After getting rubbish start and almost dropping outside of the top ten, Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa came good to take second place by race end.
"It's been a very difficult race. At the start, many riders overtook me and I thought 'that's it'," Pedrosa said.
"Anyway, I knew there were 27 laps and the situation was difficult for the tyres. I was a little nervous after my bad start, but when I realised that in the first lap I was faster than in the warm-up, I calmed down and started to improve. I took a good pace and had to ride at maximum concentration in order not to not make any mistakes; it was very easy to crash. Some riders started falling down and it was a matter of resisting. I tried to catch Lorenzo when I saw that his gap was about a second, but at ten laps to go the tyres were almost finished; To leave Jerez with a second place finish, after the third place in Qatar, is amazing," he concluded.
Ducati's Nicky Hayden ended up winning the lottery for the final spot on the podium after Ben Spies crashed out with a couple of laps to go. There were a few riders in with a chance for the spot, namely Colin Edwards, Cal Crutchlow and Hiroshi Aoyama. Edwards and Crutchlow crashed out while Aoyama needed another lap to chase down the American.
"That wasn't necessarily a pretty win because my last laps were so slow when the tires were worn, but we're on the podium, and I'm pretty happy about it! In the beginning, our bike was really good because I had a lot of traction. After a while, it was all about focus, and there was no room for error," Hayden said.
San Carlo Honda Gresini's Hiroshi Aoyama challenged Hayden for the final podium position during the final lap, crossing the line just four tenths of a second behind Hayden for his best result since moving to MotoGP last season.
"The situation was really tricky today but we have taken a solid result from a tough race. A lot of riders went down but I was able to manage the situation at the most critical points. I am pleased but not totally satisfied because with a bit more conviction early in the race I could have passed some slower riders and I'm sure that would have put me on the podium," Aoyama said.
Valentino Rossi recovered from his crash with Stoner to cross the line 5th. Rossi tried to make a move up the inside of Stoner going onto the first turn but lost the front and took a totally innocent Stoner down as well. Marshalls appeared to rush to help Rossi get going again while a fuming Stoner was left stranded on the side of the track in what will be a big talking point for a few weeks to come.
"Today in the wet we had a great chance for me to make my first podium with Ducati, or even to get my first win. I felt good, both with the bike and my shoulder, because I could brake where I wanted to rather than where I'm forced to in the dry, since I still don't have the necessary strength. The bike is very fast in the wet," Rossi said.
"I was advancing really well, and I'm sorry to have made that mistake and thrown away such an opportunity. While braking for the first corner, I entered a bit long, and although I tried to stay to the inside, I lost the front and couldn't stay up.
"I'm sorry, because I also took out Stoner, and I certainly didn't want to do that. I apologized to him, and I'm truly sorry," Rossi admitted.
With all the carnage going on Hector Barbera and MotoGP Rookie Karel Abraham benefited finishing 6th and 7th respectively. Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow remounted after crashing to finish 8th.
"I never thought I'd crash in MotoGP and still get a top ten 10! That was an unbelievable race and not one of the easiest I've had in my career," Crutchlow said.
Toni Elias, Rizla Suzuki's John Hopkins, Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso made up the twelve finishers.
With the Japanese GP being transferred to later in the year the next round is now four weeks away at Estoril.
Main Photo: Lorenzo takes the flag at his hom GP
Credit: Yamaha Racing
2011 MotoGP - Spain - Jerez Circuit
1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 50'49.046
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'19.339
3 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'29.085
4 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 0'29.551
5 Valentino Rossi Ducati ITA 1'02.227
6 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 1'08.440
7 Karel Abraham Ducati CZE 1'14.120
8 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1'19.110
9 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'42.906
10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'48.395
11 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'51.876
12 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA -1Laps
MotoGP World Standing- Rider Standings After Race 2 of 18
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 45
2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 36
3. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 25
4. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 23
5. Valentino Rossi Ducati ITA 20
6. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 19
7. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 17
8. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 14
9. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 13
10. Karel Abraham Ducati CZE 12
11. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 11
12. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 10
13. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 8
14. Toni Elias Honda ESP 7
15. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 6
16. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 5
