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Valentino Rossi, a seven-time world motorcycling champion, rode his Yamaha to victory in the Dutch Grand Prix, defeating the current championship leader Casey Stoner of Australia at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands on Saturday.


Valentino Rossi, who started from the 11th position on the grid, rode on the edge to slice his way through the field and eventually overtake Stoner three laps from the finish before going on to complete a comfortable win.

It was just the third time this season Rossi has finished ahead of Stoner. And with a very controlled ride into second place, Stoner maintains a "comfortable" 21-point lead after nine races, the half-way point of the 18-race season.

Current world champion Nicky Hayden finished third for his first podium of the season.

Dutch Grand Prix MotoGP race on Saturday
1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 42 minutes :37.149 secs
2. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 42:39.058
3. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 42:43.226
4. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 42:47.614
5. John Hopkins (U.S.) Suzuki 42:50.287
6. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 42:52.288
7. Alex Barros (Brazil) Ducati 43:13.224
8. Alex Hofmann (Germany) Ducati 43:18.917
9. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki 43:20.754
10. Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda 43:20.945
11. Carlos Checa (Spain) Honda 43:20.975
12. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 43:25.045
13. Makoto Tamada (Japan) Yamaha 43:31.217
14. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Yamaha 43:34.867
15. Kurtis Roberts (U.S.) KR212V 44:05.786
Standings 1. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati 185 points 2. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 164 3. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 119 4. John Hopkins (U.S.) Suzuki 94 5. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki 88 6. Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda 87 7. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 75 8. Alex Barros (Brazil) Ducati 69 9. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Ducati 57 10. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 57 11. Alex Hofmann (Germany) Ducati 53 12. Toni Elias (Spain) Honda 49 13. Randy de Puniet (France) Kawasaki 40 14. Carlos Checa (Spain) Honda 25 15. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda 25 16. Makoto Tamada (Japan) Yamaha 20 17. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Yamaha 18 18. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki 12 19. Fonsi Nieto (Spain) Kawasaki 5 20. Olivier Jacque (France) Kawasaki 4