Right after the lights went out Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo got the holeshot ahead of Pedrosa, with American Ben Spies in tow. In the fourth lap Pedrosa closed in on Lorenzo’s rear wheel and three laps later Pedrosa made his move on the current Championship leader, taking the lead for the first time. Lorenzo had a big wobble in the ninth lap, allowing Pedrosa to create a bigger gap at the front. From then on, Pedrosa controlled the race and claimed his first victory at the Aragon circuit.
The Ducati team experienced a tough race in Aragon, as Valentino Rossi touched the rear wheel of Repsol Honda’s Jonathan Rea early in the race, with 'The Doctor' forced to run off. His American team mate Nicky Hayden crashed heavily, being violently thrown over the advertising boards in Turn 16, after failing to slow down on time. The Kentucky man received instant medical attention and was later declared ok by the medical team, yet has been given a neck brace and will undergo more precautionary checks to rule out internal injuries. Rossi had fought his way back to finish eighth in Aragon.
German LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl had a tremendous start, aiming for a podium finish in Spain, yet crashed out as he lost the front pushing too hard. This left both Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso to hunt down Yamaha's Ben Spies, who regained his third position after Bradl's crash, for a spot on the podium.
With 13 laps remaining, Crutchlow ran wide coming onto the home straight, letting his team mate Dovizioso into fourth. Six laps later the Italian made his way past Spies' Yamaha Factory machine, with Crutchlow probing the inside line of the Texan, but to no avail.
Crutchlow got past Spies with five laps remaining, immediately setting his sights on Dovizioso. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo provided a exciting last couple of laps fighting for third, with Crutchlow looking for a way past. The Brit was unable to overtake Dovizioso, with the Italian defending aggressively. In the end Dovizioso took his sixth podium this year.
Crutchlow came in a close fourth, with San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, Rea, Rossi, and Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham completing the top nine. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro was the top CRT rider, finishing in tenth position at his home Grand Prix.
Yamaha Factory rider and Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo now has scored 290 points, 33 points ahead of Spanish Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. With four races remaining this season, the two only title contenders know that one mistake could be decisive.
