Spain's Dani Pedrosa reduced fellow countryman Jorge Lorenzo's MotoGP championship lead to 56 points with a runner-up spot at their home race in Aragon.
With five races left in the 2010 season, Pedrosa is the only rider capable of overhauling Lorenzo but it will require a major slip-up from the Yamaha man if the consistent Dani is to make a fight of the title in the remaining races.
Australia's Casey Stoner scored his first win of the year with a pillar to post victory from pole position, with Pedrosa splitting he and fellow Aussie Nicky Hayden, who grabbed a podium spot with a last gasp overtake of Lorenzo.
A poor start from Pedrosa saw him drop back to fifth place, but he was able to call on the extra power of his Honda to move back through the field smartly to finish five seconds behind the dominant Stoner and the Spaniard recognised that his unusually slow start had cost him the win.
"Ducati were very strong, with both riders on the podium," Pedrosa said. "I tried everything. I didn't start well but I recovered. I was too far from Casey. We did many laps at the same pace but I couldn't get him on corners. He did good."
Pedrosa's Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso lost ground in the overall championship picture when he crashed out on the final lap when pushing hard to overtake Ben Spies in the battle for fifth and sixth place.
As a consequence of his DNF, Dovizioso was leapfrogged by Stoner and fellow Italian Valentino Rossi in the championship and is now fifth overall.
In the 125cc MotoGP it was a day to forget for Marc Marquez, who was taken out of the race on the first corner when he was hit by Randy Krummenacher on turn one of the very first lap.
The Swiss rider rode straight into the back of Marquez, whose frustration was clear to see as he surveyed the damage to his Red Bull Ajo Motorsport Derbi in the run-off area.
The DNF for the Spaniard meant that he was overtaken by both race winner Pol Espargaro and second placed Nico Terol in the overall championship.
Espargaro's daring last gasp overtake of Terol allowed him to take the win, but Terol leads the standings by six points from the winner with Marquez a further five points behind.
In Moto2, Scott Redding was in the points a fortnight after suffering injury in the crash that led to the death of Shoya Tomizawa in San Marino, finishing in eighth after an excellent second in qualifying.
MotoGP Aragon result
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 42m 16.53s
2. Dani Pedrosa (ESP) Repsol Honda Team 42m 21.678s
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 42m 26.026s
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP) Fiat Yamaha Team 42m 26.11s
5. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 42m 30.301s
6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 42m 43.86s
7. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 45.041s
8. Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 42m 51.784s
9. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 42m 51.923s
10. Aleix Espargaro (ESP) Pramac Racing 42m 51.997s
11. Hector Barbera (ESP) Paginas Amarillas Aspar 42m 52.052s
12. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43m 1.89s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Interwetten Honda MotoGP 43m 4.849s
14. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Racing 43m 14.577s
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