Jorge Lorenzo’s 38 point leadership was reduced to 33 after today’s win by title rival Dani Pedrosa, but the Yamaha rider knows perfectly well that he just has to stay out of trouble for the next fourraces and finish second or even third in a pair of races (excluding his DNF at Assen caused by Alvaro Bautista, his lowest finishing position so far has always second and he’s accomplished that seven times this season along with his six race wins) to secure the 2012 championship title.
A battling Pedrosa poured the pressure on and had a relentless pace after shadowing and the passing Lorenzo on the fifth lap, but a big moment in lap 9, convinced the Mallorcan to desist in chasing him and settle for 20 points.
I was thinking to try for the win at the beginning of the race and if that was not possible then second place was the best possible result for the Championship.
Dani had a better pace in the end, I was stronger at the start then little by little I was a bit slower, the tyres were slipping a lot and I couldn’t follow him.
I nearly crashed in one corner and decided then to stay in second place and wait for the end of the race.
”There were a lot of high hopes that Ben Spies would finally end his podium drought this weekend at Aragon, considering his fourth place on the starting grid and above all his impressive race pace and the fact that he didn’t have any crashes, instead the American ended up being kicked by both Yamaha satellite riders, who outraced him in the final five laps and leaving him his third fifth place finish of the year.
“I struggled a bit with the front tyre today at the beginning and then in the middle of the race.
I tried to keep Dovi and Cal at bay as long as I could.
Once they passed me I tried to hold onto the back of them in case they made a mistake.
The bike was working well we just didn’t have it working as exactly as we needed to stay with them.
We did our best they were just too quick in the end,” said Ben Spies.