• Lorenzo leads from first corner to secure third win of season
• Casey Stoner's lead reduced to 35 points with five races left

Jorge Lorenzo led from the first corner to win the San Marino Grand Prix and end Casey Stoner's run of three successive MotoGP wins. Lorenzo's fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa took second place while Stoner finished third, an 11th consecutive podium finish.

The world championship leader Stoner had pole position but Lorenzo snatched the lead and never looked back as the world champion won his third race of the season. Stoner's world title lead over Lorenzo was cut from 44 to 35 points with five races to go. Andrea Dovizioso is 39 points further back in third place after finishing fifth, having been pipped for fourth spot on the final lap by his great rival and fellow Italian Marco Simoncelli.

For the first few laps, Stoner stalked Lorenzo and looked as if he was waiting for the moment to make his move. Instead, the Spaniard began to pull clear from the 12th lap and never looked in danger. Stoner, the 2007 world champion, surrendered second position to his Honda team‑mate Pedrosa late in the race.

"It was just a case of not giving up and keeping working," Lorenzo said. "The team have done a great job to give me a competitive bike again and … we've been quick all weekend. I expected a very hard fight with Casey but fortunately for me he lost some pace in the middle of the race."

Stoner blamed sleepless nights for his performance. "The bike felt pretty good, we were happy with the way the bike was performing," he said. "I was sitting behind Jorge because there was some water and I didn't want to be the one hitting the wet patches. I was comfortable, everything was working really well but halfway through the race, I just started getting tired.

"My arms were struggling on the brakes, I ran wide a couple of times, started braking earlier and it built from there. These last few races have been pretty tiring and a few bad nights' sleep didn't help. It was a tough race today, Jorge rode a fantastic race, he didn't make any mistakes, so he was able to pull away at the front."

Valentino Rossi burst from 11th on the grid to fifth place in the opening laps, before the seven-times world champion finished seventh.