Lorenzo victory takes him 'over the moon'

Complacency was a banned word for Jorge Lorenzo after the Spaniard stretched his lead in the MotoGP standings to a commanding 72 points with victory at the US Grand Prix on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has won six races out of nine, along with three second-place finishes, midway through the season - but he preferred to adopt a cautious approach in his bid for a first MotoGP world title.

"Racing is racing and a lot of other things can happen," Yamaha rider Lorenzo said after crossing the finish line at Laguna Seca 3.517 seconds ahead of Ducati's Australian Casey Stoner.

"You can blow the engine or you can crash two or three times, so we must be patient. Half the season is still left and it wouldn't be the first time a rider has lost the title after having such a big lead.

"We have a great gap now so we must enjoy the holidays and then start thinking about Brno and keep pushing for the championship," he said of the next race on the circuit which is on August 15 in the Czech Republic.

Lorenzo was especially delighted to seal his first victory at the scenic Laguna Seca circuit, having suffered several setbacks at the venue last year.

Twelve months ago, the Spaniard took pole position despite crashing and partially dislocating his collar bone in qualifying, but eventually had to settle for third behind winner Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi.

"This is very special," Lorenzo said after recording his 11th MotoGP win. "This track was very painful for me last year so it was important to finish well. Winning here is something I've always dreamed of."

The Spaniard celebrated his US Grand Prix title by treating the crowd of more than 51000 fans to an impression of American astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic first walk on the moon.

"I am absolutely happy and I am like over the moon," he said after donning a silver suit and helmet and waving a US flag in mock slow motion for his own "moon walk".

"My sixth win of the season here and three second positions, maybe in my dreams it would be like this."

Rossi just missed the podium last week in his return after missing six weeks with a broken leg. That made his third-place effort much sweeter despite a nagging pain from the injury.

"I'm very happy," Rossi said. "I may not look happy because I have pain everywhere. This podium is like a victory on a very difficult track for us. I want to thank everyone who has helped me get back on the podium as early as this after my accident."

Stoner was content with a runner-up finish: "We are happy. We didn't expect much more than second place.

"At the start of the race, I felt OK. But I made a mistake and ran wide, lost the front again and the last time I ran really wide, which wasn't good.

"Every time I tried to step it up I didn't feel comfortable. I was braking later but was making mistakes."