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Misano - Jorge Lorenzo cruised to victory in the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix on Sunday after championship rival and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa fell during the first lap.
Issues with Karel Abraham's Cardion AB Racing Ducati prompted a restart, and the race was shortened from 28 to 27 laps and polesitter Pedrosa ended up starting last after a tire warmer problem. Pedrosa was then taken out by the front wheel of Pramac Racing's Hector Barbera on one of the opening turns.
Lorenzo clocked 42 minutes, 49.836 seconds on his Yamaha Factory bike, seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy pleased the home fans by finishing second on his Ducati, 4.398 seconds behind, and Spain's Alvaro Bautista of San Carlo Honda Gresini held off Andrea Dovizioso in a photo finish for third, 6.055 back.
Lorenzo increased his lead over Pedrosa in the standings to 38 points, with five races remaining.
"It was a strange race," Lorenzo said. "It's too bad for Dani, but it was a good result for us."
Rossi matched his best result of the season and went over to a fence to salute his legions of fans.
"This is for everyone who kept believing in me," said Rossi, who will return to Yamaha next season.
Spanish rider Marc Marquez of the CatalunyaCaixa Repsol team won the Moto2 race and German rider Sandro Cortese of the Red Bull KTM Ajo team won the Moto3 race.
The Moto2 warm-up was marred by a crash involving Ratthapark Wilairot, whose motorcycle nearly bounced on top of him as he slid off the track. But the Thai rider walked away and came back to race later, finishing 19th.
The crash initially brought back memories of the fatal accident involving Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa, who died after crashing and being hit by two other riders in this race two years ago.
The Misano circuit is named after Marco Simoncelli, who died in a crash in last year's Malaysian GP.
Results from the San Marino Grand Prix at the Misano circuit on Sunday:
MotoGP
1. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 42min 49.836sec, 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Ducati) at 4.398sec, 3. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Honda) 6.055, 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Yamaha) 6.058, 5. Ben Spies (USA/Yamaha) 7.543, 6. Stefan Bradl (GER/Honda) 13.272, 7. Nicky Hayden (USA/Ducati) 40.907, 8. Jonathan Rea (GBR/Honda) 43.162, 9. Randy de Puniet (FRA/Aprilia) 1:09.627
World championship standings (after 13 races):
1. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 270pts, 2. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 232, 3. Casey Stoner (AUS/Honda) 186, 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Yamaha) 163, 5. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/Yamaha) 122, 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Ducati) 120, 7. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Honda) 118, 8. Stefan Bradl (GER/Honda) 115, 9. Nicky Hayden (USA/Ducati) 93, 10. Ben Spies (USA/Yamaha) 77, 11. Hector Barbera (ESP/Ducati) 60, 12. Randy de Puniet (FRA/Aprilia) 48, 13. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 45, 14. Karel Abraham (CZE/Ducati) 25, 15. Yonny Hernandez (COL/Kawasaki BQR) 25
Moto2
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Suter) 23min 11.278sec, 2. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Kalex) at 0.359sec, 3. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Speed Up) 1.634, 4. Mika Kallio (FIN/Kalex) 5.078, 5. Esteve Rabat (ESP/Kalex) 5.246, 6. Dominique Aergerter (SUI/Suter) 5.570, 7. Scott Redding (GBR/Kalex) 6.364, 8. Bradley Smith (GBR/Tech3) 6.853, 9. Thomas Luthi (SUI/Suter) 7.480, 10. Johann Zarco (FRA/Motobi) 7.989
World championship standings (after 12 races):
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Suter) 238pts, 2. Pol Espargaro (ESP/Kalex) 185, 3. Andrea Iannone (ITA/Speed Up) 165, 4. Thomas Luthi (SUI/Suter) 161, 5. Scott Redding (GBR/Kalex) 115, 6. Mika Kallio (FIN/Kalex) 110, 7. Bradley Smith (GBR/Tech 3) 85, 8. Esteve Rabat (ESP/Kalex) 73, 9. Dominique Aegerter (SUI/Suter) 73, 10. Claudio Corti (ITA/Kalex) 67
Moto3
1. Sandro Cortese (GER/KTM) 40min 22.100sec, 2. Luis Salom (ESP/Kalex KTM) at 0.467sec, 3. Romano Fenati (ITA/FTR Honda) 0.937, 4. Alex Rins (ESP/Suter Honda) 0.974, 5. Maverick Vinales (ESP/FTR Honda) 1.145, 6. Jonas Folger (GER/Kalex KTM) 1.180, 7. Efren Vazquez (ESP/FTR Honda) 1.315, 8. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA/FTR Honda) 3.983, 9. Miguel Oliveira (POR/Suter Honda) 4.376, 10. Arthur Sissis (AUS/KTM) 10.872
World championship standings (after 12 races)
1. Sandro Cortese (GER/KTM) 225 points, 2. Maverick Vinales (ESP/FTR Honda) 179, 3. Luis Salom (ESP/Kalex KTM) 169, 4. Romano Fenati (ITA/FTR Honda) 120, 5. Alex Rins (ESP/Suter Honda) 96, 6. Alexis Masbou (FRA/Honda) 81, 7. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (MAS/KTM) 81, 8. Danny Kent (GBR/KTM) 70, 9. Miguel Oliveira (POR/Suter Honda) 66, 10. Niccolo Antonelli (ITA/FTR Honda) 63.
