Lorenzo Holds Off Marquez

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Jorge Lorenzo ensured the MotoGP title race will go down to the wire as he won the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of championship leader Marc Marquez at Motegi.

The defending world champion started from pole and held off rookie Marquez for 22 hard-fought laps around the Twin Ring circuit to clinch his second straight victory.

The Yamaha rider took the chequered flag ahead of his Honda rival to trim the gap at the top of the standings to 13 points heading into the final race of the season in Valencia.

Marquez will need to finish no lower than fourth in Spain on November 10 to become the youngest world champion in the 64-year history of MotoGP.

The 20-year-old ended team-mate Dani Pedrosa's slim title hopes as his fellow Spaniard came in third, while Honda's Alvaro Bautista made it an all-Spain top four.

"This track is normally better for them so winning here in Honda's home race is a pleasure," Lorenzo said afterwards.

"It's been a really hard, physical race but I really kept my concentration and I really wanted this victory."

Marquez's eventful first season in MotoGP continued during the morning practice session when he lost control of his bike and slid into the trackside gravel trap.

He was cleared to start the race, but he slipped to third after two corners as Lorenzo got off the line well and Valentino Rossi stormed into second place.

But Rossi missed the braking point at a corner on lap two, allowing Marquez and Pedrosa to slip past, and the Honda pair soon closed the gap on leader Lorenzo.

However, the 26-year-old produced a near-flawless ride to hold off his rivals and clinch his seventh victory of the season, and the 30th of his MotoGP career.

"It was a difficult race for me because of this morning's big crash but also because it was my first time in this track," Marquez said.

"I tried to follow Jorge. In the middle of the race it looked like we were stronger but in the end I saw that Jorge tried to push a little bit more.

"I felt I was too much on the limit and I said 'okay, 20 points for the championship'. Valencia will be another race and very interesting for sure."

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Lorenzo Poles in Japan

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Jorge Lorenzo claimed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix and will start one place in front of championship leader Marc Marquez for the second week in succession.

The Spaniard clocked a lap of one minute 53.471 seconds to edge his compatriot in an extended session after bad fog saw Friday practice postponed.

Britain's Cal Cutchlow was 11th, his worst grid position of 2013.

Marquez can win the world title if he outscores Lorenzo by eight points.

Lorenzo won in Australia last week to keep his title hopes alive and he maintained his momentum in a 75-minute session at the penultimate event in the season.

The Yamaha rider was quickest early on and then consolidated his fourth pole of the season as conditions dried at the Twin Ring Montegi track.

Ducati's Nicky Hayden earned third and his best grid position of 2013 but was nudged from second when Honda's Marquez found some pace on his final lap.

Marquez, 20, can win the world championship in his debut season this weekend and only he could finish qualifying within a second of Lorenzo as rival riders struggled to keep pace.

Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi are on the second row with the second Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso in sixth, while Cutchlow finished outside the top 10 for the first time since last year's British MotoGP.

With 25 points available for a win, Marquez will become the youngest ever MotoGP World Champion and first rookie title winner for 35 years if he extends his existing 18 point lead to 26.

Results:

1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha 01min 53.471secs

2. Marc Marquez (Spa) Honda +0.658 seconds

3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati +1.068

4. Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Honda +1.071

5. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha +1.261

6. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati +1.565

7. Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Honda +1.664

8. Stefan Bradl (Ger) Honda +2.139

9. Aleix Espargaro (Spa) Aspar +2.248

10. Yonny Hernandez (Col) Ducati +2.527

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Lorenzo Wins Australia

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Jorge Lorenzo's MotoGP world title hopes remain alive after he won a dramatic Australian Grand Prix which saw championship leader Marc Marquez disqualified.

Yamaha's Lorenzo, who started from pole and led throughout, now trails his fellow Spaniard by 18 points going into next week's penultimate race in Japan.

Riders had to change bikes mid-race because of safety concerns over tyres.

But Marquez failed to pit by the required time and scored no points.

After the race, BBC Sport's MotoGP presenter Matt Roberts tweeted that Marquez's Honda team had said it was a pit-board error which led to their rider being disqualified.

Dani Pedrosa was second while Valentino Rossi held off the challenge of Britain's Cal Crutchlow for third.

Lorenzo described the race as "crazy" because of the compulsory bike change but his maximum return of 25 points, coupled with Marquez failing to register, means the title race has been opened up.

"We were lucky," said Lorenzo. "Without the mistake from Marc I think he would have been first or second - now the championship has changed so much.

"Before the race we had no chance - a 2% or 3% chance - and now it's 20% or 30%.

"Let's see what happens in Motegi." [the venue for next Sunday's race in Japan]

After setting the fastest time in qualifying, Lorenzo started well from pole and held off Marquez and Pedrosa in the opening lap before looking very comfortable.

Tyre supplier Bridgestone said before the race that they were unable to guarantee the safety of their rear slick tyres beyond 10 laps because of the newly-resurfaced track at Phillip Island.

As a result, it was decided to shorten the race to 19 laps from 27, with a mid-race pit stop.

Pedrosa was the first of the top three to pit on lap nine, while Lorenzo made his change on the following lap.

However, Marquez stayed out on the track until lap 11 and when he rejoined the race he had a minor clash with Lorenzo for top spot but the race leader retained his advantage.

Marquez's hopes of securing the title in his rookie season then suffered a blow when he was shown the black flag for exceeding the maximum number of laps permitted before having to pit.

Result

1. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 29 minutes 07.155 seconds

2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda +6.936 secs

3. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha +12.344

4. Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha +12.460

5. Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda +12.513

6. Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha +28.263

7. Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati +32.953

8. Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati +35.062

9. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati +35.104

10. Randy de Puniet (France) Aprilia +37.426

Championship standings

1. Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 298 points

2. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 280

3. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 264

4. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 214

5. Cal Crutchlow (Great Britain) Yamaha 179

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Lorenzo Poles Downunder

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Jorge Lorenzo broke the Phillip Island lap record to claim pole for the Australian MotoGP as he fights to keep alive his World Championship defence.

The Yamaha racer, 26, dominated the session with a best lap of one minute 27.899 seconds - 0.221 seconds faster than fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez.

Marquez is 43 points ahead in the standings and will secure the title in his rookie season if he collects eight more points than Lorenzo. 

Briton Cal Crutchlow will start sixth.

Tyre problems - which have seen the Moto2 race shortened to 13 laps - mean that the MotoGP race will have a mandatory pit stop, for the first time in MotoGP history.

Bridgestone tyres say that they are unable to guarantee the safety of their rear slick tyres beyond 14 laps at a Phillip Island circuit which has been resurfaced since last year's race.

Each MotoGP rider will be required to enter the pits and change to his second machine with fresh tyres at the midway point of the 26-lap race, which has been reduced by a lap.

Lorenzo beat Casey Stoner's previous record of 1:28.665, set in 2008, but had to pit to remove a seagull that had lodged in his bike after a collision at the top of Lukey Heights before securing his 28th career MotoGP pole.

"We've done our best to be competitive," he said. "This lap [we did] is a lap you can only do with a PlayStation. Today we made it - we improved seven tenths [of a second] from our first ride here.

"It's impressive how much faster we can go with new tyres. We're very proud of pole, but our most important thing is tomorrow."

Results:

1. Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha, 1:27.899

2. Marc Marquez (Spa) Repsol Honda +0.221 seconds

3. Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha +0.748

4. Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Gresini Honda +0.814

5. Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Repsol Honda +0.849

6. Cal Crutchlow (GB) Yamaha Tech +0.910

7. Bradley Smith (GB) Yamaha Tech +1.042

8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati +1.396

9. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati +1.761

10. Andrea Iannone (Ita) Ducati +1.857

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Lorenzo Marc's Win Three

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World champion Jorge Lorenzo cut Marc Marquez's lead at the top of the MotoGP standings to 34 points with victory in San Marino, his second win in a row.

The 26-year-old, who started from the front row on his Yamaha, has now won his last three races at Misano.

Fellow Spaniard Marquez took second, with Repsol Honda team-mate, and title rival, Dani Pedrosa third and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi fourth.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow finished in sixth position on his Tech 3 Yamaha.

Lorenzo insisted his title hopes were over after winning the British Grand Prix a fortnight ago, but his latest victory keeps alive his hopes of retaining the crown, with five legs of the 18-race season remaining.

He has moved into second place in the standings behind 20-year-old Marquez, and level on points with Pedrosa, but remains cautious about his title chances.

"It is important to win, but we have only recovered five points, so it is the same as Silverstone," he said. "It doesn't make a big difference to the championship.

"But I'm very happy for this victory, because we struggled a lot during the weekend, especially on braking."

Marquez, who started on pole but dropped to fourth early in the race, said: "The second place is important, especially because with the fuel tank full, I was struggling.

"I did go wide twice and that penalised me a lot in the race but we had a good race to take points for the championship. That is important."

The win, the 49th of Lorenzo's career, means the Mallorcan has triumphed at both Italian races on the calendar for three successive seasons. 

From second on the grid, he took the lead as Marquez dropped to third on the opening lap.

The championship leader, who crashed in the morning warm-up, recovered to pass both Rossi and Pedrosa but, with the Honda team-mates locked in battle until the end, Lorenzo cruised to victory.

Rossi was competing on his home circuit, renamed the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in honour of his close friend, whodied following a crash at the 2011 Malaysian MotoGP.

In Moto2, Britain's Scott Redding had his lead in the standings cut to 23 points by finishing sixth.

Title rival Pol Espargaro secured victory, denying Takaaki Nakagami a career-first win by passing him on the penultimate lap.

San Marino Grand Prix result:

1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spa) Yamaha 44:05.522

2 Marc Marquez (Spa) Repsol Honda +3.379secs

3 Dani Pedrosa (Spa) Repsol Honda +7.368

4 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha +15.062

5 Stefan Bradl (Ger) LCR Honda +22.355

6 Cal Crutchlow (GB) Tech 3 Yamaha +22.599

7 Alvaro Bautista (Spa) Honda Gresini +31.059

8 Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati +42.702

9 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati +44.858

10 Michele Pirro (Ita) Pramac Ducati +47.818

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Stoner Wins Last GP on Home Soil

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Casey Stoner has won his sixth successive Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo the MotoGP world championship.

In his farewell home MotoGP before retiring from the sport, Australian Stoner continued his domination of the Phillip Island event he has made his own since he first won on the track in 2007.

Yamaha rider Lorenzo finished second to secure the world title, with Briton Cal Crutchlow third.

The only other man who could beat Lorenzo for the world championship - Honda rider Dani Pedrosa - crashed out on lap two of the 27-lap race while leading.

Lorenzo has an unassailable lead in the points standings with just one more race remaining this season.

It is Lorenzo's second world title after he won in 2010.

Starting from pole, Honda rider Stoner was beaten off the start line by both Lorenzo and Pedrosa, with Pedrosa taking the lead from his fellow Spaniard late on the opening lap.

But Pedrosa slid out of control while taking a corner less than a minute later.

He returned his Repsol Honda to the pits, and retired from the race.

For Stoner, it was a remarkable result in front of a record Phillip Island MotoGP attendance of more than 53,000.

Once he inherited the lead from the fallen Pedrosa, Stoner built his lead on every lap - Lorenzo perhaps content to do what he needed to in order to wrap up the title.

Stoner eventually beat Lorenzo by more than nine seconds.

Stoner had been dominant all weekend at Phillip Island, having lapped a second quicker than his rivals for most of the practice and qualifying sessions.

More than 122,000 fans attended the three-day event - a 25 per cent increase on last year as spectators flocked to see Stoner in his last MotoGP on Australian soil before his retirement.

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Lorenzo Secures Sepang Win

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Jorge Lorenzo closed in on the MotoGP crown after tiptoeing home in second place behind title rival Dani Pedrosa in a wet race in Malaysia.

Lorenzo started on pole but ceded the lead to his fellow Spaniard with 11 laps to go as the rain started to fall on an already wet Sepang track.

Pedrosa was coping much better with the wet conditions and was over three seconds clear when the race was eventually halted seven laps earlier than the scheduled 20 with riders dropping like flies.

Lorenzo clearly had no intention of attempting to match the pace of Repsol Honda's Pedrosa, with second place enough to keep him 23 points clear in the championship standings.

The Yamaha rider appeared to have called it right as he survived a serious wobble moments before the red flags came out to halt the race.

Britain's Cal Crutchlow was one of a number of riders to fall victim to the treacherous conditions, with Randy de Puniet sliding off in exactly the same spot as the Briton made his way off the track.

Andrea Dovizioso was pushing Casey Stoner for third place when he slid off, all but ending the Italian's hopes of catching the Honda rider in championship.

Yamaha's Ben Spies was already struggling down in ninth when he high-sided and suffered what looked a nasty wrist injury in the process, while Stefan Bradl and Ivan Silva also crashed out.

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