by Nico Cereghini

Jorge Lorenzo didn't even try to win and seemed quite happy just to watch Pedrosa. It was certainly not a pretty sight and doesn't do the sport any justice. His performance was in stark contrast to the way Spanish riders always ride with outstanding bravado as shown all too clearly by Marc Marquez. He was superb in Moto2 following a disastrous start (he had forgotten to engage the first gear!)and a fight back to go down in the annals of history.

Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Bautista. All Spanish podiums in MotoGp and Moto2 (Marquez, Espargaro and Rabat). Simply beautiful races (except for the most famous one) that were a pleasure to watch unfold. Forgetting Lorenzo, who by now only needs three third places to take the title and who did the absolute minimum, Dani Pedrosa deserves credit for his fifth win of the season. He seems to have developed a taste for his present dominating form. The same applies to Alvaro Bautista who took his Gresini Honda to another podium place just like at Misano. He was involved in a titanic battle with Crutchlow until the British rider suffered engine problems. A very tired Dovizioso struggled home in fourth much like Stoner who is still not 100% fit and finished fifth ahead of Bradl whose ride was not as exuberant as usual.

Valentino crossed the line in seventh, 26 seconds behind the winner and although he is still fifth in the Championship, ha had a few bitter words to say after the race. "Ducati have found about half a second compared with a year ago but the others have made much more progress. Yamaha and Honda are now perfect bikes. Despite all the efforts of the team and riders throughout the season, it just hasn't been enough. I wish the Ducati riders in 2013 all the best".

Last we had the magnificent ride in Moto3 from Alessandro Tonucci from Team Italia. The nineteen year old rider from Fano who is in his fourth season finally exploded on to the scene at Motegi and found himself up with the leaders of the pack. He might even have finished second had it not been for Cortese who tried an impossible passing move on the last lap that ended in a clash that favoured Vinales who crossed the line second behind Kent. The Moto3 race was an all-out battle. Although Cortese fell, he got back on the bike and managed to finish sixth and keep his 44 point lead.

Then there was the Louis Salom's mistake during a very optimistic passing manoeuvre that slammed him into Folger for which he was later punished by the Race Management. Salom will start five places back in the next round in Malaysia.

by Nico Cereghini

We expected great things from Corsi and Iannone in Moto2 and, in fact, everything appeared to be going well for Simone Corsi who took a great pole position at Aragon. In the race however, after an excellent start, he only managed to cross the line in seventh even if only 4 seconds behind the winner. Andrea Iannone came home fourth, eight hundredths of a second off the podium. It was a shame for the Italian riders, almost ironic after having been the absolute stars and the honour went to the two Spaniards who have been dominating the 2012 World Championship Series. This time Pol Espargaro beat Marquez who slightly slowed because of the duel between Redding (third) and Iannone. Pol rode brilliantly even though his bike was slower than his rival's that was the fastest down the long straights in Aragon. Espargaro certainly deserved this third win of the season but Marc has won seven of them... Corti who was very good in practice came home ninth.

Round 14 of the Series was hampered by the bad weather that plagued the first two days. The skies finally cleared on the Sunday morning but the low temperature penalised those who had been unable to find the right setting. In the MotoGP event, Jorge Lorenzo did what he could to limit the damage but couldn't keep up with Dani Pedrosa who was riding a perfectly set up RCV. At the moment the Honda is superior and Pedrosa is still in a good shape Dovi was third for the sixth time this year following a spectacular battle with his team mate who finished fourth ahead of an unhopeful Ben Spies. Stefan Bradl unfortunately fell when he was in a superb third position while Nicky Hayden was already out of the race after a big crash: on the fourth lap he hit the barrier after recovering from a slide. Fortunately the American Ducati rider wasn't hurt but the way he flew over the wall was alarming and, as Uncini later admitted, perhaps the barriers need to be looked at to improve safety.

Rossi's race was doomed from the first lap. He was ninth and was passing Rea when the English rider moved to the outside of the track to take his line. Vale admitted the mistake. He should have attacked from the other side but instead ran wide to avoid the impact and came back on to the track in twentieth place. He fought his way back up to eighth place but it was by no means the result it could have been. Both Yamaha and Honda have recently carried out tests on this track with very promising results. A little like what happened at Misano but there the advantage was with Ducati. “As for getting back on to the podium, let's see what happens at Motegi" said Valentino in a post race interview, "I like the track and the grip there is ideal for my bike”.

In Moto3, Vinales dropped out during the warm up lap with mechanical problems. The race was an epic event with thirteen riders in single file fighting for the win and podium places. Luis Salom had a fantastic day and beat Sandro Cortese again as well as a very feisty Jonas Folger. Salom is the true revelation of this second half of the season. In the last four rounds he has collected ninety points, two wins and two seconds, better than anyone else. Again at Aragon he displayed both class and clear thinking. He now lies second in the class standings 51 points behind the almost crowned champion Cortese. Romano Fenati went out with mechanical problems when he was up with the leaders, Antonelli finished tenth and Tonucci came home twelfth.

by Nico Cereghini

Finally, the duel we've all been waiting for. Pedrosa against Lorenzo and MotoGP re-discovers what's been missing for a while. It was an all Spanish affair. Lorenzo started as favourite from pole then Pedrosa surprised everyone when he took the lead at mid race distance. The fight that followed was only decided at the last corner when Jorge forged ahead to take the win. This new decisive Pedrosa took his third win of the season and Daniel is now just 13 points behind Lorenzo in the fight for the title.

Carl Crutchlow marked his maiden podium in the series when he finished third ahead of his team mate Dovizioso who was followed by Stefan Bradl. The German rider's usual steady performance saw him cross the line ahead of Bautista and Valentino. Rossi started well from sixth place on the grid and even though he likes Brno and it suits the Ducati, an oil leak held him back. Pasini and Petrucci were relegated to finishing last due to the poor pace of their CRT machines.

The Moto2 race was full of action with Marquez coming home first to further extend his lead in the race for the title. The race was a four-way fight with Luthi finishing ahead of Espargaro and Iannone. These four riders are clearly the best in the category but the Spaniard Marc Marquez obviously also has that something extra in terms of bike performance. Simone Corsi rode well to finish fifth while Alex De Angelis was sixth, both of them ten seconds after Marquez.

In Moto3, the German rider Jonas Folger dominated in the damp weather conditions though the race behind him for the two remaining podium places was a hard-fought affair. In the end, just like at Indy, Luis Salom came home ahead of Cortese and Vinales. Fenati and Tonucci finished eighth and tenth making a good fight back that lasted the whole race.