MotoGP Grand Prix of Italy 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Jorge Lorenzo won his third Grand Prix in a row as he triumphed in Italy, leading from the first lap right to the end to cut the gap in the standings to just six points.

MotoGP's official Twitter account captured the moment:

After enduring an awful start, Valentino Rossi clawed his way back to claim third place, while Andrea Iannone fought valiantly as he finished second on the podium.

In a race characterised by a number of crashes, Marc Marquez suffered a severe blow to his hopes of another world title, as he crashed out while contesting for a top-three finish.

Here are the results and updated standings:

Pos.	Points	Rider	Team	Time/Gap
1	25	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	41'39.173
2	20	Andrea Iannone	Ducati Team	+5.563
3	16	Valentino Rossi	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	+6.661
4	13	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	+9.978
5	11	Bradley Smith	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+15.284
6	10	Pol Espargaro	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+15.665
7	9	Maverick Vinales	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+23.805
8	8	Michele Pirro	Ducati Team	+29.152
9	7	Danilo Petrucci	Pramac Racing	+32.008
10	6	Yonny Hernandez	Pramac Racing	+34.571
11	5	Scott Redding	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	+38.553
12	4	Loris Baz	Athina Forward Racing	+42.158
13	3	Hector Barbera	Avintia Racing	+44.801
14	2	Alvaro Bautista	Factory Aprilia Gresini	+50.435
15	1	Eugene Laverty	Aspar MotoGP Team	+53.060
16	0	Mike Di Meglio	Avintia Racing	+1'15.265
17	0	Karel Abraham	Cardion AB Motoracing	+1'15.381
18	0	Marco Melandri	Factory Aprilia Gresini	+1'41.840
-	0	Cal Crutchlow	CWM LCR Honda	3 Laps
-	0	Marc Marquez	Repsol Honda Team	6 Laps
-	0	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati Team	10 Laps
-	0	Stefan Bradl	Athina Forward Racing	20 Laps
-	0	Nicky Hayden	Aspar MotoGP Team	20 Laps
-	0	Aleix Espargaro	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	21 Laps
-	0	Jack Miller	CWM LCR Honda	21 Laps
-	0	Alex De Angelis	E-Motion IodaRacing Team	21 Laps

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	118
2	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	112
3	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	83
4	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	81
5	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	69
6	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	57
7	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	47
8	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	45
9	Maverick VIÑALES	Suzuki	SPA	36
10	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	32
11	Aleix ESPARGARO	Suzuki	SPA	31
12	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	26
13	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	23
14	Scott REDDING	Honda	GBR	18
15	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	16
16	Loris BAZ	Yamaha Forward	FRA	10
17	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	8
18	Nicky HAYDEN	Honda	USA	8
19	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	6
20	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	5
21	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Aprilia	SPA	5
22	Eugene LAVERTY	Honda	IRL	3
23	Stefan BRADL	Yamaha Forward	GER	1

Starting eighth on the grid, Rossi endured a disastrous start to the race, slipping to 11th in the opening lap while Lorenzo raced ahead of Iannone.

Marquez began the race in fine fashion, showing the qualities that made him world champion last year. He set off from 13th but quickly put himself in contention with an electric start, jumping 12 places in two laps.

The Grand Prix saw a number of riders crash out early, including Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden at Turn 4.

Lorenzo responded to the threat of Marquez with bold acceleration, edging ahead before continuing to extend his lead, taking full advantage of the fierce battle between the chasing pack. From then on, it was all about the race to come second.

Marquez, Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso fought magnificently, with the trio swapping places with exciting regularity, before Dani Pedrosa muscled his way into the action in Lap 12.

Rossi recovered magnificently on his home track, however, and closed the gap on the podium places with each lap, running half a second quicker than the other podium contenders in Lap 11 before replacing Dovizioso in Lap 13. 

Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press

Rossi's compatriot unfortunately saw his race come to an end in the 15th lap after he was forced into the pits with a rear chatter issue.

The 36-year-old continued his assault on the top three and took Pedrosa in the 18th lap to rapturous applause at Mugello.

The same lap was as disastrous for Marquez as it had been for Rossi. Continuing his excellent duel with Iannone, the Italian took the Spaniard along the front straight and in trying to respond, Marquez lost the front of his bike and saw his afternoon come to an early close.

"

#ItalianGP @marcmarquez93 crashes out of the #MotoGP race! http://t.co/A9PelY19yp

— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) May 31, 2015"

Rossi continued to chase down Iannone and narrowed the gap to 0.6 seconds going into the 23rd and final lap, but Iannone held on resolutely to claim a deserved second place.

David Emmett of MotoMatters.com summed up the proceedings:

The result will be a concern for Honda, who have now failed to finish on the podium in two consecutive races.

According to Crash.net, Lorenzo said after the race:

"

Now we are ok. The bike is working very well. I started very well and overtook Dovizioso in a brave move. I tried to improve my pace. The pace has been a little slow and the 1m 47s high gave me a chance to pull away. Now the goal is to make 4 in a row. It will be difficult but I will try.

"

After his difficult start, Rossi was phenomenal in his efforts to reduce the damage but has seen his lead cut to just six points by Lorenzo.

The championship is now a two-horse race with Marquez having crashed out, so it will be fascinating to see how Lorenzo and Rossi compete for the title.

With Lorenzo in such outstanding form and set to receive home support when the Grand Prix returns to Spain in June, the Spaniard could find himself at the top of the standings sooner rather than later.