The MotoGP Gran Premio d'Italia TIM at Mugello grid had two Italian riders on Ducatis on the front row, with Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo in the middle. Polesitter Andrea Iannone set a new track record to take the first pole of his MotoGP career. The partisan Italian crowd estimated at more than 91,000 was hoping for a good showing from local bike manufacturer Ducati and their riders.

At the start, Andrea Dovizioso led the field through the Turn 1 with Iannone and Jorge Lorenzo in close pursuit. Repsol Honda rider and reigning two-time World Champion Marc Marquez started from a career-worst 13th on the grid and managed to overtake nine riders on the first lap to rise to 4th place in an amazing attempt to get to the front.

Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo took the lead and never looked back.

Behind the No. 99 Yamaha, Marquez continued his forward momentum, grabbing 3rd from Iannone at Turn 1 on Lap 2. The Spanaird repeated his Turn 1 move on Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso on Lap 3 and moved into 2nd behind Lorenzo.

A three-way battle for second took place between the two Ducatis of Iannone and Dovizioso and Repsol Honda's Marquez with the riders swapping spots throughout several laps. Dani Pedrosa caught the threesome and a four rider contest continued as Lorenzo lengthened his lead.

Valentino Rossi started 8th on the grid and fell to 11th on the opening lap. The enthusiastic yellow-clad Rossi fans were hopeful that series points leader could improve his position and challenge his teammate Lorenzo for the lead. He steadily moved forward as he passed Cal Crutchlow to move into sixth. The Doctor then set his sights on the four-way battle just ahead of him. With 10 laps remaining, he caught the pack and passed Dovizioso for fourth.

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso race was over at Lap 15 when he entered the pits with rear-end chattering issues. The battle for second continued between Rossi's Yamaha, the Ducati of Iannone, and the two Repsol Hondas of Pedrosa and Marquez.

With five laps remaining, Marc Marquez crashed out of the race as he appeared to lose the front end of the bike during the hard fought battle for second. Rossi moved past Pedrosa into third, thrilling the Italian fans. The Doctor set his sights on Iannone, with Jorge Lorenzo in first with a seemingly insurmountable lead.

Cal Crutchlow had a big crash wth two laps to go, sending the bike careening into the tire barriers; he was unhurt in the incident.

Jorge Lorenzo waved to the crowd on the white flag lap on the way to his third straight MotoGP win. The margin of victory was 5.5 seconds, but he held a commanding 8+ second lead at points during the race.

Italians Andrea Iannone and Valentino Rossi joined Lorenzo on the podium, thrilling the rabid Italian fans who swarmed the front straightaway at the track for the podium ceremonies. Rossi retains the World Championship points lead by six points over teammate Lorenzo as the series heads to Catalunya in two weeks' time.

Andrea Iannone is the first Italian to score a podium on an Italian bike at the Italian Grand Prix since Loris Capirossi in 2006.

The top ten finishers in the premier class race at Mugello:

1. Jorge Lorenzo

2. Andrea Iannone

3. Valentino Rossi

4. Dani Pedrosa

5. Bradley Smith

6. Pol Espargaro

7. Maverick Vinales

8. Michele Pirro

9. Danilo Petrucci

10. Yonny Hernandez

Tito Rabat won his first Moto 2 race of the 2015 season in his 150th start, holding off a last lap challenge by Johann Zarco. Rabat crossed the line ahead of Zarco by 0.308 seconds to win his first race since Misano in 2014. The win puts defending World Champion Rabat into second place behind Zarco, but at 31 points behind he has an uphill battle to repeat. Dominique Aegerter completed the podium.

Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Miguel Oliveira claimed his first Moto3 victory, which was also the first won by a Portuguese rider at any level in GP racing. There was a 16 rider battle for much of the race, with multiple four-abreast Turn 1 heartstopping moments. Danny Kent held on to take the second step of the podium with Italian Romano Fenati finishing third. Kent continues as the points leader ahead of Enea Bastianini.

The MotoGP World Championship advances to Barcelona, Spain, for a round at the Catalunya circuit. 

Cathy Shumaker is a writer for the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow her on Twitter at @cathyshu.