Lorenzo started from pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya and always looked in control on his Yamaha to finish in 43 minutes, 22.805 seconds. It was the Spaniard's third straight win — all from pole.

His compatriot Dani Pedrosa was second, 4.754 seconds behind, after starting fourth on the grid. Australia's Casey Stoner was third.

Lorenzo leads the MotoGP standings with 165 points after the seventh race of the season. Pedrosa is second with 113 points, and Andrea Dovizioso of Italy is third with 91.

Pedrosa had a good start before dropping back to 10th after going wide on the first corner.

“I couldn't do Lorenzo's rhythm today, so second is not so bad,” Pedrosa said.

Lorenzo and Dovizioso fought for the lead early on before the Italian crashed out.

“Andrea was very fast and I was struggling to open up a little gap but he crashed and I profited from that,” Lorenzo said. “It is a dream for me to win here.” Randy de Puniet of France was fourth and Alvaro Bautista of Spain came fifth.

Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who is seventh in the standings with 61 points, was not racing due to a leg injury.

Yuki Takahashi won the 250cc category, followed by Thomas Luthi and Julian Simon. In the same race, Carmelo Morales of Spain fell off and was hit in the back by his cartwheeling bike. State broadcaster TVE1 said the Pons Kalex team rider escaped with minor injuries.

In the 125cc category, Marc Marquez was first, with Bradley Smith second and Pol Espargaro third.