DANI PEDROSA PRODUCED a comfortable win at the Japanese MotoGP to close the gap on championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to 28 points.
Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa registered his fifth win of the season at Motegi on Sunday as he aims to win the MotoGP championship for the first time after several seasons marred by injury.
Pedrosa and Lorenzo almost collided at the opening corner as several crashes occurred around them, but the Yamaha rider held his position at the front of the pack after starting from pole.
Pedrosa, though, gradually reeled him in and with 13 laps remaining overtook his fellow Spaniard before holding on for a convincing win to shrink Lorenzo’s lead at the top of the championship standings.
However, with just three rounds remaining this season, 2010 champion Lorenzo can afford to finish third in each of those races and still take the title, even if Pedrosa wins all of them.
Pedrosa’s team-mate, Australian 2011 champion Casey Stoner, made a successful return from a serious ankle injury by finishing in fifth position behind San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista and Monster Yamaha Tech 3′s Andrea Dovizioso.
Bautista and Britain’s Cal Crutchlow engaged in a thrilling battle for a spot on the podium over the final six laps as both riders swapped positions and almost collided in the process.
But Bautista ultimately took third as Crutchlow heartbreakingly ran out of fuel on the final lap and was forced to retire.
