Lorenzo sweeps to fourth straight victory

Lorenzo secured a fourth straight MotoGP victory by just 0.885s to close the gap on title leader Rossi to a single point ahead of the next race in Holland.

Spaniard Lorenzo immediately found his rhythm and led from start to finish, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Following the race, he said: "It was very hot, so it has been difficult. Valentino improves in these conditions, I get a little worse.

"The bike was moving a lot. We didn't make mistakes, Valentino pushed me so hard, but in the end it has been hard work."

Rossi added: "In the third row I lost time. I'm happy because I had a good pace and setting. My speed was equal to Jorge.

"In seven races there is one point difference and we have the same speed. It will be interesting I think."

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa finished third, over 19 seconds behind Lorenzo, while reigning world champion Marc Marquez crashed out at turn 10 on the third lap when taking on Lorenzo for the lead. That may have ended any chance he has of retaining his title.

Aleix Espargaro, who started in pole for Suzuki, also crashed with just five laps to go with a podium finish in sight.