Lorenzo takes Dutch MotoGP victory

Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo continued his marvellous form as clinched his second consecutive MotoGP victory today at Assen.

The Fiat Yamaha rider started in pole and never looked like relinquishing his position as he claimed his fourth win of six races with a flawless performance.

The victory, coming hot on the heels of his win at Silverstone, sees Lorenzo extend his lead at the top of the standings to 47 points.

Reigning champion and crowd favourite Valentino Rossi was absent as he recovers from the broken leg he sustained in Mugello a fortnight ago and his young team-mate now looks favourite to add the MotoGP crown to the two 250cc championships he won in 2006 and 2007.

Lorenzo was runner-up to the peerless Rossi in the standings last year but was smooth in taking his fourth win of the season and is certainly the man to beat this time around.

The Spaniard finished nearly three seconds ahead of compatriot Dani Pedrosa, who had started in seventh, with Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner claiming his first podium finish of the season in third.

Despite leading from the off and steadily increasing his advantage, Lorenzo insisted his victory was not as comfortable as it appeared.

‘This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point,’ he said.

‘I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice.

‘It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish!

‘Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed.

‘Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans.’

Randy de Puniet was second on the grid, but a poor start saw him slip to seventh and he only improved one place by the end.

Lorenzo's nearest challenger before the race was Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso but the Italian started in sixth and never looked like snatching a podium finish.

And he was passed by rookie Ben Spies with ten laps to go, as the Tech 3 Yamaha rider took fourth place.

Lorenzo now has 140 points, 47 more than Honda's Pedrosa, with Dovizioso four points further back ahead of the Catalunya GP.