29 Sep 2014

Lorenzo wins Spanish MotoGP

6:12 am on 29 September 2014

Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo has won his first MotoGP of the season in a rain-affected race at Aragon in Spain, while championship leader Marc Marquez extended his overall lead.

Jorge Lorenzo (ESP), Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider, in action during Spanish MotoGP.

Jorge Lorenzo (ESP), Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider, in action during Spanish MotoGP. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Yamaha rider's decision to come into the pits and change bikes with just four laps to go proved correct as he cruised home in the final stages ahead of compatriot Aleix Espargaro with Britain's Cal Crutchlow in third on a Ducati.

World championship leader Marquez of Spain finished 13th after crashing his Honda in the wet conditions, but still extended his overall lead by a point from teammate Dani Pedrosa as he also crashed and finished 14th.

Lorenzo's fast start propelled him from the third row of the grid into a fight for the lead with Marquez and Lorenzo.

However, the early stages of the race were also dominated by two huge crashes as Andrea Iannone and seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi flew off their bikes as they came off the track.

Rossi even had to be lifted from the track on a stretcher, but thankfully was able to walk into the medical centre for treatment on minor injuries shortly afterwards.

The rain then became a bigger factor in the final 10 laps and Lorenzo was the first of the leaders to head into the pits to adjust to the conditions.

Pedrosa and Marquez stayed out on the track, but both soon crashed to finish well down the grid which allowed two-time world champion Lorenzo a much-needed win.

Marquez's surge towards the title was only slightly halted, though, as he now leads Pedrosa by 75 points and could clinch his second world title in as many years as a MotoGP rider at the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

The season finishes with races in Australia, Malaysia, and Valencia.