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Race report

Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa wins season finale in Valencia

Podium: winner Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, third place Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team

Podium: winner Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, third place Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team

Bridgestone Corporation

Pedrosa signs off 2012 with a win

The 2012 MotoGP World Championship came to an exciting climax today with a fantastic display from the Repsol Honda Team. Dani Pedrosa took victory in the Grand Prix Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana (his sixth at this track) and finishes the season runner-up to champion Jorge Lorenzo by just 18 points but with the most victories of the championship, with a total of seven.

Podium: winner Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, third place Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team
Podium: winner Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team, third place Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation

After the sighting lap, several riders chose to change to slick tyre bikes and start from the pit lane, including Pedrosa who lost his advantage of being on pole position.

With the asphalt drying up very quickly, Pedrosa managed to catch race leader Lorenzo within 12 laps, just before the Yamaha rider crashed out. Pedrosa took the lead with a huge advantage of 23 seconds and remained calm to control the pace until the end, crossing the finish line with gap of 37 seconds and securing Honda's 19th premier class Constructor's Title.

Dani Pedrosa

"After Márquez's race, I thought I should do something similar! But seriously, I'm really happy with this win, it was very difficult at the start to make the decision with tyres. I saw Jorge on slicks on the grid and I was pretty sure with my decision, but standing there the track was drying up very quickly and before the start I didn't know if it would be better to forget about the pole and start from the pits or go out on wets and stop after 4 or 5 laps. In the last corner of the sighting lap, the instinct told me to get in immediately. I started from the pit lane and I managed to be fast from the beginning, I caught Jorge and then I made a mistake and lost three seconds again, but one lap later he also made a mistake and crashed out. From this point another race began for me. It was tough to maintain concentration with such conditions and a big advantage, so I planned the second half of the race like a practice session, taking the corners, the lines, lap by lap. It's a great end of the season and I'd like to thank all the Repsol Honda Team!”

Repsol Honda Team

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