Sunday 14 June 2015 15:53, UK
Jorge Lorenzo moved to within one point of world championship leader Valentino Rossi, by claiming his fourth MotoGP victory in a row – this time on home soil in Barcelona.
The two-time MotoGP champion, third fastest on the grid, grabbed the early lead at the Catalunya circuit and was rarely troubled as he dominated from start to finish.
Yamaha team-mate Rossi was a comfortable second, although the Italian could do little to prevent Lorenzo from cutting his lead in the overall standings from six points to one – with 11 races still to come.
Dani Pedrosa’s Honda was third – a distant 19.455 seconds behind Rossi – while Britain's Bradley Smith took fifth on his Yamaha, his joint highest finish of the season so far.
Smith ended 27.782s off the pace to cement sixth place in the overall championship standings.
But the day belonged to Lorenzo who, at one stage, led Rossi by over two seconds although the gap was down to 0.885s by the time the duo crossed the line at the end of the 25-lap race.
"The conditions were difficult as it was very hot," said Lorenzo. "Valentino likes these conditions and performs better but it is the opposite for me.
"The bike was moving a lot but I didn't make any mistakes and the hard work paid off."
In blistering conditions a number of riders crashed out including reigning world champion Marc Marquez, who slid off the circuit on lap three while in second spot.
Pole setter Aleix Espargaro suffered a similar fate on lap 21 when the Spaniard was holding a comfortable fourth place on his Suzuki.
Andrea Dovizioso was another high profile casualty, while Cal Crutchlow failed to finish his third race in succession.
The 22-year-old Marquez, who has now failed to finish three of the season’s seven races, cut a despondent figure and admitted: "I made a mistake and I lose more points.
“The next race will be different and will be better. I was on the limit, and on my bike I need to be very careful."
In Moto2, Frenchman Johann Zarco extended his lead in the standings to 40 points after winning by 0.426s from Spain’s Alex Rins.
And in Moto3, there was another victory for Briton Danny Kent who edged out Enea Bastianini of Italy by 0.035s.
Kent’s lead in the championship, from second placed Bastianini, is now 51 points.
The circus moves to Assen in the Netherlands in two weeks for round eight.
MotoGP Positions:
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Esp) Yamaha 42:53.208
2 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha + 0.885s
3 Dani Pedrosa (Esp) Honda + 19.455
4 Andrea Iannone (Ita) Ducati + 24.925
5 Bradley Smith (Gbr) Yamaha + 27.782
6 Maverick Vinales (Esp) Suzuki + 29.559
7 Scott Redding (Gbr) Honda + 36.424
8 Stefan Bradl (Ger) Yamaha + 42.103
9 Danilo Petrucci (Ita) Ducati + 49.350
10 Alvaro Bautista (Esp) Aprilia + 52.569
Overall Standings:
1 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 138 pts
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Esp) Yamaha 137
3 Andrea Iannone (Ita) Ducati 94
4 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati 83
5 Marc Marquez (Esp) Honda 69
6 Bradley Smith (Gbr) Yamaha 68
7 Cal Crutchlow (Gbr) Honda 47
8 Maverick Vinales (Esp) Suzuki 46
9 Pol Espargaro (Esp) Yamaha 45
10 Dani Pedrosa (Esp) Honda 39
