MotoGP Round 5 at Mugello

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Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, in a desperate bid to keep the championship close, did exactly what he does best: Get out front immediately and run a consistent series of punishing laps to break his rivals. That’s the Lorenzo way and that’s exactly what he did at the Mugello circuit Sunday to claim his second win of the year in the fifth round of the MotoGP world championship.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa finished second but only after teammate Marc Marquez crashed out of the number two place with three laps to go. Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow rode to an impressive a third place-finish, his second podium in a row.

But for many of the partisan fans at Mugello, the race ended on fourth comer of the first lap. With the riders still bunched from the start, Alvaro Bautista drifted wide and collided with local hero Valentino Rossi taking both riders out of the race. Race direction said it would investigate the incident.

For much of the race after the incident, Lorenzo led Pedrosa and Marquez in a tight cluster well clear of the pack. Then with 10 laps to go, Lorenzo ticked up the pace and Pedrosa began to fade. Marquez closed on his teammate and followed for a handful of laps. He pounced with five laps to go slicing inside Pedrosa on the Savelli curve and immediately opening a small gap.

Then Marquez, who had crashed three times in practice throughout the weekend, did it again for the fourth and final time at Mugello at the same corner where he had passed Pedrosa minutes earlier, just when he seemingly had second place locked up.

As it stands, Pedrosa still leads the championship with 103 points but now sits only 12 points clear of his primary rival, Jorge Lorenzo with 91 points. Marc Marquez remains third with 77 points.