Lorenzo wins in San Marino

Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner looked certain to take the lead in turn one at the start of the Misano race, but defending World Champion Lorenzo fought back and moved to the front in the first corner, holding onto the lead position until crossing the finish line to take his third win of 2011 and reducing the gap to Stoner in the Championship lead to 35 points.

Dani Pedrosa was third off the start, the Spaniard gradually gaining ground on his team mate until he over took the Australian on lap 22, to cross the line second. In an unusual bout of fatigue, 25 year old Stoner was unable to retaliate and finished the race in third.

Marco Simoncelli fell back to seventh on the start, then made his way back through the pack up to fourth, where he then engaged in a tussle with his rival Andrea Dovizioso, emerging ahead of his fellow countryman on the last lap to take fourth. Ben Spies, whose poor start saw the American drop to seventh on the second lap, caught the dueling Italians and looked capable and prepared to make the pass into fourth, but instead got baulked in the final corner to finish sixth behind Dovizioso.

 Valentino Rossi had a terrific start from his 11th place on the grid, moving up into fifth by lap two, until Simoncelli got ahead of him on lap four and Spies passed him on lap 15. The seven time premier class Champion completed the race in seventh, ahead of Álvaro Bautista who fulfilled his fourth top ten finish of the season.

 Mapfre Aspar rider Héctor Barberá achieved his sixth top ten finish of the season with ninth place, ahead of Cal Crutchlow, who ended his challenging weekend the final finisher in the top ten, just over two seconds in front of Hiroshi Aoyama.

 Nicky Hayden crashed out of the race on lap three, an unfortunate end to an already difficult weekend for the American, while Loris Capirossi retired to the pits early in the race.