The drama started before the race had even commenced, as pole position holder Casey Stoner’s high-side crash on the warm-up lap meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. Jorge Lorenzo, who did well to hold onto his bike when a moment on the opening lap almost threw him off, was third, having already sealed second spot in the Championship by virtue of Stoner’s non-start. The Australian ended the season in fourth place overall, with Colin Edwards’ fourth place in the race allowing him to snatch fifth in the 2009 standings from Andrea Dovizioso. The top five on the day was completed by Nicky Hayden, Wildcard rider Ben Spies rode to an impressive seventh-placed finish.

After dominating the practice rounds and qualifying time with the pole position, Lorenzo did not hold back on race day in Estoril, Portugal. Although Dani Pedrosa took the initial holeshot, Jorge passed him around turn three and never relinquished his lead for all 28 laps. And once he made his celebratory lap, he jumped off his bike to claim the track with the Lorenzo Flag as he did last year.

The battle for the 2009 World Championship was blown wide open on Sunday at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix as Jorge Lorenzo scored a great win and his colleague Valentino Rossi suffered his first DNF of the year.Lorenzo eventually crossed the line with a 9.5s winning margin to cut Rossi’s championship lead in half, as the deficit dropped from 50 to 25 points, with five races remaining.

Both Valentino Rossi and Oakley’s Lorenzo eked out an advantage to make it a two-way battle to the checkered flag, with a last lap battle reminiscent of the Barcelona round of the series one month ago. Early leader Casey Stoner’s condition lasted longer than he had expected in the dry race, and he was able to mount a serious challenge for the win. With five laps to go, however, he was passed by Pedrosa going into the first turn, and one lap later a sit-up meant that he lost touch of the Spaniard. Toni Elías had a successful salvage operation placing sixth, he was particularly impressive, having started from last place. The only retirees from the race were Oakley’s Randy de Puniet who crashed on the opening lap and Andrea Dovizioso. Andrea fell victim to excessive front tire wear and was forced to call it a day before the end of the Grand Prix.