Casey Stoner sustained to hunt down defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, claiming his third win from five starts in the MotoGP series in Barcelona on Sunday.
The Australian passed the Spaniard on the opening lap of the Catalunya GP to take the lead from Lorenzo, tapering the gap at the top of the championship standings to just seven points.
The victory adds to Stoner's wins in Qatar and France previously this year.
And it seems the power of Stoner's Honda is starting to anxiety Yamaha rider Lorenzo, who admitted post-race he didn't feel he could have beaten the Australian.
"The key was the start - I made a superior start," Lorenzo said.
"But I knew Casey could pass me in a few laps. He made it, and when he made it I tried to hang about with him for the maximum laps possible.
"This race was very vital for me to finish and keep leading the championship.
"So I think we have done our goal."
Stoner was more disturbed by forecast wet weather than his rivals, relieved that light rain on the track didn't turn into an all-out downpour before the race finish.
"I was starting to get very tense," the 25-year-old said.
"There was more rain falling in some parts, and each lap you came by there was a little bit more or a little bit less and you didn't actually know which corner it was going to be raining heavily on.
"I didn't really know what pace to run, I didn't know how bad the conditions were.
"So I pretty much coordinated myself to the people behind, and it seemed to work. But it was a high pressure race and to stay at the front was a little bit nerve-wracking.
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