Jorge Lorenzo took a firm grip on this year’s MotoGP championship with a convincing win at the British Grand Prix, but it was home hero Cal Crutchlow who gave the Silverstone crowd most to cheer.
The Spaniard took the spoils on his Fiat Yamaha after passing Casey Stoner, his main rival in the standings, in a daring move at the Loop at half distance
But Midlander Crutchlow on his Tech 3 Yamaha turned in arguably the ride of the race, coming from 20th and last to sixth, despite riding with a broken and dislocated ankle after a heavy fall at Chapel curve on Saturday.
Stoner held on to finish second ahead of Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa and maiden pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista’s Gresini Honda, while early pace-setter Ben Spies fell to fifth on the second factory Yamaha.
The mixed conditions of Friday and Saturday gave way to warm and sunny conditions on race day, with Crutchlow only being given the go-ahead to race by medics before the warm-up.
Spies had the best start and led Stoner and Bautista around the first lap, while Nicky Hayden’s Ducati had a fine launch to run fourth ahead of Lorenzo and Pedrosa.
Crutchlow, meanwhile, passed eight of the slower CRT machines on the opening tour to cross the stripe in 12th place.
Stoner looked content to follow in Spies’ wheeltracks in the opening laps, but he didn’t have to wait long to hit the front as Spies ran wide on lap five, allowing the Australian though.
By this time, Crutchlow had dealt with the remaining CRT machines and the legendary Valentino Rossi, struggling at the lower end of the top ten on his Ducati.
At the front, Stoner attempted to pull the pin. But his useful-looking gap was quickly whittled down, as Lorenzo carefully picked his way though to second and quickly closed on the leading bike.
Once he caught Stoner, the pair enjoyed a brief but spectacular battle around the new complex, before Lorenzo started to stretch his legs, eventually finishing more than three seconds to the good.
Stoner started to fall into the clutches of Pedrosa and Bautista, while further back Crutchlow’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso took himself out of the running, suffering a fall while running strongly in the leading pack.
It was left to Crutchlow to provide the final moment of drama, passing Hayden’s ailing Ducati on the entry to the daunting Maggots and Becketts complex on the last lap to finish sixth, having earlier dealt with Hector Barbera and Tom Luthi.
In the CRT battle, Aleix Espargaro came out on top in 11th place overall after a race-long dice with Randy de Puniet. Second Brit James Ellison was 14th, while in the supporting Moto2 class, home rider Scott Redding took a gritty and popular second place.