Casey Stoner overcame a slow qualifying performance to win Sunday’s MotoGP race at Jerez, the first ever win for the Australian at the Spanish track.

Stoner started his Honda from fifth place on the grid and took the lead around a third of the way through to win from Yamaha’s home favourite Jorge Lorenzo.

The Spaniard still leads the world championship on 45 points thanks to his opening round win at Qatar where defending champion Stoner (41) finished third.

His Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was third at Jerez to sit third in the championship on 36 points.