 Rossi arrived in Jerez having gone five races without a win |
Five-time world champion Valentino Rossi got his first win of 2007 and disappointed the home fans as he beat Dani Pedrosa at the Spanish MotoGP. The Italian started from second on the grid but eased past Spaniard Pedrosa on the opening lap and led throughout.
Yamaha's Rossi finished 1.2 seconds ahead of Honda's Pedrosa and Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards of the USA.
Rossi moves to the top of the standings after Casey Stoner, winner in Qatar two weeks ago, came in fifth on his Ducati.
World champion Nicky Hayden made a great start from 11th on the grid and got as high as fourth before fading in the latter stages to finish seventh.
Stoner, in contrast, got stronger as the race went on and powered past Hayden with seven laps remaining to take fifth behind Spain's Toni Elias.
Suzuki rider John Hopkins looked sharp as he posted the fastest times in the early laps to move into fifth but the American slid off into the gravel on lap 16.
"It was a great, great race for us," Rossi told BBC Sport. "I did some small modifications after the warm-up and the bike was very fast from the beginning.
"The tyres worked very well, I went in front from the start and it was a perfect race for us."
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Pedrosa said: "To be second here is very good. We are on the podium again. I think we did a good weekend and the people here were unbelievable."
It was a hugely dominant performance from Rossi, who claimed the 85th win of his career and his first since Malaysia in September last year.
Rossi now leads the championship with 45 points after two races, nine clear of Stoner and Pedrosa.
World champion Jorge Lorenzo continued his flawless start to the season with a thrilling victory in the 250cc race. The 19-year-old Spaniard won a fierce battle with fellow countryman Alvaro Bautista and Italy's Andrea Dovizioso to take his second win of 2007.
Hungary's Gabor Talmacsi edged a dramatic victory in the 125cc race, beating Czech rider Lukas Pesek by a hundredth of a second.
Talmacsi led from the start, lost the lead to Pesek on the final lap, but overtook him on the straight to grab the win.
Spanish MotoGP result:
1. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 45:53.340
2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 45:54.586
3. Colin Edwards (US) 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 (US) 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
250cc race result:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Aprilia 45:35.846
2. Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Aprilia 45:36.064
3. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 45:36.324
125cc race result:
1. Gabor Talmacsi (Hungary) Aprilia 41:52.149
2. Lukas Pesek (Czech Republic) Derbi 41:52.163
3. Hector Faubel (Spain) Aprilia 41:57.869
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Report: Rossi wins Spanish MotoGP