Pedrosa's team-mate
Nicky Hayden had been closing down on the Fiat Yamaha riders during the second half of the race, but a turn one scare with six laps to go - in which he mimicked countryman
Colin Edwards' dramatic qualifying save - allowed the Spaniard vital breathing room.
The fight for fifth was much closer, with
Andrea Dovizioso,
James Toseland,
Loris Capirossi and
John Hopkins all battling for the position heading into the final turn.
Capirossi, the most experienced rider in the field, took advantage of the barging to lead the quartet over the line on his second Rizla Suzuki ride, while Toseland claimed sixth and Hopkins passed an off-line Dovizioso on the dash to the flag.
Despite suffering from bronchitis all weekend, Toseland thus repeated his Qatar debut result - and reinforced his fast growing reputation as a hard racer by making several rivals literally 'sit-up' as he forced his way through.
Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate Edwards was less fortunate, the Texan crashing out of sixth position on lap five as he pushed hard to recover ground after slipping thee places at the start. Honda LCR's
Randy de Puniet was the only other rider not to reach the chequered flag.
Spanish Grand Prix:
1. Pedrosa
2. Rossi
3. Lorenzo
4. Hayden
5. Capirossi
6. Toseland
7. Hopkins
8. Dovizioso
9. Nakano
10. Vermeulen
11. Stoner
12. Melandri
13. West
14. de Angelis
15. Elias
16. Guintoli
