Jorge Lorenzo returned to the podium at the Germany Grand Prix in third, with teammate Valentino Rossi just behind in fourth.
A rain shower before the start of the race resulted in a mass pit-lane start. A group of 14 riders including Rossi, Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa started from the pits having decided to swap to their dry bikes after the Warm Up lap. Stefan Bradl was one of the few riders to change to slicks on the grid, although he soon lost the advantage.
Both Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders set consistent times throughout the race. The first laps were taken with some caution, as turns 12 and 13 remained quite wet from the initial shower. As the race went on Lorenzo was able to gain more confidence and push past other riders.
The Mallorcan eventually finished ten seconds down to Marc Marquez. Valentino Rossi was a further nine seconds behind his teammate.
"For the last few races I have been riding quite well so it was a pity in Assen to not fight. I needed just one or two tenths here to fight with Marc in the dry, but then it started raining. I had to run wide because the carbon brakes were too cold. I then had to battle past all the riders, so I am quite satisfied," commented Lorenzo.
He expanded, "The start was very tricky as so many riders were so close, I had to be very careful. The opening laps were hard also as the last two corners were still a bit wet. But our pace was good, only one or two tenths off Dani and Marc."
Rossi added, "I knew that it would be very difficult to beat our rivals here. I hoped to stay with Jorge but today he was faster than us and I arrived fourth. I'm quite happy about the first half of the season. I already got five podiums and four second places. I'm sad that I was not able to win, but I am quite fast and competitive. We have to continue like this and try to beat Marquez.
