Jorge Lorenzo led briefly for the first time in red at Mugello, but the Catalan GP saw the ‘Spartan’ back at the front for a number of laps at the start.
From a first front row for Ducati to leading the field, Lorenzo then fell back slightly as he was unable to match the pace.
That prefaced a slice back through the field up to fourth, with Dani Pedrosa out of reach in the last place on the podium but an impressive finish nonetheless.
"We knew it would be a kind of survival race and we had to be really careful with the right side of the rear tyre." Said the Spartan "Save the tyre, so you couldn’t push at the beginning."
"So I could be a little bit faster at the beginning and open the gap a little but I knew it would be worse for the end so I just controlled the throttle. I’m happy, first front row, and it was similar at the start to my era with Yamaha – just unfortunately I couldn’t keep the same pace for all the race."
"Dovi, Marc and Dani had something more, so they escaped. But finally I could be faster than the second group and finish in this good position. I’m happy for Dovi’s second victory and for the team, and I’m getting closer and closer every time!”
source: motogp.com
