Another race down, four more to go in the 2012 season.
The Aragon GP followed the same recipe as the San Marino round: wet practice sessions, Lorenzo and Pedrosa in a class of their own in qualifying then a dry race. This time, Pedrosa stuck around to claim the spoils.
However, whilst we got another Pedrosa and Lorenzo one-two, this was nothing like the battle of Brno. Truth be told, it was probably the dullest race that we've had all year.
The right man won for the title chase, but the difference in points is now significant enough to create almost a sense of indifference for the viewer. Does the Repsol Honda rider believe he can cut the gap? Knowing his self belief, I certainly think so. But is it a realistic possibility?
Lorenzo is now 33 points clear, with 100 remaining in play. The final handful of GPs are the races that decide titles, but they have not been the best for the Yamaha man. He has had a tendency to crawl towards the finish when the title is on the line, a glimmer of hope for Pedrosa in the run-in to Valencia.
In his 2006 250cc title-winning season, Lorenzo crumbled in Japan and Portugal to let Andrea Dovizioso right back into contention, eventually enlisting the help of Alex Debon in Valencia to hold off his rival. In 2007, he almost left things open again when he took a third- and an 11th-place finish — again in Portugal and Japan.
Lorenzo's 2010 MotoGP world championship was clinched five races into a six-race winless run, and we of course missed out on seeing what he could do in 2011 when he suffered that awful hand injury in Australia.
This time around, the only hope for fans wanting to see it go right down to the wire for the first time since 2006 is probably some kind of anomaly — similar to that experienced by Pedrosa two weeks ago at Misano. There will be another rider in contention for wins in the final quartet of contests when Casey Stoner returns, with his presence most likely a hindrance to his team-mate rather than Lorenzo as he attempts to go out with a bang.
One Honda rider who may have, inadvertently, helped keep the race alive is Alvaro Bautista. Remember Assen, where he gave Lorenzo his only DNF of the season so far? There was a brand new engine destroyed in that crash and, with number five used to win at Misano, Yamaha have been sufficiently concerned by engine reliability to nurse number six and the alternative motors in practice sessions over the past fortnight.
Take a look at Ben Spies's side of the garage and you'll see that there are certainly no guarantees against a start from pit lane before 2012 is out.
For now, the standings leader can afford to let Pedrosa win every race, provided that he finishes on the podium behind his fellow Spaniard and gets just one more second place before the end of the year. If he sits back, then we could be in for a drab time before things get interesting at Yamaha again with the return of Rossi.
You can't make Lorenzo take unnecessary risks, just as you can't make riders go out in the wet just to please the fans. If there is less fighting at the front as a result, then let's just hope that those behind can provide the excitement the fans crave.