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BARCELONA, Spain - World champion Jorge Lorenzo won a largely uninspiring Spanish MotoGP at Montmelo in Catalonia on Sunday, followed home by Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez.
It was a race in which two major contenders, Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), crashed out of contention in the first few laps and Randy de Puniet went out in the same period with engine problems.
They left Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Marc Marquez (Honda) running at the front. Valentino Rossi was running fourth for Yamaha and it was still that way with 12 laps to go, the leaders running closely and apparently none wanting to push the envelope and risk a race-ending fall.
LONELY FOURTH
The three leaders were all lapping with 1m43 the first figures in their times.
With 10 to go the Spanish MotoGP was still very much a procession with the three Spaniards holding the same 1-2-3 chain though Rossia was a lonely fourth. Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) were holding fifth and six on a lap that saw Hector Barbera (Kawasaki) go down - another victim of Turn 10 - but remount and continue.
With five laps to go Lorenzo was still giving a maestro's class in sliding through long curves - emphasised by great slomo race camerawork with the two Honda's riding escort. Would things change in the last five laps as things became more desperate for the red and white bikes? The target was clearly in sight...
Marquez, it seemed, was desperate to move up from third to take the race to Lorenzo - which would have delighted his thousands of fans waving '93' placards among the 90 000+ crowd - some perhaps holding thumbs that one or other Honda might take out the other.
Three to go and Lorenzo was holding a steady 20m lead - the fight now, amazingly, between the two Hondas, their rear and front wheels almost touching at times - and then they did, with Marquez almost falling but recovering as 90 000 fans sucked in their breath and exhaled as one.
But at the end it was Lorenzo, from Pedrosa and Marquez with the latter fighting for position right to the line.
Behind them, in order, were Rossi, Bradl, Smith and Dovizioso. The next MotoGP weekend will be in Assen in The Netherlands.
Result from the 2013 MotoGP at Catalunya
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 43min06.479
2 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 43min08.242
3 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 43min08.305
4 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 43min12.353
5 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 43min33.235
6 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha 43min38.707
7 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 43min39.171
8 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia 44min05.094
9 Colin Edwards (US) FTR 44min09.621
10 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati 44min16.253
Standings after the 2013 Spanish MotoGP
1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda - 123
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha - 116
3 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda - 93
4 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha - 71
5 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha - 60
6 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati - 59
7 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati - 45
8 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda - 41
9 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda - 38
10 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia - 36
11 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha - 34
12 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati - 28
13 Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati - 21
14 Hector Barbera (Spain) FTR - 13
15 Danilo Petrucci (Italy) Ioda - 13
It was a race in which two major contenders, Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), crashed out of contention in the first few laps and Randy de Puniet went out in the same period with engine problems.
They left Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Marc Marquez (Honda) running at the front. Valentino Rossi was running fourth for Yamaha and it was still that way with 12 laps to go, the leaders running closely and apparently none wanting to push the envelope and risk a race-ending fall.
LONELY FOURTH
The three leaders were all lapping with 1m43 the first figures in their times.
With 10 to go the Spanish MotoGP was still very much a procession with the three Spaniards holding the same 1-2-3 chain though Rossia was a lonely fourth. Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) were holding fifth and six on a lap that saw Hector Barbera (Kawasaki) go down - another victim of Turn 10 - but remount and continue.
With five laps to go Lorenzo was still giving a maestro's class in sliding through long curves - emphasised by great slomo race camerawork with the two Honda's riding escort. Would things change in the last five laps as things became more desperate for the red and white bikes? The target was clearly in sight...
Marquez, it seemed, was desperate to move up from third to take the race to Lorenzo - which would have delighted his thousands of fans waving '93' placards among the 90 000+ crowd - some perhaps holding thumbs that one or other Honda might take out the other.
Three to go and Lorenzo was holding a steady 20m lead - the fight now, amazingly, between the two Hondas, their rear and front wheels almost touching at times - and then they did, with Marquez almost falling but recovering as 90 000 fans sucked in their breath and exhaled as one.
But at the end it was Lorenzo, from Pedrosa and Marquez with the latter fighting for position right to the line.
Behind them, in order, were Rossi, Bradl, Smith and Dovizioso. The next MotoGP weekend will be in Assen in The Netherlands.
Result from the 2013 MotoGP at Catalunya
1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 43min06.479
2 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 43min08.242
3 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 43min08.305
4 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 43min12.353
5 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 43min33.235
6 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha 43min38.707
7 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 43min39.171
8 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia 44min05.094
9 Colin Edwards (US) FTR 44min09.621
10 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati 44min16.253
Standings after the 2013 Spanish MotoGP
1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda - 123
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha - 116
3 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda - 93
4 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha - 71
5 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha - 60
6 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati - 59
7 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati - 45
8 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda - 41
9 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda - 38
10 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia - 36
11 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha - 34
12 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati - 28
13 Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati - 21
14 Hector Barbera (Spain) FTR - 13
15 Danilo Petrucci (Italy) Ioda - 13