Dani Pedrosa
SACHSENRING, Germany — Dani Pedrosa of Spain held off compatriot and world championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to win a shortened German GP on Sunday.Pole-sitter Lorenzo’s three-race winning streak ended as he was passed by Pedrosa, who crossed for victory in 28 minutes, 50.476 seconds at the Sachsenring circuit to cut Lorenzo’s lead in the MotoGP standings to 47 points after eight races.
World champion Valentino Rossi, competing in his first race since returning to action after six weeks out with a broken leg, finished fourth behind Casey Stoner of Australia.
The race was red-flagged on lap nine after a crash involving Randy de Puniet also took down Alvaro Bautista and Aleix Espargaro. The race then was shortened to 21 laps.
De Puniet could not continue, having suffered fractures to his left tibia and fibula in the crash.
The race lead changed hands a number of times before Pedrosa finally got in front and pulled clear of his countryman late on, finishing 3.555 seconds ahead of the championship leader.
Rossi was overtaken by Stoner in the final lap, denying the Italian a third-place finish to make his comeback. Rossi jumped to sixth in the standings with 74 points
Rossi jumped to sixth in the MotoGP standings with 74 points. Lorenzo is on 185, with Pedrosa on 138 and Andrea Dovizioso in third on 102.
Toni Elias of Spain won the 250cc category, followed by Italian riders Andrea Iannone and Roberto Rolfo. It was the third win of the season for Elias, who extended his world championship lead to 42 points over Thomas Luthi, who did not race.
In the 125cc category, 17-year-old Spaniard Marc Marquez claimed his fifth straight victory, finishing ahead of Tomoyoshi Koyama and Sandro Cortese. Pol Espargaro crashed three laps from the end to fall 26 points behind Marquez in the overall standings.