead of veteran Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Troy Corser (BMW), who had started from pole, a first for the BMW S1000RR machine.

Biaggi also took the second race, an easier win in front of Leon Haslam (Suzuki) and Michel Fabrizio on his official Ducati.