Jorge Lorenzo took the lead off the line on home turf in the Aragon GP, making a gap and able to pull away in the initial stages before being reeled in.

But it was more than half the race that Lorenzo kept the lead, and he put up a good fight against Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to remain there, unfortunately struggling in the latter laps with the soft rear tyre.

Caught and passed by Dani Pedrosa as the flag approached, Lorenzo was nevertheless close to the victory and closer to the front once again – happy with the race and feeling that Motegi should see an even bigger improvement.

"I prefer this podium to Jerez, because we are getting closer to the victory – but then it’s a pity to lead for so long and be so close to the win! But we’re progressing and that’s the important thing, especially from my side." Commented the Majorcan

"The team is giving me little details that make my life easier and we’re progressing quickly. Aragon wasn’t the best for our bike, but Motegi will be. There we can try again to fight for the victory."

"This time the pity was that we couldn’t choose the medium or hard tyre because we couldn’t generate the same grip." He added

"We knew that in the last seven or ten laps we would struggle and we did, it was difficult to stay in the 49s and stay on the pace on those guys."

"I was controlling the throttle and saving the tyre. I tried my best to keep Dani close, but it was a good podium and the victory is very close!" Concluded the Ducati rider