Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo delighted his home crowd when he claimed his fourth GP victory in a row at the seventh round of the Moto GP world championships at Catalunya at the weekend.

His Yamaha team-mate and MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi was equally stunning, starting from seventh on the grid to take second position, giving the team its fourth consecutive double podium of the season.

Lorenzo took a sensational fourth consecutive win for the first time in his career in front of a massive home crowd at Montmeló. Similar to the previous round, he led the race from start to finish, which means he set a new record for consecutive laps led in the MotoGP class with an incredible total of 103 laps.

Rossi also put in a brave performance at the slippery and greasy Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to finish second, making it a perfect weekend for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team.

Lorenzo had a strong launch from third on the grid to take the holeshot.

Leading the race from defending world champion Marc Marquez (Honda), he put the hammer down in an effort to break away from the field, but was unable to shake off his compatriot. Unfazed by the pressure from his rival, Lorenzo kept his riding smooth and consistent, which proved to be the key to success. With 23 laps to go, Marquez made a mistake in turn ten, nearly clipping Lorenzo in the process, and crashed out of the race.

The dramatic crash put Lorenzo in his favourite racing position; completely in control at the front, with a clear track as far as the eye could see, and a growing gap to the rider in second, which was none other than his team-mate.

Rossi wasn’t able to threaten until the last six laps, but Lorenzo managed the gap perfectly and held on to claim the victory in front of his home fans, with a 0,855s margin over the line.

Rossi started his Catalunya attack well, but found himself in seventh place going into turn one. Determined to score a top result he overtook Aleix Espargarò and Bradley Smith before the end of the first lap. Pol Espargarò in fourth was soon to follow, as Rossi continued to hunt down Andrea Dovizioso, passing him on lap four.

As Marquez crashed out a lap earlier, “The Doctor” was riding in second place and gave all he had to reel in Lorenzo, who was 1.5s ahead, but the Spaniard was quick to respond. Rossi kept his head down and was able to reduce the gap to nearly a second in the final stages of the race, but came just short. He went on to claim second on the podium, with a 18.570 second gap to Dani Pedrosa in third.

Lorenzo’s win delivers 25 points, keeping him in second position in the championship standings with a 137 points total, just one point behind Rossi. Rossi’s podium scored him 20 points and keeps him in the lead in the overall standings, now on 138 points.

The next MotyoGP round is in the Netherlands, at the iconic Assen TT circuit, on Saturday, June 27.

“This was my hardest win of the season, but Qatar, Austin and Argentina were tougher when it comes to racing,” said Lorenzo.

“To be honest, the last 10 laps of today’s race were probably one of the most hard and intense laps of my career. Valentino was very fast and knowing that the track was really hot and there was less grip than yesterday, I’m happy with the results.

“My bike was working a bit worse than yesterday when I was able to ride 1’41s, but that wasn’t possible today. For Valentino it was the opposite, he almost always reaches this incredible level of performance on Sunday.

“When he reduced the gap from 2.0s to 1.4s I was really worried that I would lose this race. I needed to push and risk more while the bike was already moving a lot, which is what I did on the last ten laps. After yesterday’s practice I expected, maybe not an easy victory, but more distance between me and the rider in second from the middle of the race onwards.

“I was able to keep my rhythm and stay focused and I really want to thank the team for their efforts and congratulate them with the fourth consecutive victory.”

Rossi was also satisfied with his performance.

“Throughout my career I always thought that when you take 20 points, it has been a good race,” said Rossi.

“I enjoyed this weekend, which was an important one, because I came from three races where I struggled a lot and I don’t like to arrive in third when Jorge wins. This time we found a good setting and balance on Friday so we worked for the race, which I know I’m stronger in. I was good in the beginning when I was overtaking and I was fast, but it was not enough, because when I arrived to the second position Jorge already had a 1.5s gap.

“It’s a great shame because I had the pace to fight with him and I could have been very strong in a battle, because I was very strong in braking.

“I’m still in front in the championship, but this race was important because we made a step forward and now we have to keep working like this and improve our qualifying.

“The key is the tyre rule, because Jorge is better than me in qualifying and he can position all the bikes with the extra soft tyres between me and him on the grid. It’s a shame because yesterday I had the potential to be in the top five but it gives me great motivation to try again in two weeks in Assen.”

MotoGP race result:

1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 42m 53.208s
   2. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 42m 54.093s
   3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 43m 12.663s
   4. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 43m 18.133s
   5. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 43m 20.990s
   6. Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 43m 22.767s
   7. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 43m 29.632s
   8. Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 43m 35.311s
   9. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 43m 42.558s
   10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 43m 45.777s
   11. Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 43m 46.874s
   12. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS)* 43m 48.973s
   13. Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 43m 49.040s
   14. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 44m 2.245s
   15. Alex De Angelis RSM E-Motion IodaRacing (ART) 44m 18.471s
   16. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) +1 lap
   Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) DNF
   Nicky Hayden USA Aspar MotoGP Team (RC213V-RS) DNF
   Marco Melandri ITA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) DNF
   Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) DNF
   Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) DNF
   Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) DNF
   Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
   Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) DNF

Riders’ World Championship:

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 138 points
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 137 points (-1)
3. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 94 points (-44)
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 83 points (-55)
5. Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 69 points (-69)
6. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 68 points (-70)
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR CWM LCR Honda (RC213V) 47 points (-91)
8. Maverick Viñales SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 46 points (-92)
9. Pol Espargaro SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 45 points (-93)
10. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39 points (-99)
11. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.1) 39 points (-99)
12. Aleix Espargaro SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 31 points (-107)
13. Scott Redding GBR Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 27 points (-111)
14. Yonny Hernandez COL Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 26 points (-112)
15. Hector Barbera SPA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 16 points (-122)
16. Loris Baz FRA Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha)* 13 points (-125)
17. Alvaro Bautista SPA Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 11 points (-127)
18. Jack Miller AUS CWM LCR Honda (RC213V-RS)* 11 points (-127)
19. Stefan Bradl GER Athina Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 9 points (-129)
20. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15) 8 points (-130)
21. Nicky Hayden USA Drive M7 Aspar (RC213V-RS) 8 points (-130)
22. Eugene Laverty IRL Drive M7 Aspar Honda (RC213V-RS)* 7 points (-131)
23. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 5 points (-133)
24. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14 Open) 2 points (-136)
25. Alex De Angelis RSM IodaRacing (ART) 1 points (-137)