Spain's Jorge Lorenzo stretched his lead at the top of the Championship standings to 37 points after winning Sunday's British MotoGP at Silverstone.

The Fiat Yamaha rider led from start to finish, having begun the race on pole.

Last year's winner Andrea Dovizioso came in second while American Ben Spies grabbed his first podium spot in third.

Compatriot Nicky Hayden was edged into fourth with Casey Stoner fifth, a place ahead of Frenchman Randy de Puniet with Dani Pedrosa trailing in eighth.

Pedrosa, who was second in the Championship going into the race, endured a torrid weekend.

The Spaniard crashed during qualifying on Saturday, sustaining bruising to both knees, fell off again in final practice on Sunday and the Repsol Honda rider was well off the pace in the race itself.

When I saw five laps to go and De Puniet made a mistake I thought 'the podium is potentially on, I am pulling the pin' Ben Spies

For Lorenzo, it was his third win of the season in five races. The 23-year-old is favourite for the title after team-mate and world champion Valentino Rossi broke his leg in practice for the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago.

"I'm so excited. I didn't expect to go so fast at the beginning, the track was quite cold and it was difficult to go fast with these tyres," he told BBC Sport. "Today was very important for the Championship."

Dovizioso moved up from fourth to second in the standings after his second place, with Pedrosa dropping to third.

"We had a controlled race," said Doviozoso. "We didn't have the pace to fight with Lorenzo, he was so fast, but second is very important for the Championship."

Spies was also thrilled to earn his first podium finish in MotoGP.

"When I saw five laps to go and De Puniet made a mistake I thought 'the podium is potentially on, I am pulling the pin'. Then Nicky and I went crazy, but I held on and got the podium and it feels good."

In the Moto2 race France's Jules Cluzel, riding for Forward Racing, took victory ahead of Swiss Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki) and Spaniard Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar).

In a thrilling final lap Cluzel took advantage of a small mistake by Luthi in the closing stages to claim his first grand prix race win.

Briton Scott Redding turned in a superb performance, finishing in fourth after starting 12th on the grid.

Compatriot Bradley Smith went one better and grabbed his first podium place of the season in the 125cc race.

"It is something I will treasure for a long time," said the Briton. "It is something like fifth time lucky because I have never managed to get on the podium before here.

"It is a special moment for my family and friends, and the team after a struggle in the first four races of the season."

Marc Marquez won an enthralling tit-for-tat battle at the front after his fellow Spaniard Pol Espargaro made a mistake on the final lap as he tried to overtake.

But Espargaro's second place was enough to lift him above Nico Terol, who finished fourth, in the Championship standings by a point.

British MotoGP result:

1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha
2 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda
3 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha
4 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati
5 Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati
6 Randy de Puniet (France) Honda
7 Marco Simoncelli (Italy) Honda
8 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda
9 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha
10 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Ducati

Standings after British MotoGP:

1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 115 points
2 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 78
3 Dani Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 73
4 Valentino Rossi (It) Yamaha 61
5 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 52
6 Randy de Puniet (France) Honda 46
7 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha 36
8 Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 35
9 Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda 32
10 Marco Simoncelli (Italy) Honda 32

Moto2 result:

1 Jules Cluzel (Fra) Suter
2 Thomas Luthi (Swi) Moriwaki
3 Julian Simon (Spa) Suter
4 Scott Redding (Gbr) Suter

Moto2 standings:

1 Toni Elias (Spain) Moriwaki 80 points
2 Shoya Tomizawa (Japan) Suter 65
3 Thomas Luethi (Switzerland) Moriwaki 58
13 Scott Redding (GB) Suter 18

125cc result:

1 Marc Marquez (Spa) Red Bull
2 Pol Espargaro (Spa) Tuenti Racing
3 Bradley Smith (GB) Bancaja Aspar
4 Nico Terol (Spa) Bancaja Aspar
10 Danny Webb (GB)

125cc standings:

1 Pol Espargaro (Spa) Tuenti Racing 99 points
2 Nico Terol (Spa) Bancaja Aspar 98
3 Marc Marquez (Spa) Red Bull 82
4 Bradley Smith (GB) Bancaja Aspar 61
11 Danny Webb (GB) 24

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