MotoGP Grand Prix of Spain 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Valentino Rossi clinched his first win of the 2016 MotoGP campaign on Sunday after edging Jorge Lorenzo to claim his seventh Spanish Grand Prix title with a finishing time of 45:28.834. 

The Doctor won his first Jerez crown all the way back in 2002, and Sunday's triumph marks his first Spanish win since 2009. Bet365 detailed the evergreen veteran's unrivalled success:

"

333 races
213 podiums
113 wins
93 fastest laps
62 poles
9 world titles

 Valentino Rossi reigns in Spain (again)  pic.twitter.com/sUTveYsMHN

— bet365 (@bet365) April 24, 2016"

Standings leader Marc Marquez rounded out the podium with his third-place finish and is still yet to end up outside the top three in a race this season, maintaining his place atop the riders' table.

Aspar Team MotoGP provided a breakdown of Sunday's results in full:

Here's how the 2016 MotoGP standings look after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, where we can see Rossi is the only non-Spanish rider among the top eight:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc Marquez	Honda	SPA	82
2	Jorge Morenzo	Yamaha	SPA	65
3	Valentino Rossi	Yamaha	ITA	58
4	Dani Pedrosa	Honda	SPA	40
5	Pol Espargaro	Yamaha	SPA	36
6	Maverick Vinales	Suzuki	SPA	33
7	Aleix Espargaro	Suzuki	SPA	32
8	Hector Barbera	Ducati	SPA	31
9	Eugene Laverty	Ducati	IRL	28
10	Andrea Iannone	Ducati	ITA	25
11	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	ITA	23
12	Bradley Smith	Yamaha	GBR	20
13	Stefan Bradl	Aprilia	GER	17
14	Scott Redding	Ducati	GBR	16
15	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia	SPA	14
16	Michele Pirro	Ducati	ITA	12
17	Tito Rabat	Honda	SPA	11
18	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	GBR	5
19	Loris Baz	Ducati	FRA	4
20	Yonny Hernandez	Ducati	COL	3
21	Jack Miller	Honda	AUS	2

The podium finishers ultimately ended just as they began in Jerez, with Rossi making the most of his pole start, while Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Vinales, Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargaro failed to crack the top three from further back.

Each of the front three sizzled on hard front and medium rear tyres, a winning combination in the Spanish sun, and Pedrosa quickly closed the gap on the leaders with a brilliant start to the proceedings.

Honda team-mates Marquez and Pedrosa jostled for third place in the front 10 laps, while Rossi and Lorenzo did the same in their clash for the top spot, but the Italian was unnerved in his defence of the lead.

Dovizioso has been unfortunate not to climb higher in the standings this season, and MotoGP confirmed No. 4's poor luck continued, resulting in his retirement with 18 laps remaining, causing him to drop to 11th in the standings:

Rossi succeeded in opening up around three seconds of space in first place, and even though Marquez was recording some terrific times, the experienced leader had an advantage in clocking some impressive runs of his own.

While one Italian stormed out front, compatriot Andrea Iannone had a battle of his own against Pol Espargaro—younger brother to Aleix—further down the order.

Iannone was ultimately able to clinch seventh ahead of his Spanish foe, while his countryman topped the billing and sealed the 113th victory of his MotoGP career.

The Doctor, now 37 years of age, was classy in retaining his place throughout, as broadcaster Matthew Roberts celebrated an elite class of sporting talent:

A first win of the campaign, and just his second podium of the 2016 season, sees Rossi close the gap on second-placed Lorenzo to just seven points, but Marquez is still 17 points clear in first spot.

Sunday's win served as a reminder of the talent that Rossi possesses when in full swing, and he'll hope to carry that momentum into the French Grand Prix on May 8 and inject some pace into his 2016 title dream.