Rossi Takes Another

Pedrosa got one of his cannon-shot starts to jump into second behind Rossi by the first corner, with Stoner by his elbow. He's definately the best holeshot artist on the grid. Hayden got off the line well, but ended up with the worst possible position on the outside of the righthand first corner, and couldn't get back into line until the first block of riders passed on the inside, leaving him somewhere around 10th where he stayed all race, finishing 8th. About four laps in, Stoner passed Pedrosa and a couple of laps later he took the lead from Rossi. Not much later Lorenzo passed Pedrosa as well, taking third and closing the gap on Rossi. After the race, Pedrosa sounded like Max Biaggi, saying he could of won ... it was his front tyre's fault that he didn't. At mid-race, Rossi, now in his stride, passed Stoner and a lap later Lorenzo followed suit. With five laps to go, Lorenzo out-braked Rossi on the straight and stayed in front of Rossi for the next three laps. With two laps to go, Rossi out-Lorenzo'd Lorenzo, retaking the lead by out-braking Lorenzo at the end of the straight. They raced, at times side-by-side, to the finish with Rossi holding on by 99/1000ths of a second. Pedrosa cruised to third, three seconds later, with Stoner arriving seven seconds later. The championship leader points continue to spread as they finish in board order. It's now Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner with 176, 162 and 148. I think it will take a DNF to change this order by the end of the season. Valentino ... please stay on your bike and on the track ... per favore.