Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) had an uneventful race and earned a well managed victory before his Spanish fans at MotoGP’s Catalan Grand Prix, run at the beautiful Catalunya circuit near Barcelona.

Early challenger Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) crashed half-way through, letting Lorenzo run out the race an easy 4.754 sec. ahead of Dani Petrosa on the other factory Honda, with Casey Stoner right behind him on his Ducati.

Pedrosa remains second in the world championship, but now 52 points behind Lorenzo, and looking more and more like the Spaniard will win the World Championship if he can remain healthy fro the rest of the season.

With Rossi expected back in August and looking for wins, the 2010 season looks a lot like a dominant one for the Yamaha team. Looking to 2011, we know Stoner is gone to Honda, with Pedrosa and Dovizioso fighting for the other ride with that team.

For my money, Pedrosa has demonstrated speed but an inability to cope with pressure and build a winning championship – but he is Spanish, on a Spanish team, and with a Spanish sponsor. In preparation for a big 2011 season, Honda has invested heavily this year in personnel and resources, expecting new signee Stoner to deliver a Championship in 2011. I suspect Dovi is looking for a ride – he is Italian and so is Ducati…

Ducati are not competitive this year, with courageous riders going to war with not-quite-there bikes. Next year, they get Lorenzo, or Rossi, or Dovi??? In fact Rossi may already have an agreement with Yamaha, which would push Lorenzo out the door towards Ducati. And what about Nicki Hayden, a favourite of Vale who has not done well at Ducati these past years, and could end up on a Yamaha, like replacing Spies at Tech3.

But wait, Rossi is injured and may leave bikes for 2011. He is the show in MotoGP, and I am sure he will benefit from the bunfight over his presence between MotoGP (Dorna) and F1 (Bernie), especially since Schumi is proving to be a bust this season, and is no longer The Show in F1.

And what about wonder-rookie Ben Spies, who will likely stick with the best bike (Yamaha) next year and graduate to the factory team. By the way, Spies did not replace Rossi this past weekend, as MotoGP rookies are not allowed on full factory bikes, even a World Superbike Champion. This rule protects older riders while supposedly letting rookies learn all about MotoGP under less pressure. So we had 41 year-old Yamaha test rider Yashikawa San riding a full factory bike to 15th place, rather than the most promising rider going for at least a podium finish. Funny, aren’t they?

MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix - Results
Pos Rider Team Time/Gap
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 43m22.805s
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda + 4.754s
3. Casey Stoner Ducati + 4.956s
4. Randy de Puniet Honda + 18.057s
5. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki + 21.361s
6. Ben Spies Yamaha + 21.503s
7. Etc......

MotoGP Standings – After Round 7 of 18
Pos. Rider Points
1. Jorge Lorenzo 165
2. Dani Pedrosa 113
3. Andrea Dovizioso 91
4. Nicky Hayden 69
5. Randy de Puniet 69
6. Casey Stoner 67