"It was important for me to get a good start as Marc is very good over the first two laps. He gave everything to follow me and perhaps he went too far," Lorenzo told reporters.
"It would definitely have been harder if he had continued and after that I just had to keep going and keep the distance from Dani."
Rossi pushed hard over the last five laps and got ahead of Pedrosa momentarily on several occasions but the Honda rider responded to retain second place.
It was a disappointing race for world champion Marquez who set a lap record in qualifying but crashed out on lap two.
With four races to go Rossi leads the championship with 263 points from Lorenzo on 249. Marquez is third with 184 points.
"I tried all I could to get second but this was a difficult track for me," Rossi told reporters.
"Dani battled hard. He was able to respond every time I tried to overtake but it was a good battle."
Marquez looked strong ahead of the race and was the main threat for Lorenzo. With him out of the way then the stage was set for the Yamaha rider who took full advantage.
The fast and dry Aragon circuit suited Lorenzo more than Rossi who started down in sixth on the grid.
The Italian made his way up to second but was faced with a stern challenge from Pedrosa.
"I knew I had to match his (Rossi's) rhythm. He is better in these situations as it isn't my strong point," Pedrosa said.
"I managed to counter-attack whenever he moved ahead and I am happy to beat him."
(Reporting by Tim Hanlon in Barcelona, editing by Ed Osmond)
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