Rossi roars into title picture

Eurosport - Sun, 04 May 16:26:00 2008

Five-time champion Valentino Rossi won his first MotoGP race of 2008 with a superb performance in Shanghai.

The Italian legend set a succession of lap records in cool, slightly damp conditions, shaking off the persistent Dani Pedrosa, who takes over the championship lead.

Ducati's Casey Stoner finished some way back in third ahead of the heroic Jorge Lorenzo, who broke his ankle in a horrifying crash on Friday but raced on to claim fourth.

There was disappointment for Britain's James Toseland, who started seventh on the grid but was off the pace throughout and finished 12th.

Rossi and Pedrosa moved clear of the pack after polesitter Colin Edwards ran wide on his Tech3 Yamaha, with the Italian hitting the front after four laps.

Despite his Honda's inability to match the Yamaha's straight-line speed, Pedrosa clung on to Rossi's back wheel for 15 exhilarating laps.

But the Spaniard was eventually dropped, and eased off over the final laps to claim a gritty second place.

It was Rossi's first win in nine races, ending his longest drought since moving into the MotoGP class nearly a decade ago.

"I'm very, very happy, as it's been a long time without victory. This was a difficult period," Rossi said.

"I really had to push to beat Dani. It was a great victory for us."

Pedrosa added: "In the end I just slowed down because I saw that I couldn't get Valentino, and I just decided to keep the engine alive and finish second."

Lorenzo held off a rejuvenated Marco Melandri, who claimed by far his best result of the season in fifth place, and 2006 champion Nicky Hayden.

Toni Elias and Suzuki veteran Loris Capirossi were also part of a compelling battle that covered positions four to nine for much of the race.

Pedrosa's fourth podium in as many races moved him to 81 points at the top of the standings, with Lorenzo on 74 and Rossi a further two adrift.

Defending champion Stoner finds himself 25 points off the pace while Toseland is tied for fifth with Capirossi.