BBC Sportmotorsport

Final positions:

1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha

2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda

3. Casey Stoner (Australia) Ducati

4. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha

5. M Melandri (Itlay) Ducati

6. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda

7. C Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha

8. T Elias (Spain) Ducati

By Ian Hughes

0846: Rossi celebrates by giving his bike a little kiss. He looks absolutely delighted.

Lap 23: And Rossi takes the flag to announce he is back in business. Pedrosa takes second, and the final podium spot goes to Stoner. And there's a hugely impressive fourth place finish for Lorenzo - a brave, brave ride.

Lap 22:Rossi is heading towards his 63rd race victory - he's 3.6 seconds ahead of Pedrosa. The Spaniard, though, will move to the top of the championship standings with his second place finish.

Lap 21: Third place looks secure for Stoner, who is comfortably ahead of fourth-placed Lorenzo. Toseland remains in 12th, with his team-mate Edwards in eighth.

Lap 20: Rossi has opened up a decent gap now and looks to have produced the perfect race. He has not won a race since Portugal last year.

Lap 19: And Rossi breaks the lap record, flying round in 1:59.273. The Italian could be heading for victory - if he has got his strategy spot-on.

Lap 18: Closing on the lap record, Rossi set the new benchmark for the race as he tries to pull away from Pedrosa. Maybe he's starting to put the hammer down now to break the Spaniard.

Lap 17: Melandri makes a successful move on Dovizioso and must be pleased with his performance today. Looks like he is finally getting to grips with his Ducati.

Lap 16: Rossi still holding off Pedrosa at the front of the field, with Stoner all alone in third. In fourth is Lorenzo, ahead of Dovizioso and Melandri is sixth.

Lap 15: Bad news for Toseland - he is in 12th place but lapping slower than those around him, so no chance of moving up the field.

Outstanding stuff from Lorenzo, who rushes past Dovizioso to claim fifth. A superb performance from the Yamaha man, riding through the pain barrier.

Lap 14: Andrea Dovizioso is having a great race. The JiR Scot rider is in fifth.

Lap 13: The battle between Rossi and Pedrosa is fascinating. Just when it appears the Italian is easing out a gap, Pedrosa pulls him in again. Whoever has made the right tyre choice could end up with victory here. Still all to play for.

Lap 12: Hayden is losing pace all the time and drops back another place to eighth, as Lorenzo overtakes him. Toseland is also suffering and falls back to 12th.

Lap 11: Rossi and Pedrosa are miles ahead of the pack - they have a seven-second advantage back to Stoner in third.

The front pair are playing a little cat and mouse. Pedrosa looks comfortable with the pace and appears to be biding his time.

Lap 10: Vermeulen is out of the race after a clutch problem. The mechanics were unable to fix it and that's the end of his involvement and more disappointment for the Australian.

Lap 9: A fine move from Melandri sees him skip past Hayden and the Ducati rider is having a stormer.

Anthony West manages an incredible save as he hangs off the side of his Kawasaki after riding off track.

Lap 8: Rossi still leads from Pedrosa, with Stoner in third and Nicky Hayden in fourth.

Lap 7: Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen is in the pits. Looks like he is changing tyre. It's not good for his chances. it has not been a good season for him so far.

Lap 6: Casey Stoner clocks 215 mph sprinting down the back straight - and that's just about the fastest these 800 machines have gone.

Meanwhile, Edwards has slipped back to eighth and looks well out of the running now.

Lap 5: Rossi is right on Pedrosa's tail and he takes advantage of the slipstream on the straight to move pass the Spaniard. He was moving at 212 mph, but made it look a breeze.

Lap 4: There's a tight bunch still in the chasing pack. And at the front Rossi is taking the fight to Pedrosa, as the Italian closes the gap.

Lap 3: Some serious sparks coming off Marco Melandri's knee scraper as he looks to move his Ducati up the field. Pedrosa is pulling away at the front of the pack.

Lap 2: Dani Pedrosa storms to the front after a superb move and some very late braking. There's a massive scrap going on for second between Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.

Lap 1: Casey Stoner makes a superb start and at the first corner heads the field, but polesitter Colin Edwards manages to nick back the lead.

0758: Jorge Lorenzo, who is having a nightmare in China, stalls the bike on the grid. The Spaniard looks to be struggling to put weight on his injured ankle, following his huge high-side crash in practice which left him with a chipped bone.

The fact he is racing at all is incredible - and what an achievement to qualify in fourth!

0757: Britain's sole representative in MotoGP, James Toseland, says he expects the race to present some difficulties as the track remains damp from overnight rain.

The weather forecast is for rain, so there is a chance the race could be split.

0755: World champion Casey Stoner: "We are not regular front row starters, so it doesn't really matter where we are in the grid. But it's nice to be getting closer to the pace."

0745 BST: Morning all. Welcome to the fourth round of MotoGP, which is all set to be an absolute cracker. It's going to be a hard one to call, with wet conditions in Shanghai bound to play a major part in the result.

Earlier there were a number of crashes in the 125cc class, where Andrea Iannone was the surprise winner. The Italian rider started from fifth on the grid and shone in a wet race .

Britain's Bradley Smith, who started from pole, crashed out on the seventh lap and reigning world champion Gabor Talmacsi could not keep up with the pace after the midway point.

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