Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo won the San Marino MotoGP to extend his lead in the world championship standings yesterday.
The 25-year-old 2010 world champion, winning in San Marino for the second successive year, came home clear on his Yamaha ahead of Italy’s nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi on a Ducati, while Honda’s Spanish rider Alvaro Bautista was third.
On an emotional day both Rossi and Bautista dedicated their finishes to the late Marco Simoncelli, who was killed in the Malaysian MotoGP last year and after whom the circuit is now named.
Lorenzo had begun the day only 13 points ahead of compatriot Dani Pedrosa, but the Honda rider was taken out of the race on the first lap by accident-prone Hector Barbera.
Pedrosa had a nightmare, having to start from the back of the grid because of brake problems on the warm-up lap after he qualified in pole.
Lorenzo leads Pedrosa by 38 points with five races remaining.
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