MotoGP:Jorge Lorenzo wins Aragon MotoGP to narrow gap to Valentino Rossi

Jorge Lorenzo closed the gap on MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi to 14 points with victory in the Aragon Grand Prix.

Lorenzo started from second on the grid but was quicker away than pole-sitter Marc Marquez and led the rest of the way.

Reigning champion Marquez crashed out on the second lap, and although the gap was never huge, Lorenzo had 2.683 seconds to spare on Dani Pedrosa by the time the chequered flag came out.

"It was important for me to get a good start as Marc is very good over the first two laps. He gave everything to follow me and perhaps he went too far," Lorenzo said.

"It would definitely have been harder if he had continued and after that I just had to keep going and keep the distance from Dani."

Pedrosa had an intriguing duel for second with Rossi, with the pair swapping positions on numerous occasions over the last five laps, but the Italian great had to settle for third place.

Pedrosa said: "I knew I had to match his [Rossi's] rhythm. He is better in these situations as it isn't my strong point. I managed to counter-attack whenever he moved ahead and I am happy to beat him."

Rossi added: "I tried all I could to get second but this was a difficult track for me. Dani battled hard. He was able to respond every time I tried to overtake but it was a good battle."

With four races to go, Rossi leads the championship with 263 points from Lorenzo on 249 - Marquez is a distant third with 184 points.

Aragon MotoGP final result:

1 J Lorenzo (Esp) Yamaha 41 mins 44.933 secs

2 D Pedrosa (Esp) Honda +2.683s

3 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha +2.773

4 A Iannone (Ita) Ducati +7.858

5 A Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati +24.322

6 A Espargaro (Esp) Suzuki +24.829

7 C Crutchlow (Gbr) Honda +25.367

8 B Smith (Gbr) Yamaha +25.503

9 P Espargaro (Esp) Yamaha +26.452

10 Y Hernandez (Col) Ducati +43.889

Championship standings:

1 V Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 263 points

2 J Lorenzo (Esp) Yamaha 249

3 M Marquez (Esp) Honda 184

4 A Iannone (Ita) Ducati 172

5 B Smith (Gbr) Yamaha 143

6 A Dovizioso (Ita) Ducati 139

7 D Pedrosa (Esp) Honda 129

8 D Petrucci (Ita) Ducati 93

9 C Crutchlow (Gbr) Honda 88

10 P Espargaro (Esp) Yamaha 88