Spanish riders delighted their home fans with wins in all three races in unexpectedly sunny weather at Motorland Aragon after two days of wet practice and still-damp qualifying sessions, while the two South African riders stayed out of trouble for creditable finishes - although Brad Binder must be ready to bite chunks out of his Kalex's screen after finishing 16th - one place out of the points! - for the second time in a row.
MOTOGP
Factory Yamaha team leader Jorge Lorenzo got the hole shot off pole position to lead Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Ben Spies, on the second works Yamaha, into Turn 1. The first two laps were disastrous for the Ducati team, as first Valentino Rossi touched the rear wheel of Jonathan Rea's Honda and had to run off the circuit, and then Nicky Hayden had a huge crash in Turn 16, getting thrown violently over the advertising boards.
He received instant medical attention and was later declared OK by the medical centre, but was wearing a neck brace and will undergo more precautionary checks to rule out internal injuries.
Lap four saw Pedrosa close in on Lorenzo's rear wheel, as Honda privateer Stefan Bradl passed Spies for third, only to crash out a few corners later as he lost the front pushing too hard. That allowed the Yamaha Tech 3 satellite duo of Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso to hunt down Spies' works machine a spot on the podium.
Pedrosa made his move on Lorenzo on lap seven, taking the lead for the first time. Lorenzo tried to come back at him, but had a big wobble on lap nine, giving Pedrosa a bigger gap at the front, while Rossi was making his way up through the pack.
On lap 11 Crutchlow ran wide coming onto the main straight, letting Dovizioso into fourth.
By lap 17 Pedrosa had pulled out a gap of more than four seconds at the front, as Dovizioso outbraked Spies, with Crutchlow also having a look up the inside, but to no avail.
But Crutchlow was not about to give up and pushed his way past Spies with five laps to go, immediately setting his sights on his Italian team mate.
The Tech 3 pair provided a thrilling final two fighting for the final podium spot, with Crutchlow desperately looking for a way past, trying every line he could find through the final few corners as the two went fairing-to-fairing with Crutchlow.
Pedrosa came home more than six seconds clear of Lorenzo, who in turn was five seconds clear of a superb finish for third, with Dovizioso, riding the widest Yamaha on the planet, getting the nod by 0.137sec for his sixth podium of the season.
Pedrosa's win further cut Lorenzo's championship lead to 33 points with four races to go, with Casey Stoner out of the picture on 189 in third as he battles back to fitness after ankle surgery and Dovizioso a distant fourth on 179.
MOTO2
Pole-sitter Simone Corsi (FTR) led into the first turn, followed by Kalex rider Claudio Corti and local hero Pol Espargaró, also on a Kalex - and there instant drama as Corti’s team-mate Takaaki Nakagami slid off the track, skittling veteran FTR rider Alex de Angelis in the process.
The opening laps were already a hard-fought affair, as Speed Up rider Andrea Iannone and Marc Márquez (Suter) pushed their way into second and third respectively behind Corsi, with Espargaró on their tail – but Corsi’s reign was over on lap five as Márquez made his move to lead the race for the first time.
Espargaró and Iannone moved into second and third as Corsi's seemed to lose pace, with Motobi rider Johann Zarco also looking for a way past. Corsi, however, was having none of it, and pushed past Iannone under braking at the start of lap eight to retake third.
A lap later Corsi took advantage of a gap to grab seconds, but Espargaro immediately struck back and, in fact, it was Iannone who looked to have found an extra gear as he moved into second on lap 13.
The last-lap battle began on lap 16 of 21 with Iannone, Espargaró and Márquez bashing fairings and swapping places on almost every corner, and Zarco, Tech 3’s Bradley Smith nipping at their heels and Scott Redding (Kalex) all over Márquez like a rash.
The final two laps were cliffhanger stuff as Espargaró pulled out a the smallest of leads, with Márquez and Iannone banging elbows in every corner as they fought for second - only for Redding who capitalise on their duel as he took Iannone for third on the final lap.
South African rider Steven Odendaal stayed out of trouble to finish a creditable 21st, 33 seconds behind the leader, while Márquez's second-place finish kept him safe at the top of the championship standings with a 48-point lead over Espargaró, 258 to 210.
MOTO3
The drama began even before the start as Maverick Viñales' FTR Honda went sick on the sighting lap, leaving the title challenger unable to contest his home round.
Once the race did get underway it was Jonas Folger on Kalex KTM who got the hole shot and led the early stages ahead from Luis Salom's similar bike.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin (KTM) made a brave move three laps in to take the lead from Folger, taking Sandro Cortese on another KTM with him. A lap later Efrén Vázquez (FTR Honda) began a charge that took him into fourth - and he stuck to Folger's back wheel until he was able to take him up the inside for third.
Folger came under further pressure a few laps later as Alex Rins on a Suter Honda outbraked him into Turn 1 and moved ahead to join the leading group - which by then consisted of no less than 13 riders, constantly changing position, with Cortese taking the lead with on lap seven.
But by lap 10 this group had thinned out as the top riders pulled away, and then, with six laps to go it was heartbreak for Khairuddin as he crashed out of the race.
With three laps to go the lead was chopping and changing, and the final lap was a thriller as Cortese, Salom and Folger were almost side by side in the final corner and it was the local rider who took the chequered flag for his second win of the season, ahead of Cortese and Folger.
South African hopeful Brad Binder (Kalex KTM) finished 16th, a distant 21 seconds behind Alex Marquez' Suter Honda in 15th.
Viñales’ retirement put Cortese 51 points clear at the top of the championship.
RESULTS – MOTOGP
1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda – 42min10.444
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha +6.472sec
3 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Yamaha +11.047
4 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha +11.184
5 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha +13.786
6 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda +28.166
7 Jonathan Rea (Britain) Honda +32.290
8 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Ducati +44.432
9 Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Ducati +57.417
10 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) ART +58.525
11 Randy de Puniet (France) ART +59.863
12 Hector Barbera (Spain) Ducati 1min14.561
13 Yonny Hernandez (Colombia) BQR +1min16.159
14 James Ellison (Britain) ART +1min16.580
15 Michele Pirro (Italy) FTR +1min25.815
16 Mattia Pasini (Italy) ART +1min31.801
17 Danilo Petrucci (Italy) Ioda-Suter +1min42.300
18 Colin Edwards (US) Suter +1 lap
MOTO2
1 Pol Espargaro (Spain) Kalex - 40min25.260
2 Marc Marquez (Spain) Suter +1.447sec
3 Scott Redding (Britain) Kalex +1.743
4 Andrea Iannone (Italy) Speed Up +1.825
5 Bradley Smith (Britain) Tech3 +2.193
6 Johann Zarco (France) Motobi +2.999
7 Simone Corsi (Italy) FTR +4.317
8 Jordi Torres (Spain) Suter +5.115
9 Claudio Corti (Italy) Kalex +5.519
10 Anthony West (Australia) Speed Up +5.631
21 Steven Odendaal (South Africa) AJR +32.879
MOTO3
1 Luis Salom (Spain) Kalex KTM – 40min56.391
2 Sandro Cortese (Germany) KTM +0.155sec
3 Jonas Folger (Germany) Kalex KTM +0.362
4 Danny Kent (Britain) KTM +1.115
5 Efren Vasquez (Spain) FTR Honda +1.160
6 Alex Rins (Spain) Suter Honda +1.765
7 Louis Rossi (France) FTR Honda +1.839
8 Miguel Oliveira (Portugal) Suter Honda +1.972
9 Arthur Sissis (Australia) KTM +2.415
10 Niccolo Antonelli (Italy) FTR Honda +3.983
16 Brad Binder (South Africa) Kalex KTM +36.470