Runaway Pedrosa wins Catalan Grand Prix

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Local favourite Dani Pedrosa streaked away to win the Catalan Moto GP on Sunday for his second victory of the season.

The 22-year-old Honda rider got off to a flying start as he passed pole-position holder and world champion Casey Stoner before the first bend. He set a circuit record on the second lap and never looked back.

"It has been a difficult weekend but I started very quickly and was delighted with the race," Pedrosa told Spanish state television.

"I have won here at 125 and 250cc categories, and now I have won at MotoGP so am particularly pleased."

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi fought back from ninth on the grid to hold an entertaining duel with Ducati's Stoner for second place.

The Australian, who won at the Circuit de Catalunya last year, had the edge until Rossi passed him with two laps to go.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso, American Colin Edwards and Britain's James Toseland came in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Rossi, with 142 points from seven races, continues to lead the standings but saw his lead cut to seven points by Pedrosa.

Spain's Jorge Lorenzo remains third with 94 despite not competing after a crash in practice on Friday. Stoner is two points further back in fourth.

BAUTISTA MISTAKE

Earlier, a mistake from Spaniard Alvaro Bautista on the final lap of the 250cc race allowed Italian Marco Simoncelli, who was tight on his rear wheel, to nip through and claim his second consecutive victory this season.

Spaniards Hector Barbera and Alex Debon were a distant third and fourth.

Gilera's Simoncelli moved up to second in the standings, just three points short of championship leader Finn Mika Kallio who had to drop out with mechanical problems near the end of the race.

Italy's Mattia Pasini dropped down to third, eight points behind Kallio, after finishing sixth.

Frenchman Mike De Meglio won the 125cc category on a Derbi, just ahead of Spanish teenager Pol Espargaro and Hungarian world champion Gabor Talmacsi.

De Meglio moved 14 points clear of Simone Corsi at the top of the championship with his second victory of the season as two of his closest rivals, Nicolas Terol and Joan Olive, fell in the closing stages. Italy's Corsi finished fifth.

Poland's Kubica takes first win in Canada

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Poland's Robert Kubica took his and BMW Sauber's first grand prix victory in Canada on Sunday to wrest the Formula One championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on a miserable afternoon for the Briton.

Hamilton, who enjoyed his breakthrough win on the same course last year, inexplicably drove into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in a pit-lane collision that put the top two drivers out of the race.

In their absence, Kubica seized his chance.

He took the lead on lap 43 when Toyota's Timo Glock pitted and took the chequered flag ahead of German team mate Nick Heidfeld in a momentous one-two finish for the Swiss-based team.

"Fantastic race, fantastic for the team, for me and for my country and for the fans who I thank for cheering for me here in Canada," said Kubica after the Polish anthem had been played for the first time at a Formula One race.

The win capped an amazing turnaround for the 23-year-old Kubica, the first Pole to race in Formula One, after surviving a horrific crash in last year's race on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Scot David Coulthard, the oldest driver in the race at 37, rolled back the years to finish third for Red Bull ahead of Glock with Ferrari's Felipe Massa fifth.

"I would never have expected a podium this weekend - I've had a horrible start to the year," commented Coulthard after scoring his first points of the season.

Kubica has 42 points with Hamilton and Massa both on 38 after seven races.

HAMILTON APOLOGY

While Kubica enjoyed the champagne moment, the race will be remembered as much for the pit lane pile-up which left Hamilton apologising to his closest rival.

With the safety car deployed, Raikkonen had stopped at the red light at the end of the pit lane on lap 20 with Kubica also waiting alongside. Hamilton then rammed into the back of the Finn's car.

Williams' Nico Rosberg shunted the rear of Hamilton's McLaren but the German was able to continue the race after stopping for a new front wing.

"It's not exactly a racing incident as such but I think it's really unfortunate. It was one of those things I guess," said Hamilton, who had gone into the race with a three point lead over Raikkonen.

After claiming pole position on Saturday, the Briton was hot favourite to repeat last year's victory and was leading comfortably before the safety car came out on the 18th lap.

"It's a lot different if you crash into the wall and you are angry with yourself. It's not like that. I apologise to Kimi if I've ruined his race but that sort of thing happens," said Hamilton.

"I would just rather that neither of us was out," he added. "We were so quick, I was breezing it. But next time."

Heidfeld led before a list of drivers, including Honda's Rubens Barrichello, Coulthard and Toyota's Jarno Trulli, to lead before their pit stops.

Trulli finished sixth, with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello seventh for Honda and Germany's Sebastian Vettel taking the final point for Toro Rosso.