The 2009 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 24–26 July 2009 at Donington Park. It was to be the final motorcycle Grand Prix at Donington, with the race moving to Silverstone for the 2010 season.
MotoGP race report
This race was most notable for the wet-weather conditions the race took place in, Andrea Dovizioso's shock win and Colin Edwards' and Randy de Puniet's shock podiums.
After nine rounds, Valentino Rossi is narrowly leading the title hunt with 176 points. A close second is Jorge Lorenzo with 162 points and a bit further back in third is Casey Stoner with 148 points.
Indicating the end of an era, this was to be the final race at the famous Donington Park circuit as it would be the Silverstone Circuit that would host the MotoGP race from 2010 onwards.
Valentino Rossi took pole position on Saturday - the fourth of the season - with a time of 1:28.116. Second is Dani Pedrosa who is +0.095 seconds behind and third is Rossi's teammate Jorge Lorenzo who is +0.286 behind. The second row of the grid consists out of Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Colin Edwards in fourth, fifth and sixth place.
While the 250cc was a wet-dry race and it had stopped raining for a while, the rain started to fall again as soon as the pit lane was opened. The bikes are all going out on slicks on the sighting lap but many riders are uncertain given the now mixed conditions. Riders are also waiting for race control whether they will declare the race wet or dry. As the race is eventually declared 'wet', one rider who takes the gamble is Stoner, who has changed his tyres to full wets on both the front and the rear. Rossi chooses the Soft - Soft tyres, Pedrosa the Medium - Soft and Lorenzo also goes with the Soft - Soft combination. Stoner has the Rain - Rain combination instead.
All riders except Pedrosa get away without problems on the warm-up lap. The Spaniard needs help from his Repsol Honda team as his bike has stalled. Eventually, all the riders line up on their respective grid slots. As the lights go out, Rossi has a good start and maintains his lead heading into Redgate (Turn 1). His teammate Lorenzo swoops around the outside to dive into second position, Pedrosa fighting with Toni Elías though Redgate and Hollywood (Turn 2) for third place. Fifth is Dovizioso and sixth is Marco Melandri, who has gained one position from the start of the opening lap. The biggest loser is Stoner, who has lost five places and is now down in ninth position as it looks like his tyre gamble does not pay off for now. At the Craner Curves, Lorenzo takes a tighter line and passes Rossi for the lead, followed by a surprising Elías who not only manages to pass Pedrosa at the outside of Hollywood but also blasts past Rossi on the outside, outbraking him at the Old Hairpin (Turn 4). Entering Starkey's Bridge (Turn 5) and the Schwantz Curve (Turn 6), the duo at the front has now opened up a gap to Rossi already, though he manages to close it relatively quickly. Elías then dives down the inside of Lorenzo at McLean's (Turn 7), surprising the Spaniard and taking over at the front halfway into the first lap. Both Repsol Honda riders - Pedrosa and Dovizioso - then pass Rossi on the short straight before Coppice (Turn 8). 'The Doctor' has now been demoted from the lead of the race to fifth position in just half a lap. James Toseland makes a move at Starkey's Straight for sixth position as Pedrosa has a moment and runs wide upon entry of The Esses (Turn 9). This allows fourth place Dovizioso to try and take him around the outside but he rides upon a damp kerb and loses traction, not allowing him to make the move. At the Melbourne Hairpin Rossi lunges down the inside of Dovizioso and with Pedrosa avoiding the Italian, he passes both and moves up into third spot. Pedrosa then loses out to teammate Dovizioso as well, the Spaniard being demoted to fifth in just one turn. Behind him, Toseland also goes up the inside of Randy de Puniet, who has made progress from tenth on the grid, to overtake him for sixth position. At Goddards (Turn 11), Toseland goes up the inside of Pedrosa and takes fifth position from him, with Melandri doing likewise on de Puniet for seventh place.
On lap two, Pedrosa retakes fifth from Toseland at the Wheatcroft Straight. It now starts to rain at the start/finish straight, the conditions now really being mixed as another part of the circuit is still dry enough for slick tyres. At the Old Hairpin, Melandri goes up the inside of Toseland for fifth, running wide upon exit and gifting the place back to the Englishman. Dovizioso has closed up to Rossi and tries a very daring move down his inside at the entry of Starkey's Bridge, running on the damp kerb and having a moment as a result. This allows Rossi to keep his lead going into Schwantz Curve, Pedrosa trying to take fourth from him as well but failing. Elías, who by now has opened up a gap to second place Lorenzo, looks back at Starkey's Straight to see how far behind he is. Dovizioso has a look at the outside of Rossi but does not make a move.
Lap three and Pedrosa sets the fastest lap of the race. Stoner has dropped further down the order and is now in a lowly thirteenth place. Dovizioso again has a look up on the outside of Rossi upon entry of Redgate but decides to stay behind for now. Pedrosa has also opened up a gap to sixth place Toseland. At the Old Hairpin, Dovizioso goes up the inside of Rossi and snatches third place from him. He then overtakes Lorenzo for second at McLean's as well. Pedrosa then lines up a pass on Rossi as he takes a wider line going into Coppice, then goes up his inside at the exit of the corner and promotes himself up into third. At Starkey's Straight, Dovizioso then takes the lead as he goes side-by-side with and easily overtakes Elías. Lorenzo does likewise at the end of the straight, snatching second going into The Esses. Behind them, de Puniet also makes a lunge up the inside of Alex De Angelis and takes eighth place. At the Melbourne Hairpin, Pedrosa dives down the inside of Elías and overtakes him for third.
Lap four and Dovizioso sets the fastest lap of the race. By now, Stoner has dropped another two places and is fifteenth, behind Chris Vermeulen. Rossi is now right behind Eliás, stalking him for a few corners and then passing him for fourth spot at the Old Hairpin. Pedrosa has opened up a gap to Rossi, who was held up by Elías. Toseland is also being shadowed by Melandri and de Puniet at the exit of Coppice but neither makes a move at Starkey's Straight. Toseland now has created a train of four riders whom he is holding up, consisting of Melandri, de Puniet, de Angelis and Loris Capirossi.
On lap five, Lorenzo takes over at the front thanks to a dive down Dovizioso's inside at Redgate. Stoner has lost another position on the previous lap, being overtaken by Gábor Talmácsi and now lingering at the bottom in sixteenth position, only ahead of his teammate - also on rain tyres - which is Nicky Hayden.
Lap six and Pedrosa makes a move on teammate Dovizioso, going up his inside to pass him at Redgate and promote him up to second. Elías in fifth now has a gap of +1.707 seconds over sixth place Toseland. Lorenzo has opened up a gap to Pedrosa, who himself is now coming under pressure from Dovizioso, Rossi and Elías - who has closed the gap to the Italian.
On lap seven, Lorenzo is in the lead with Pedrosa chasing him. Elías is now losing ground to Rossi but still has a gap of +2.996 seconds back to de Puniet, who has passed Toseland for sixth. All the teams are warming up their second bikes, with the Ducati Marlboro Team preparing theirs with slick tyres whilst everyone else is preparing them with rain tyres. At the Old Hairpin, both Dovizioso and Rossi lunge past the inside of Pedrosa, demoting him from second to fourth in one corner. Elías has caught right up to the back of Pedrosa at Starkey's Bridge, stalking him but not making a move for now. Rossi then makes a pass on Dovizioso for second at the end of Starkey's Straight, entering The Esses ahead of him.
Lap eight and Rossi is now making up ground on teammate Lorenzo, taking Dovizioso with him. Eliás now has a +3.856 second gap back to de Puniet in sixth. Behind the trio, Elías passes Pedrosa for fourth at the exit of the Craner Curves. It is now drizzling on most parts of the circuit, making the conditions very tricky. This is shown when Elías goes a bit wide entering Starkey's Bridge, gets on the damp kerb, loses the bike and highsides out of contention and into the gravel at high speed. The Spanish rider walks away unhurt but disappointed as he is being assisted by a marshall, with the other marshalls removing his bike from the grass. Capirossi overtakes Toseland for seventh meanwhile. Melandri also passes Mika Kallio at the Melbourne Hairpin for eighth position, diving down his inside and hitting him slightly in the process.
On lap nine, Lorenzo gap back to Rossi is +0.449 seconds. The top six is as follows: Lorenzo, Rossi, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, de Puniet and de Angelis. Just before Lorenzo enters Goddards, he touches the white line and immediately loses the bike, sliding him out of contention. He runs to his bike to see if he can continue on, the marshalls checking it for him but upon realisation that it is damaged, he was away disappointed as a marshall assists him.
Lap ten and Rossi now leads in the tricky conditions, followed by Dovizioso in second. Pedrosa is in a lonely third, having dropped off the pace from the group a few laps ago.
On lap eleven, Dovizioso's gap back to teammate Pedrosa is +6.169 seconds. The Spaniard meanwhile is coming under threat from a rapidly closing de Puniet, who is only +1.181 seconds behind. Exiting Coppice and coming onto Starkey's Straight, de Puniet is very close to Pedrosa. At the end of the straight, the Frenchman goes up the inside of Pedrosa, taking third from him at The Esses. Toseland has also passed Capirossi and is up into sixth place.
Lap twelve and the gap Dovizioso has to de Puniet is +8.994 seconds. Pedrosa then retakes third by going up the inside of de Puniet at Redgate. Entering the Old Hairpin, it is de Puniet's turn as he repasses Pedrosa and retakes the position. The rain in the pitlane is now intensifying and a big, dark cloud is slowly moving towards the circuit. At Starkey's Straight, Pedrosa closes up on de Puniet again but does not make a move at the entrance of The Esses. At the short straight before the Melbourne Hairpin however, he blasts past and takes back third place.
On lap thirteen, the second bikes in the pit lane are being readied just in case the riders decide to enter. Rossi is still leading, followed by Dovizioso. De Puniet has also overtaken Pedrosa for third, taking the position by going up the inside at the entrance of Starkey's Bridge.
Lap fourteen and Pedrosa blasts past de Puniet again at the exit of the Wheatcroft Straight, retaking the position in the process. De Puniet then tries to fight back around the outside but the Spaniard pushes him wide onto the kerb, forcing him to stay behind. Rossi's gap back to Dovizioso is +0.341 seconds and the top six is as follows: Rossi, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, de Puniet, de Angelis and Toseland. At the exit of Hollywood and the entrance of the Craner Curves, the Frenchman stays right behind Pedrosa and manages to sneak up his inside to take third back again. At the front, the duo of Rossi and Dovizioso now lap the struggling Ducati's of Stoner and Hayden.
On lap fifteen - the halfway point of the race -, Dovizioso is now right behind Rossi who is still in the lead. After overtaking Pedrosa, de Puniet is now slowly starting to ride away from him.