2010 MotoGP Highlights

The five-month wait for the start of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship came to an end in April at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, and an eventful opening race at Losail did not let fans down. An exciting start saw Dani Pedrosa shoot up from seventh on the grid to lead the field into Turn One, and as the opening laps unfolded the Spaniard, Valentino Rossi, poleman Casey Stoner and his team-mate Nicky Hayden commenced a battle at the front. Drama unfolded as Stoner lost the front of his bike on the sixth lap when in the lead, dramatically ending his race after being the huge favourite to take Qatari victory for the fourth successive year. Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso then battled at the front for a while before Rossi shot off and Dovizioso found himself in an intense fight with Nicky Hayden second and third position respectively, before Lorenzo got in the mix surpassing the two to take second spot, behind Rossi. Dovizioso claimed third in a sprint for the line as he held off Hayden by 0.011s. In Moto2, Shoya Tomizawa made history as the first ever winner of the new category, after frontrunners Alex de Angelis and Stefan Bradl collided and crashed out and Julián Simón retired. In 125cc Nico Terol rode the perfect race to start his challenge for the title with a victory, emerging victorious from a group of seven riders battling a close fight for much of the race.

The first European race at the Jerez circuit saw close racing, daring overtakes, and a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat battle for Spanish supremacy. Pole holder Dani Pedrosa had a second-and-a-half lead ahead of Rossi at the midway point of the race, with Lorenzo a further two seconds back, but the Spaniard soon overtook Rossi before turning his focus to hunting down Pedrosa, from where a superb duel developed between the two Spaniards. With two laps to go Lorenzo caught up with the factory Honda rider and made his move to pass, but Pedrosa held his line and the two almost touched as the excitement continued to increase. And so it came down to the last lap and as Pedrosa pushed it wide at the Dry Sack corner Lorenzo swept through to assume the lead, which he held to ensure he received his reward for a fantastic ride. Crossing the line the Fiat Yamaha rider was 0.543s ahead of Pedrosa, with Rossi placing third to complete the podium. In Moto2 Toni Elías won a condensed, action-packed 17-lap contest ahead of Shoya Tomizawa and Thomas Lüthi after the original race was red flagged due to a big crash on the opening lap. In 125cc Pol Espargaró sent the home fans into celebratory jubilations as he led an all-Spanish 125cc podium at Jerez, after pole position holder and strong favourite Marc Márquez crashed out.

This programme is 52 minutes long and includes race highlights, news, reports, interviews and the best images from the Grand Prix.

The big news from Mugello was all about a rider who did not even make the start of the race. Dani Pedrosa rode a start-to-finish victory at Mugello taking his maiden win of 2010, never looking like relinquishing the lead he held from the opening lap and crossed the finish line 4.014s clear of the rest of the field. Jorge Lorenzo took second place to extend his lead at the top of the standings, ahead of third-placed Andrea Dovizioso who gave the home crowd a podium to cheer after Valentino Rossi was ruled out of the race following a crash in practice. Dovizioso and Ben Spies had rapid starts from the second row and the Italian was up to third before the end of the opening lap as the pair pushed through on Casey Stoner. The final lap delivered a great display in the fight for fourth as Stoner went through on both Melandri and De Puniet to finish ahead of the pair, whilst up front Pedrosa crossed the line first with Lorenzo and Dovizioso following. Andrea Iannone won the Moto2 race by a margin of 2.764s on Sunday, delighting the home crowd as the battle for positions two to six provided a riveting contest. Marc Márquez took his first World Championship win in a tight 125cc race that went all the way to the wire, leading an all-Spanish podium completed by Nico Terol and Pol Espargaró.

A great last lap battle for the third spot saw a MotoGP rookie take his first premier class podium. Jorge Lorenzo flew off from his pole position wasting little time in finding a rapid rhythm and by lap seven his advantage at the head of the race was a substantial one at over five seconds. Meanwhile Dovizioso and De Puniet ignited an intense contest for second spot, with Hayden hot on their tails. Rookie Ben Spies was also making progress as he moved through to enter the top five and latched onto the chase for a podium spot. Soon Dovizioso, De Puniet and Hayden were separated by less than half a second as they continued their tactical tussle for the final two podium spots – Spies keeping a tag on as well. With three laps to go Hayden and Spies both managed to pass De Puniet, and the final lap provided a fitting climax as Spies got through on Hayden at Farm Curve to take third spot, a position he held to the finish whilst ahead Lorenzo crossed the line first, ahead of Dovizioso. In Moto2 there was great drama on the final lap as Tom Lüthi ran wide and Jules Cluzel went through on him to take his first World Championship win. In 125cc Marc Marquez made it back-to-back victories as he won a fiercely contested fight for first place with Pol Espargaró.

The 80th anniversary of the Dutch TT was marked with soild race from the podium placed riders, while behind them a thrilling battle ensued. Ben Spies and Dani Pedrosa made good starts, both rising four places from their grid positions to slot into second and third place, as Lorenzo led the field into Turn 1 from pole position. Lorenzo started to open up a very early lead and for the first couple of laps it looked like the Spaniard would race clear but Pedrosa and Stoner both passed Spies on lap three and tried to keep the leader in check, but to no avail. Behind them a battle ensued between Spies, Dovizioso and De Puniet as the trio remained closely grouped, De Puniet and Dovizioso fighting intensely to the last lap. Lorenzo eventually crossed the line 2.935s ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner taking his first podium of the season in third. Spies finished fourth in another impressive display from the rookie, with Dovizioso edging out De Puniet for fifth with another overtake on the chicane just before the finish line. In Moto2, Andrea Iannone rode a lonely race at the front, while behind him Tom Lüthi and Ratthaprak Wilairot had a fantastic duel for third. In 125cc Marc Marquez took victory in a battle with Nico Terol after the latter had troubles getting past a back marker.