MotoGP 2017: Dani Pedrosa Wins The Spanish GP; Lorenzo Claims Podium

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa secured his first win of the season at the Spanish Granx Prix in Jerez, ahead of teammate Marc Marquez. The fourth race of the season was a turnaround for Jorge Lorenzo of Ducati as he took his first podium behind the Honda riders. Pedrosa secured his first win since the 2016 Misano GP, while Yamaha riders were far from their A-game with Maverick Vinales finishing sixth and Valentino Rossi, a distant tenth.

Pedrosa claimed his 30th MotoGP win with a lead of 6.136s

Pedrosa gained the lead qualifying from pole and maintained his lead through the race. The Spanish rider pulled cleanly in the opening lap while Marquez and LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow followed close. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco of Tech 3 Yamaha was flying in the initial laps passing Rossi and then Vinales. Zarco soon caught up with Suzuki's Andrea Iannone and then passed Crutchlow to take the third place. He briefly threatened Marquez for second place, but could not keep pace with the Hondas. While Crutchlow was expected to keep the game strong for Honda, a small mistake saw the rider crash at Lap 5 ending his run.

Both Honda riders engaged in a nail biting duel with 10 laps remaining. Pedrosa had a lead of one and a half seconds in the first half of the race, but Marquez wasn't giving up so easily. The reigning world champion shaved several tenths of a second lap-after-lap bringing down the gap to under a second.

The Spanish GP marks Lorenzo's first podium with Ducati

Jorge Lorenzo too finally seemed to be in his element after struggling in the past three races. Starting 8th n the grid, Lorenzo made his way to fourth behind Zarco, passing Rossi, Vinales and Iannone. The Ducati rider charged on his home track finally passing Zarco on Lap 12, making for an all-Spanish line-up in the top three places.

Lorenzo's teammate Andrea Dovizioso showed immense pace as well having started 14th on the grid. The Italian caught up with Lorenzo by Lap 10 in fifth place and finished at an impressive fifth. Yamaha could barely hold it together though. Vinales did show some progress midway overtaking Dovizioso for fifth on Lap 13, but the Ducati rider was unrelenting and reclaimed his position, while Vinales eventually finished the race in sixth place.

Rossi struggled with tyre life in the latter parts of the race.

Struggling with tyre life and soaring temperatures, Rossi barely managed to finish in top ten. Danilo Petrucci of Pramac Ducati passed the former world champion on Lap 15, while Jonas Folger of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 passed Rossi to take eighth. Lastly, it was Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini who passed the Italian in the final laps.

Alvaro Bautista and Jack Miller set the ball rolling for crashes after a collision on Lap 6, while Crutchlow followed soon after ending his run in the race along with KTM's Pol Espargaro. Andrea Iannone after a promising start dropped to ninth and crashed on Turn 11 on Lap 9.

Marquez and Pedrosa are catching up on the championship standings

Pedrosa's domination has intensified the battle for the title of this year's world champion. Rossi continues to lead with 62 points, two points clear of Vinales, while Marquez is just behind with 58 points. Pedrosa is very much in contention at fourth with 52 points. The championship will now move to Le Mans for the next race scheduled for 21st May 2017.