Pedrosa downs Lorenzo in tight race
Pedrosa took a truly great victory at Estoril
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa has overcome Jorge Lorenzo to win the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.
Pedrosa stalked his Spanish countryman for the majority of the race, before pulling the winning passing move on the front-straight with just four laps remaining.
Still recovering from shoulder surgery, Pedrosa was visibly in pain after the race.
Casey Stoner took a distant third, while Andrea Dovisioso made it three Repsol Hondas in the top four by edging Valentino Rossi’s Ducati at the finish line.
Colin Edwards, Hiroshi Aoyama, Cal Crutchlow, Nicky Hayden and Randy de Puniet completed the top 10.
Front-row starter Marco Simoncelli walked away from a major high-side on the opening lap – completing an unwanted trifecta for the Italian, having also crashed in practice and qualifying.
Hector Barbera joined Simoncelli on the pavement at Turn 4 – his first race crash since debuting in the premier class at the beginning of last season.
Karel Abraham was another to crash out – falling on Lap 2.
Pedrosa has now closed to within four points of Lorenzo in the title standings, with Stoner holding down third.
CLICK HERE for the full championship points after three races
See below for the race result
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 45’51.483 |
| 2 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +3.051 |
| 3 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +7.658 |
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +16.530 |
| 5 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +16.555 |
| 6 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +32.575 |
| 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | +38.749 |
| 8 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +40.912 |
| 9 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +54.887 |
| 10 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | +59.697 |
| 11 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | +1’00.374 |
| 12 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | +1’01.793 |
| 13 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +1’24.370 |
| DNF | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 16 Laps |
| DNF | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 27 Laps |
| DNF | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 0 Lap |
| DNF | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 0 Lap |