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LAGUNA SECA, California - Reigning MotoGP World champion Australian Casey Stoner claimed the 2012 US Motorcycle GP here on Sunday, beating Spain's championship leader Jorge Lorenzo by almost 3.5 seconds.
Stoner defended his 2011 victory the California track with his Honda team mate, Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, third and 7.633sec behind. Nicky Hayden was the best of the locals, finishing sixth but a hefty 26.902sec off the pace.
SOLO ON SOFT
Stoner started second on the grid behind Lorenzo and, after dropping to third early, set about chasing down the Spanish pair. He took down Pedrosa on lap two of 32 before passing his main rival with 11 laps to go with a crisp move down the main straight.
Stoner was the only one of the front-runners to start on a softer-option rear tyre, a tactical masterstroke in the end.
"“It was tactical from the start - we went on the softer option which nobody decided to go on so I wanted to go in front from the outset," Stoner said.
'I bided my time, hunted down Jorge and in the end went past."
Lorenzo, who has finished in the top two in all nine of his 2012 races, increased his championship lead to 23 points over Pedrosa, with Stoner now 32 points back in third as he chases a third World title before retiring at the end of the season.
Result from the 2012 US MotoGP
1 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda 43min45.961
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 43min49.390
3 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 43min53.594
4 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Yamaha 44min04.563
5 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha 44min04.740
6 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 44min12.863
7 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 44min14.354
8 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda 44min36.207
9 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia 45min04.954
10 Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Ducati 45min08.037
11 Randy de Puniet (France) Aprilia 31 Laps
12 Yonny Hernandez (Colombia) Kawasaki 31 Laps
13 Colin Edwards (US) Suter 31 Laps
14 Ivan Silva (Spain) Kawasaki 31 Laps
15 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati 29 Laps
Riders’ points after the US MotoGP
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 205
2 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 182
3 Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda 173
4 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Yamaha 121
5 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha 106
6 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 84
7 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 84
8 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati 82
9 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda 81
10 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha 66
11 Hector Barbera (Spain) Ducati 60
12 Randy de Puniet (France) Aprilia 33
13 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia 33
14 Michele Pirro (Italy) FTR 16
15 Mattia Pasini (Italy) Aprilia 13
