Casey Stoner’s return to form and the rise of Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden could spell trouble for Jorge Lorenzo, whose run to the MotoGP title may involve more hurdles than he had imagined over the final five races.

Finishing second to Dani Pedrosa at every round between now and the end of the season would be enough to seal the championship for the Yamaha man but Sunday’s result in Aragon showed how fluid the situation is when more riders are up there battling for the win.

Hayden’s last-lap ‘backyard’ pass, as he described it, was an example of the risks other riders are prepared to take when the opportunity to score a top-three result arises, while for Lorenzo the tightrope between finishing on the podium and not crashing is an increasingly precarious one.

With 56 points between him and top spot, thanks to top-two finishes at eight of the last 10 races, Pedrosa has worked a foot into the door – and a non-finish for Lorenzo at this stage would kick it wide open.

Pedrosa penned a new two-year deal with HRC in Aragon – but the announcement was made by the factory’s racing department rather than the Repsol Honda team.

It is a sensitive issue, given that Honda have already signed Stoner but have Andrea Dovizioso on their books, too.

The Japanese factory want Dovizioso, whose results in the early part of the season triggered a performance-related option on a further year in his contract, to go quietly to the satellite Gresini team.

But the Italian and his management are playing hardball, insisting he is guaranteed factory support, factory wages and his current crew.

Valentino Rossi admitted this weekend that he has a better relationship with Pedrosa than with Lorenzo but insisted he would help his Yamaha team-mate to win the title if the opportunity arose.

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