THIS WAS SO NEARLY A

classic. The early laps had everything: the factory Ducatis blasting into the lead, either side of first-lap leader Lorenzo, then Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez together on track for the first time since last year. On lap three Marquez was fastest, so it seemed like it was game on.

But Iannone and Dovizioso had so much straight-line speed that it seemed all they had to do was stay with the leader and then draft past to win. Iannone led four laps until Dovizioso snuck under him with the pass of the race. That seemed to unsettle the former Moto2 star, who lost the front in a blaze of sparks half a lap later.

Iannone’s exit was a major disappointment because his all-attack style would have kept the race alight. Instead Lorenzo passed Dovizioso on lap 9 of 22, stayed in front the next time they rushed down the 346-km/h start-finish and dug deep to deny any counter-attack. He was now fully in the groove, raising the pace to gap Dovizioso, with Marquez and Rossi right behind, but next time around Dovizioso closed right up on the leading Yamaha. Two laps later, it was Rossi’s turn to go fastest. It still seemed like this might erupt into a battle royal.

Then Lorenzo got really serious. Working the Michelin front harder than anyone and using more lean angle as he attacked each apex the reigning champ upped the pace again, stretching his advantage to six-tenths. Four laps to go and Marquez finally sliced past Dovizioso to set off in pursuit of Lorenzo. But it wasn’t to be. The very next lap the leader administered the with a stunning record-breaking lap. So much for the theory that Michelin tyres and MotoGP’s new control electronics would have riders desperately struggling for grip in the closing stages.

Lorenzo checked out, leaving Marquez, Dovizioso and Rossi fighting for the last two podium places. Dovizioso used his Ducati’s speed to pounce on Marquez on the penultimate lap and, although the Spaniard made a desperate lunge at the final corner, momentarily getting past the Ducati, he couldn’t hit the apex and Dovizioso immediately regained second.

Rossi had apparently blown his chances by running wide with four laps to go but he too dug in and closed down Marquez. At the flag he was only a 10th behind, with Marquez two-tenths behind Dovizioso, who was two seconds down on Lorenzo.

It was an awesome display from the 2010, 2012 and 2015 champion and his first time on the podium at the first race since 2013. His celebration was subtle and to the point: miming the act of zipping his mouth. After all the bullshit of late 2015 and early 2016 this was what he meant, “I will do my talking on the track”.

Afterwards Lorenzo glowed with satisfaction, attributing much of his success to a last-minute decision to switch to the softer-option rear slick, while Marquez and Rossi ran the harder rear. “I asked myself which tyre I should use because I’d had problems keeping my pace, while Viñales was getting faster and faster with