Valentino Rossi Wins MotoGP in Japan - 28/09/2008
Italy's Valentino Rossi clinched his sixth MotoGP world title with a thrilling victory in Japan on Sunday.
Rossi, riding a Yamaha, went clear of his arch-rival and defending champion Casey Stoner with 11 laps to go at the Motegi circuit to win by nearly two seconds from the Australian.
Spain's Dani Pedrosa was third with compatriot Jorge Lorenzo, who started from pole position, in fourth place.
But all the attention focused on the remarkable Rossi, who was claiming his eighth victory of the season and his fifth straight since he took the United States Grand Prix in July.
It left him needing just a podium finish to reclaim the title he last won in 2005.
"It's difficult to compare the titles," Rossi told Associated Press.
"This one is great because we really battled here. There have been a lot titles in my career but maybe this is the one that required the most effort."
American Nicky Hayden pipped Rossi to the title in the last race of the 2006 season while Stoner dominated in 2007.
With three races left in the season, Rossi has 312 points, 92 ahead of Stoner.
Sunday's race quickly became a contest between Stoner and Rossi as the two riders opened up a comfortable lead ahead of the pack.
"I felt good at the start of the race," said Stoner, who wrapped up his 2007 triumph with a sixth-place finish at Motegi last year.
"I needed a few laps to warm up the tires, then I got a little tired changing the direction of the bike and Valentino came forward."
Rossi is now closing fast on the all-time record of eight world titles held by compatriot Giacomo Agostini.
He pulls clear of Australian Mick Doohan who had also won five titles.
Earlier, pole sitter Marco Simoncelli of Italy won the 250cc race, increasing his overall lead in the world championship standings.
Simoncelli, riding a Gilera, crossed the finish line in 43 minutes, 09.385 seconds after 23 laps, .348 seconds ahead of Spain's Alvaro Bautista for his fourth win of the season.
Spain's Alex Debron was third.
With three races left, Simoncelli has 215 points, 32 points ahead of Bautista.
Germany's Stefan Bradl won the 125cc race, edging pole sitter Mike Di Meglio of France for his second career victory.
Reigning world champion Gabor Talmacsi of Hungary was third.
Video Highlights Will Apear in the next hours.
Italian Valentino Rossi claimed his sixth world premier-class title by winning the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi.
Rossi only needed to finish third to secure his first MotoGP title since 2005, but made sure with a fifth straight win of the season.
Japanese MotoGP result:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha/B) 43min 09.599secs,
2. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati/B) at 1.943,
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda/B) 4.866,
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha/M) 6.165,
5. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda/M) 24.593,
6. Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki/B) 25.685,
7. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha/M) 25.918,
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN/Honda/B) 26.003,
9. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda/M) 26.219,
10. John Hopkins (USA/Kawasaki/B) 37.131,
11. James Toseland (GBR/Yamaha/M) 37.574,
12. Randy De Puniet (FRA/Honda/M) 38.020,
13. Marco Melandri (ITA/Ducati/B) 39.768,
14. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA/Ducati/B) 45.846,
15. Anthony West (AUS/Kawasaki/B) 55.748,
16. Toni Elias (ESP/Ducati/B) 59.320,
17. Alex De Angelis (RSM/Honda/B) 1:12.398.
World championship standings:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 312 points,
2. Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 220,
3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 209,
4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 169,
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 136,
6. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 118,
7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS/Suzuki) 117,
8. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 115,
9. Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki/B) 96,
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN/Honda) 95
250cc race result:
1. Marco Simoncelli (ITA/Gilera) 43min 09.385sec,
2. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aprilia) at 0.348,
3. Alex Debon (ESP/Aprilia) 8.414,
4. Julian Simon (ESP/KTM) 9.151,
5. Mika Kallio (FIN/KTM) 17.041
125cc race results:
1. Stefan Bradl (GER/Aprilia) 39min 57.228sec,
2. Mike Di Meglio (FRA/Derbi) at 0.151,
3. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN/Aprilia) 0.281,
4. Joan Olive (ESP/Derbi) 5.945,
5. Nicolas Terol (ESP/Aprilia) 6.072
