MANILA, Philippines -- Honda’s Casey Stoner dominated the Spanish MotoGP in Catalunya last Sunday enabling him to close the gap in championship points currently held by Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo down to just seven points.

Stoner, who started from pole position, was overtaken by Lorenzo during the start, but was easily able to take back the position after the first turn.

From then on, the Australian rider managed to make a big gap from the trailing pack and cruised to an easy victory.

Weather was the only element that made the race challenging for Stoner with on and off drizzles spraying over the track. Luckily, the threat of heavy rain did not materialize which lessened the action on track.

Yamaha’s Ben Spies was able to hang on to his third starting grid position until the end of the race enabling him to get his first MotoGP podium spot.

Finishing in fourth position was Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso with Ducati’s Valentino Rossi in fifth.

Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli's who started the race from Pole position dropped to seventh place after the start and was only able to overtake one rider making him the sixth rider to cross the chequered flag.

Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow got his best MotoGP finish in his career by taking seventh place with Ducati’s Nicky Hayden claiming eight.