Stoner dominates Catalunya GP

Although local hero Lorenzo managed to burst into the lead from third on the grid at the start, by the end of lap one Stoner's Honda was already lining up to pass the Yamaha, which it did with ease into Turn 1.

After that Stoner had little trouble controlling the race, showing the pace that had seen him top all three practice sessions as he sat on a lead cushion of two to three seconds for the duration.

The only threat to Stoner's third win of the year came from the weather, which kept threatening to turn wet. But drizzle aside, the rain largely held off - perhaps to the disappointment of spectators hoping for more incident in what became a processional race.

Ben Spies got up to third at the start and stayed there to take his first podium as a factory Yamaha MotoGP rider. Behind him, Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) and Valentino Rossi (Ducati) had yet another side by side battle early on before settling into formation and chasing the American to the flag.

Polesitter Marco Simoncelli's Gresini Honda tumbled to seventh on the first lap, and only managed to regain one place. He caught the Dovizioso/Rossi battle for a while before drifting away again.

Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow claimed his best MotoGP result yet in seventh, despite dropping to 10th at the start. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) moved the other way - fighting for fifth initially before his pace faded and he slipped to eighth.

The best battle of the race was for ninth, which was disputed between most of the rest of the depleted field. Loris Capirossi emerged in front for Pramac Ducati, just ahead of Karel Abraham's Cardion Ducati.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Gresini Honda) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Ducati) were the only retirements, tangling at Turn 1 in an early incident for which Aoyama accepted responsibility.

Results - 25 laps:

Pos  Rider             Team/Bike         Time/Gap
 1.  Casey Stoner      Honda           43m19.779s
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha            + 2.403s
 3.  Ben Spies         Yamaha            + 4.291s
 4.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda             + 5.255s
 5.  Valentino Rossi   Ducati            + 7.371s
 6.  Marco Simoncelli  Gresini Honda    + 11.831s
 7.  Cal Crutchlow     Tech 3 Yamaha    + 26.483s
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           + 33.243s
 9.  Loris Capirossi   Pramac Ducati    + 43.092s
10.  Karel Abraham     Cardion Ducati   + 43.113s
11.  Hector Barbera    Aspar Ducati     + 44.224s
12.  Alvaro Bautista   Suzuki           + 45.239s
13.  Toni Elias        LCR Honda        + 58.268s

Retirements:

     Randy de Puniet   Pramac Ducati       3 laps
     Hiroshi Aoyama    Gresini Honda       3 laps