Rossi wins again

From the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The rest of the MotoGP field should have known what history already confirmed entering the Italian Grand Prix: Valentino Rossi is unbeatable at Mugello.

Five-time MotoGP World Champion Rossi expanded his points lead and won the Italian Grand Prix for the seventh consecutive year at Mugello on Sunday, winning his home race by 2.201 seconds over defending World Champion Casey Stoner. Dani Pedrosa finished third, 4.867 seconds behind Rossi.

It was the third consecutive victory of the season for Rossi, whose lead in the standings grew to 122-110 over Pedrosa.

"After winning the championship, winning at Mugello is the next best thing for me, and once again today it was like a dream," Rossi said. "There is no way to describe the feeling I have standing on the podium in front of all of my fans here, and I am so happy that I could win once again today. To win for the seventh time running at my home track is amazing, but I felt quite a lot of pressure about this, so it's a relief, as well, because I didn't want to disappoint everyone."

It was a mixed day for American riders in the 23-lap race. Colin Edwards of Houston continued his consistent, strong season with a fifth-place finish on his Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin, his best finish ever at Mugello.

"I'm not a guy that likes fifth, but on my biggest bogey track ever, I'll take it," Edwards said.

Nicky Hayden, from Owensboro, KY, was hampered by an unknown mechanical problem with his Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin and the 2006 World Champion finished 13th.

John Hopkins, from Ramona, CA, placed 17th after a crash on lap 7 caused by a gear-shifting problem. Hopkins was unhurt.

Rossi started from pole on his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone but slipped to fourth early. But Rossi climbed toward the front quickly, passing Stoner's Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati/Bridgestone for the lead for good on lap 4.

Rookie sensation Jorge Lorenzo entered this race tied for second with Pedrosa, but he suffered a blow to his title chances when he crashed his Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin on lap 7. Lorenzo was unhurt, but it was the first time in his young MotoGP career that he failed to finish. Lorenzo fell to third in the standings, 28 points behind surging teammate Rossi.

The next race is the Grand Prix of Catalunya on June 8 at Barcelona, Spain. The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP is Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

RESULTS
1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha/Bridgestone
2. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati/Bridgestone +2.201 seconds
3. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda/Michelin +4.867
4. Alex De Angelis (San Marino) Honda/Bridgestone +6.313
5. Colin Edwards (United States) Yamaha/Michelin +12.530
6. James Toseland (Great Britain) Yamaha/Michelin +13.806
7. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Suzuki/Bridgestone +14.447
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda/Michelin +15.319
9. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Honda/Bridgestone +15.327
10. Chris Vermeulen (Australia) Suzuki/Bridgestone +30.785
11. Sylvain Guintoli (France) Ducati/Bridgestone +39.621
12. Toni Elias (Spain) Ducati/Bridgestone +50.021
13. Nicky Hayden (United States) Honda/Michelin +50.440
14. Tadayuki Okada (Japan) Honda/Michelin +58.849
15. Anthony West (Australia) Kawasaki/Bridgestone +1:00.736
16. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha/Michelin +17 laps
17. John Hopkins (United States) Kawasaki/Bridgestone +17 laps
18. Randy De Puniet (France) Honda/Michelin +18 laps
19. Marco Melandri (Italy) Ducati/Bridgestone +18 laps
Fastest lap: Stoner, 1:50.003, lap 5
Pole lap: Rossi, 1:48.130

POINTS
1. Rossi 122, 2. Pedrosa 110, 3. Lorenzo 94, 4. Stoner 76, 5. Edwards 58, 6. Capirossi 51, 7. Dovizioso 44, 8. Toseland 43, 9. Hayden 40, 10. Nakano 35, 11. Vermeulen 31, 12. Hopkins 26, 13. De Angelis 24, 14. Melandri 24, 15. Elias 24, 16. De Puniet 18, 17. Guintoli 12, 18. West 6, 19. Okada 2