Jorge Lorenzo extended his lead at the top of the world championship after a dominant performance at Sunday’s British MotoGP.
The Fiat Yamaha rider started from pole and lead all the way to finish ahead of Italian Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda, with Ben Spies of the US third for Yamaha.
Nicky Hayden of the US finished fourth, ahead of Australian Casey Stoner.
PHOTO: AFP
“This was an important day for me and an important win, because I felt so strong and I enjoyed riding my Yamaha so much,” said Lorenzo, who now leads Dovizioso by 37 points in the championship standings. “I had a different feeling today. I felt it was going to be a good race. I never dreamed of taking three wins from five races, but here we are and I am feeling very strong mentally at this moment. I want to thank my team, Yamaha, and Bridgestone for this victory.”
Lorenzo had built up an eight-second lead at the halfway point with the battle more for second place behind him.
Spies managed to overtake Hayden right at the end of the race to grab the final podium spot, his first ever in MotoGP.
“I didn’t expect to get my first podium so quickly, especially after yesterday, which wasn’t the best for me,” Spies said. “I got a decent start, but once I got by Dani [Pedrosa] and [Marco] Simoncelli, I just tried to stay on the back of the group battling for the podium. Once I realized I could stay in contention, I just tried to save the rear tire as much as I could and it all worked out.”
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