Pedrosa back in championship hunt

Dani Pedrosa took his second victory of the season to close the gap on MotoGP rival Valentino Rossi to seven points.

The Repsol Honda rider took a comfortable win at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona to lie seven points behind former champion Rossi in the standings.

Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi came home second in the race as the Italian won a battle with reigning champion Casey Stoner after the Australian had started from pole position on the Ducati Marlboro machine.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso was fourth on the Scot Honda ahead of American Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 Yamaha and his British team-mate James Toseland.

Pedrosa took the lead off the start from pole man Stoner and never looked back, increasing his advantage to nine seconds at one point before easing off to cross the line four ahead.

Rossi had been down in ninth on the opening lap but was able to work his way through to second by the flag.

Stoner and Dovizioso swapped second place before Rossi went past both of them in one lap.

The Australian then got back up to second but Rossi made the decisive move with two laps to go.

Toseland had dropped down as low as 11th at one stage but came back strongly to take sixth at the flag and lie in seventh in the standings.

Toseland admitted he had lost places on the first lap when he was passed by Rossi.

"I got beaten up at the start, I know that," Toseland told Eurosport.

"I settled into a really good rhythm but it took me some time to get past the two Suzukis. I'm pleased to get back in the top six."

Italian Marco Simoncelli won the 250cc race on the Metis Gilera and reduced Mika Kallio's championship lead to three points after the Finnish rider's Red Bull KTM failed to finish the race.

Irishman Eugene Laverty finished 16th on the Blusens Aprilia.

Frenchman Mike Di Meglio won the 125cc race on the Ajo Motorsports Derbi as Scott Redding was sixth on the Blusens Aprilia, Danny Webb 11th on the Degraaf Aprilia and Bradley Smith 14th on the Polaris World Aprilia.

Di Meglio leads the championship by 14 points from Italian Simone Corsi who finished the race in fifth on the Jack and Jones Aprilia.