MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took a comfortable win at Silverstone's British Grand Prix. The Yamaha rider spent the first part of the race patiently sitting behind his team-mate Ben Spies and Honda's Casey Stoner. With six laps gone he moved into second place, before stalking Stoner for another five laps.
At half-race distance he made his move, barging past Stoner through the last corner, withstanding a brief period of resistance from the Honda and then sprinting off to an easy win. Behind him, it was a battle between the Hondas of Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Having lost the lead to Lorenzo, Stoner seemed to suddenly struggle for tyre grip. However, he was able to narrowly hold on to second place, with Pedrosa settling for third after an unsuccessful lunge on the final lap.
Polesitter Alvaro Bautista did a solid job on the Gresini Honda, running with the leaders throughout the race and eventually taking a fine fourth place. Spies was fifth, having quickly gone backwards after losing the lead in the opening laps of the race. Cal Crutchlow (Tech 3) was the star of the race, charging from the back of the grid to sixth place despite having an injured foot from Friday's crash. The Brit made a stunning run through the field, stealing sixth from Nicky Hayden (Ducati) on the very last lap.
Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda), Valentino Rossi (Ducati) and Hector Barbera (Pramac Ducati) rounded out the top 10, while Andrea Dovizioso finished 19th after making a lengthy stop for a brake problem.
Aleix Espargaro was the best of the CRT machines, finishing 11th on the Aspar Aprilia.
Results - 20 laps:
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 41m16.429s
2. Casey Stoner Honda + 3.313s
3. Dani Pedrosa Honda + 3.599s
4. Alvaro Bautista Gresini Honda + 5.196s
5. Ben Spies Yamaha + 11.531s
6. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha + 15.112s
7. Nicky Hayden Ducati + 15.527s
8. Stefan Bradl LCR Honda + 22.521s
9. Valentino Rossi Ducati + 36.138s
10. Hector Barbera Pramac Ducati + 41.328s
11. Aleix Espargaro Aspar Aprilia + 1m03.157s
12. Randy de Puniet Aspar Aprilia + 1m03.443s
13. Michele Pirro Gresini FTR-Honda + 1m07.290s
14. James Ellison Paul Bird Aprilia + 1m14.782s
15. Yonny Hernandez Avintia FTR-Kawasaki + 1m15.108s
16. Colin Edwards Forward Suter-BMW + 1m29.899s
17. Danilo Petrucci Ioda-Aprilia + 1m40.302s
18. Ivan Silva Avinita Inmotec-Kawasaki + 1m52.099s
19. Andrea Dovizioso Tech 3 Yamaha + 1 lap
Retirements:
Mattia Pasini Speed Master Aprilia 14 laps