[Acidreign]

JEREZ, Spain - Five-times world champion Valentino Rossi rode to a dominant victory in the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez on Sunday.

Spain's Dani Pedrosa finished second on his Honda and Rossi's American Yamaha team mate Colin Edwards was third.

MotoGP results from the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez on Sunday
1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 45:53.340
2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 45:54.586
3. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 45:56.041
4. Toni Elias (Spain) Honda 45:57.691
5. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 45:58.333
6. Carlos Checa (Spain) Honda 46:03.340
7. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 46:07.486
8. Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda 46:13.309
9. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki 46:18.126
10. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 46:18.295
11. Alex Barros (Brazil) Ducati 46:18.348
12. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Ducati 46:19.192
13. Randy de Puniet (France) Kawasaki 46:19.785
14. Makoto Tamada (Japan) Yamaha 46:29.993
15. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Yamaha 46:30.084

[Acidreign]

JEREZ, Spain (Reuters) - Five-times world champion Valentino Rossi ended his barren spell of form when he blew away his rivals to claim a dominant victory in the Spanish MotoGP race at Jerez on Sunday.

The Italian notched up the 85th win of his career, and seventh in all classes at the southern Spanish circuit, with an authoritative display that saw him cross the line comfortably ahead of Honda's home favourite Dani Pedrosa.

It was Rossi's first victory since Malaysia in September last year, ending a spell of five races without a win, his worst run since his debut triumph at Donington Park in 2000.

He now leads the championship with 45 points after two races, nine clear of Australian Casey Stoner and Pedrosa.

Rossi's Yamaha team mate Colin Edwards came home in third, Spain's Toni Elias was fourth and Ducati's Stoner, who won the season-opener in Qatar, was fifth.

World champion Nicky Hayden, who made a great start from the fourth row of the grid, faded in the latter stages and could only finish seventh, one place behind a rejuvenated Carlos Checa.

"It was a great race," Rossi told Spanish television. "I'm very happy as we had to modify the bike after this morning's warm-up. I had a great battle with Pedrosa, he's a great rider and I really enjoyed it."

Rossi started in second place on the grid behind title rival Pedrosa in what had been the closest top 10 qualification in the history of the premier class.

But the Italian stamped his authority on the race when he took over at the front after slipping past Pedrosa on a hairpin on the opening lap.

Rossi's team mate Edwards settled into third, while Hayden blasted his way through from 11th spot on the grid to move into fourth spot on his Honda.

Another American, Suzuki rider John Hopkins also looked sharp as he posted the fastest times in the early laps to move into fifth.

Rossi left Pedrosa trailing in his wake as he poured on the power at the front and showed none of the problems that hampered his progress last season.

Hopkins dived under Hayden to take fourth place on lap 16, but slid off into the gravel almost immediately as he tried to keep the charging Elias at bay.

Stoner also stepped up the pace in the latter stages, powering past Hayden with seven laps to go, while Checa also picked off the American in the closing stages.

Pedrosa, who finished third behind Stoner and Rossi in Qatar, admitted there was little he could do to stop the Italian.

"Rossi was superior today, he was very quick," said the 21-year-old. "He overtook me on the first lap and I'm just happy to be on the podium. The crowd enjoyed the race and so did I."

Hungary's Gabor Talmacsi edged a dramatic victory in the 125cc category, edging out Czech rider Lukas Pesek by a hundredth of a second in a photo finish.

Spanish world champion Jorge Lorenzo gave the record 138,000 crowd plenty to cheer about when he continued his flawless start to the season with a thrilling victory in the 250cc race.

The 19-year-old, who won the season-opener in Qatar, became the first Spanish rider in the 250cc class to win his home race in successive years after he got the better of fellow countryman Alvaro Bautista and Italy's Andrea Dovizioso.

(Writing by Simon Baskett in Madrid; Editing by Alan Baldwin; Reuters Messaging)

[nedro]

One HELL of a boring race!

[fl-929]

Originally Posted by nedro

One HELL of a boring race!

Just what I was going to post. It was over after the first lap.