MotoGP: surprises at every turn
Casey Stoner is usually an over-performer. This time he simply overcooked it. Even so, he wasn't disgraced.
Valentino Rossi's Spanish Grand Prix was his best result for a very long time - in fact, he's not been in the top three since last year's Australian GP. Maybe his freshly shaven head made a difference, or perhaps it was just that the power / tyre / heat combination at last suited his Yamaha.
Dani Pedrosa won and took the lead in the championship. And he deserved it: he led from the off and built, lap by lap, tenth by tenth, an unassailable lead despite Rossi's best efforts. Pedrosa clearly did not push for the last half of the race, able to stay a comfortable 3 seconds or thereabouts clear of the pack by the half-way mark.
The ride of the day - for all the wrong reasons - was by Casey Stoner who made the same uncharacteristic mistake twice - and outbraked himself to run off the track. The first time he did it, he went from third to last. The second time, he didn't lose a place but he did lose the group he was racing and therefore the chance to take more positions. He eventually finished 11th. Stoner may be showing signs of nerves at last - he had a heavy crash in winter testing at the point where he ran off (but did not fall) during the race.
Hayden, who is usually little more than a mobile chicane or a crash waiting to happen, displayed the sort of form that got him a MotoGP contract in the first place. He was fast, consistent and firm under pressure. And he did not do any of the kamikaze moves that usually end up with him banging his fist on the floor.
But the day belonged to Jorge Lorenzo, for stylish and on-the-limit riding: going into corners, he sat forward and lifted the back wheel under braking; in the corners, he leaned to impossible angles putting not just a knee down but almost the entire side fairing of the bike; coming out of corners, he sat back and lifted the front wheel, directing the bike with his body weight in the absence of any actual steering.
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