Home win makes two in a row for Lorenzo; Marquez, second, extends his lead

BARCELONA: Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo took his second MotoGP win in a row for Ducati yesterday with a pole to flag victory at his home Catalunya Grand Prix.

Reigning world champion and overall leader Marc Marquez, Lorenzo’s compatriot and future Honda teammate, finished second, and Yamaha’s Italian great Valentino Rossi completed the podium in third place.

Marquez still extended his overall lead after seven races, the fourtime MotoGP champion now on 115 points and 27 clear of Rossi.

‘‘A second consecutive victory is amazing. It’s amazing how things change in such a small time,’’ said Lorenzo, whose win at Mugello in Italy on June 3 was his first since leaving Yamaha in 2016.

‘‘Here we have been very competitive, very constant all the weekend,’’ added the Spaniard, whose pole was his first for Ducati and whose departure from the team at season end has already been announced.

Lorenzo dropped to third at the start, as Marquez and Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone reacted faster and muscled ahead, but he kept calm and was back in front by the second lap.

He pulled away and gave his rivals no chance to come back at him, winning by 4.479sec at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Lorenzo’s Italian teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, last year’s overall runnerup, was an early faller and is now level on 66 points with the Spaniard.