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Little side note: Iannone's nasty shunt and Pedrosa's likely podium means the Ducati man is going to lose out in the fight for fourth in the championship.
Crutchlow is getting a move on in his own charge, he's up to 12th place now.
Still 20 laps to go, though.
But right now, the Hondas are falling away from Lorenzo, particularly Pedrosa, who is 1.5s off the lead.
Sixth would make Rossi champion IF Lorenzo is only third behind the Hondas.
Rossi puts a firm move on Espargaro and is into sixth place.
Lorenzo is inching further away - now 0.7s clear of Marquez and 1.5s ahead of Pedrosa after nine laps.
Rossi gets very, very close to the back of Espargaro, still no way through.
Crutchlow, who also had to start at the back, is up to 16th now.
Pedrosa is now 1.3s off Lorenzo's lead in third, but 7.3s clear of Dovizioso in fourth as the Ducati fends off Espargaro's Suzuki.
Replays show Rossi sliding a bit wide, but he stays seventh and is straight back on Pol Espargaro's tail.
Replays show Rossi sliding a bit wide, but he stays seventh and is straight back on Pol Espargaro's tail.
The top three are still within a single second, but the Hondas aren't giving Lorenzo too much hassle at the moment - Marquez is 0.6s behind him.
If/when Rossi passes the Espargaros and Dovizioso, he then faces a big gap to the podium fight. Fourth placed Dovizioso is already 6.5 behind third-placed Pedrosa.
Rossi is really counting on the Hondas here. He needs them to beat Lorenzo to make this realistic, or to not give him too hard a fight if he catches them.
Next up for Rossi is a big battle for fifth between Dovizioso and the Espargaro brothers.
Rossi outbrakes Petrucci into seventh, with Smith following him through. That's 26th to seventh in six laps.
Lorenzo builds his lead to 0.5s over Marquez, with Pedrosa looking perhaps the quicker of the Hondas right now.
Rossi gets alongside Smith but can't get through. Smith then appears to notice who it is when Rossi draws up next to him for a second time, and Rossi is through to eighth.
Marquez remains very close behind Lorenzo, the lead gap is just 0.4s and Pedrosa is right with them too.
Smith's attention is focused on Petrucci ahead of him. He has a little wobble under braking for Turn 1, but no chance for Rossi to come through.
Lorenzo is on course to beat Rossi to the title by 11 points at the moment, but don't expect Rossi to stay ninth. Though right now, he's not making huge ground on Smith.
Rossi is in the next group, Pol Espargaro, Petrucci and Smith are ahead of him with 26 laps left.
Lorenzo still has both Marquez and Pedrosa within seven tenths of a second of his tail in the lead battle. There's then a 2.5s cushion back to Dovizioso, who has Aleix Espargaro chasing him.
Rossi's next target is Smith in eighth.
So Lorenzo leads Marquez by four tenths of a second, Rossi is now ninth. Right now, Lorenzo is still on course to be champion but there are a lot of laps left.
Iannone is OK, but his Ducati is very emphatically broken.
Crash
Iannone has a hefty crash from a close fourth place, that elevates Rossi to ninth.
Rossi nips past Pirro next. Into the top 10.
Crutchlow started at the back and is now running 21st.
Rossi outbrakes Bradl into Turn 1. He's into 11th now after two laps.
Lorenzo still can't shake off the Hondas.
But remember if Lorenzo wins this, Rossi has to be second... He's past Bautista for 12th now.
Rossi gets inside Hernandez and moves up to 13th.
Lorenzo's lead over Marquez is two tenths of a second on the second lap, with Pedrosa and Iannone right with them.
Rossi follows Hernandez past Hayden and into 14th.
Marquez and Pedrosa are staying with Lorenzo at the front of the field, the Yamaha man hasn't been able to make a break yet.
Rossi is past Baz and into 15th.
Lorenzo leads Marquez, Pedrosa, Iannone and Dovizioso after half a lap.
Rossi takes more places through the opening comers, he's now 16th.
Green flag
Amazing start from Rossi, he's 19th by Turn 1. Lorenzo leads the Hondas.
The field is back on the grid for the start. Here we go.
By: Matt Beer
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