Lorenzo makes it three wins in a row at Italian MotoGP

Once he turned up the wick Jorge Lorenzo was able to open a huge lead at the front of the MotoGP field at Mugello with the Spaniard claiming a dominant third win in a row. This was the 57th win of Lorenzo’s career and it came in trademark style with the double MotoGP world champion waiting until the right moment to pull the pin and open his gap.

Andrea Iannone made a great start and despite his injuries he had a hugely mature race to finish on the podium. Valentino Rossi made a dreadful start and fell to 11th on the opening lap but started to pick people off as the race progressed and by half distance he was right into the thick of the podium battle.

Marc Marquez had looked set for a rostrum finish having made a stunning start to rise from 13th on the grid to immediately fight for the top three but a crash with six laps remaining saw the champion lose the front end. He was joined on the sidelines by fellow title contender Andrea Dovizioso but given the performances of Lorenzo and Rossi their title hopes are fading rapidly.

Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith had a close fight throughout the race but the LCR Honda rider crashed heavily with three laps remaining and Smith was able to comfortably take fourth ahead of his teammate Pol Espargaro.. Scott Redding was 12th at the flag.