Rossi takes 7th Italian GP at Mugello

Rossi leads Stoner and Pedrosa

MotoGP

Valentino Rossi brought the house down once again in Mugello today with an emotional seventh straight victory at his home track in front of 96,000 adoring fans. It was the Fiat Yamaha Team Rider's ninth win in total and fifth for Yamaha at this track and also his third win in a row this season, the first time he has won three consecutive races since 2005. His 91st victory is also a first for Bridgestone at this track.

Starting from pole for the first time in almost a year, Rossi set nerves on edge when he slipped a few places at the start, exiting turn one in fourth. He soon passed his compatriot Loris Capirossi however and crossed the line for the first time hot on the heels of Stoner and Pedrosa. Lap three saw him pass Pedrosa and then Stoner next time around, leaving him in the lead. From then on it was the Italian's race and he stretched the gap to more than three seconds at one point, before rolling off slightly in the later stages as the temperature increased. He eventually crossed the line 2.201 seconds clear of Stoner, with his army of yellow-clad tifosi singing him home from the hillsides before invading the track, as is tradition here, and swarming under the podium.

The supporting cast to the Rossi show was headed by Ducati Marlboro rider Stoner, on the podium at Mugello for only the second time in his Grand Prix career. The result helps Stoner make up ground in the MotoGP standings, in which he maintains fourth place but narrows the gap between himself and Jorge Lorenzo.

Second in the World Championship, Dani Pedrosa completed the podium places, having got off to a fantastic start courtesy of his Repsol Honda RC212V launch control. The Spaniard will next week be chasing victory on home soil in Catalunya.

A best result of 2008 for Alex de Angelis was another reason for Italian fans –who had seen home victories in all three classes- to be cheerful, with the San Carlo Honda Gresini man taking fourth place. The San Marino-born rider was riding what was effectively his local race, and had shown his cards early with the fastest time in the morning warm-up.

The Tech 3 Yamaha duo of Colin Edwards and James Toseland were fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of Rizla Suzuki’s front row starter Loris Capirossi and Italian JiR Team Scot rookie Andrea Dovizioso.

Before the halfway point there were a number of riders withdrawing from the action. First out were Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet, both sliding off track whilst battling amongst themselves. They were followed by Kawasaki rider John Hopkins and, in a blow to his world title chances, second Fiat Yamaha rider Lorenzo. A lowside by the Spaniard left him with a DNF mark by his name for the first time in his MotoGP career.

Results

Quotes

Valentino Rossi – Race Winner

`It's a great feeling, like always. A lot of my family and close friends have come to see me. I tried to push hard and my Yamaha and Bridgestone worked very well, right to the end. During part of the race I was faster than Stoner, but he came back and made me work hard. It’s wonderful to be on the podium with two very strong riders.´

Casey Stoner – Second Place

`This season’s been a bit disappointing, but we were a lot more confident with the setup today. It was an awesome race. On one part of the circuit I was losing a lot of time, and we knew today that the bike would be lot better at the end of the race. I’m very happy with the race and want to give thanks to all at Ducati.´

Dani Pedrosa – Third Place

`It was tough race, all the time I was pushing. The race pace was quite high; I tried to follow but Casey and Valentino were making it quite hard. I made a mistake and Casey pulled away, and at the end I had to push hard because De Angelis was coming from behind.´