Dani Pedrosa, who suffered a devastating injury to his right risk just months before the start of the 2008 MotoGP season, is in scintillating form. Finishing a respectable 3rd at the opening night at Qatar, Pedrosa stormed out from the starting blocks and led throughout the race at Jerez, giving fellow Spanish supporters a much-awaited cause to celebrate, especially after Alvaro Bautista crashed out on the final lap of the 250cc category after a strong race and looking bound for victory in front of his home fans.

But the real news is the long-standing rivalry between Pedrosa and Spanish compatriot Jorge Lorenzo, who moved to MotoGP after outstanding results in the125cc and 250cc categories. At the 2005 German GP, Pedrosa audaciously cut in front of the #48 bike attempting to pass him, sending the hapless rookie Lorenzo crashing out of the race. Pedrosa went on to win the race with a bent exhaust from the incident, but claimed he did not see his Spanish rival.

Lorenzo’s team manager Dani Amatriain rubbished Pedrosa’s explanation:

“I am surprised by the comments of Dani Pedrosa who claimed he did not see Jorge. I think maybe he should change his helmet because obviously the one he has at the moment doesn’t let him see very much. From what I saw, and have subsequently seen on television, I am very clear on who the aggressor was and who wasn’t…”

To rub salt to injury, Pedrosa pipped Lorenzo at the final race of the 2005 season — which was also to be their last 250cc race together — to prevent Lorenzo from taking over his record as the youngest ever 250cc Grand Prix champion.

Now in the MotoGP category, there seems to be little separating the Spanish rivals on the track. Pedrosa currently leads the pack with 41 points after 2 races, following his win at Jerez, but Lorenzo is hot on his tail just 5 points behind, after impressive starts in Qatar (2nd place) and Jerez (3rd place). They even had to be ‘forced’ to shake hands after the race. Hell, this rivalry is heating up. But it makes for an all the more interesting MotoGP, so it’s good news for us fans!

The leader board after 2 races in the 2008 MotoGP season stands at:

1) Dani Pedrosa - 41 points

2) Jorge Lorenzo - 36 points

3) Valentino Rossi - 31 points

4) Casey Stoner - 30 points

5) Andrea Dovizioso - 21 points

6) James Toseland - 20 points

7) Nicky Hayden - 19 points

8) Loris Capirossi - 19 points

9) John Hopkins - 13 points

10) Shinya Nakano - 10 points

Yes, read that again, please. Valentino Rossi is in 3rd place, ahead of defending champion Casey Stoner!

Rossi ran a superb race in Jerez, making his way to the front of the pack after a disappointing time in the qualifying trials. While he never looked like coming close to matching Pedrosa for pace, Rossi showed great composure in battling to second place, then keeping Lorenzo and Nicky Hayden at bay throughout the race. Save for a potentially embarrassing miscalculation toward the end, where the Italian started celebrating by pumping his fist — with one more lap to go and Lorenzo less than half a second behind! His pit crew must have gone crazy over the team radio. Realising his mistake, Rossi threw a long hard look to check Lorenzo’s position, then launched forward to continue racing. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What an amateurish mistake by everyone’s favourite #46! It’s a good thing he managed to hang on to his lead over the chasing Lorenzo and Hayden. At the end, Rossi looked well pleased to finish on the podium. And honestly, we’re glad to see him back to (almost) his best.

And where was Stoner? Off the track, mostly. The reigning world champion skipped off onto the gravel — not once, but twice — in a day in Spain he’ll want to forget as soon as possible. Stoner finished an abysmal 11th place, clawing back after his initial off-road trip relegated him to the back of the queue. While a disaster for the Australian and Ducati, the Jerez-Stoner incident is a reprieve for the other racers. There is just no stopping Stoner. He has been formidable in recent times, and short of a mechanical failure or trips into the gravel, it is hard to see Pedrosa, Rossi and Lorenzo keeping up with his pace.

Two races down, 16 to go. What will Estoril in Portugal on April 13 bring? I can’t wait to find out!

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