MotoGP 2007-Mugello Round 6

MotoGP 2007 Round 6

Grand Prix of Italy, Mugello - June 3, 2007

Race Results

Valentino Rossi set yet another record in his extraordinary racing career today, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to take six consecutive wins at his home circuit.

The 85,480 adoring fans who had braved the threat of rain and turned the green hillsides of the Mugello valley bright yellow were rewarded in style as the Italian scored an emphatic and emotional victory, his fourth here for Yamaha and eighth in total from twelve years of racing.

Under miraculously dry skies, the Fiat Yamaha Team rider got a poor start from third on the grid and found himself down in eighth position at turn one. Once he had built up enough heat in his Michelin tires however he set out in earnest, picking off riders one-by-one and moving up to second behind Dani Pedrosa by lap seven of 23.

Two laps later Rossi made his move on the Spaniard and from then on the pair were racing just a few tenths of a second apart, with Rossi extending the advantage around the twistier parts of the circuit and Pedrosa closing it slightly down the long home straight. Little by little however Rossi began to pull away and he eventually crossed the line 3.074 seconds ahead of Pedrosa.

A late pass by Alex Barros on series-leader Casey Stoner for third place helped Rossi's points deficit and he now lies just nine points behind Stoner in the standings, with some of his favorite races coming up in the next few weeks.

It was a less successful day for Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards, who despite showing a strong race pace in the dry today was heavily penalized by starting from the sixth row of the grid. The Texan has yet to enjoy a successful race at this circuit and was only able to make up a few places on his starting position, finishing 12th and slipping one place in the championship standings down to tenth.

Valentino Rossi Position: 1stTime: 42'42.385: "To win in Mugello once again is an incredible emotion for me and I am very happy at this moment. Racing in front of the fans here is always something unbelievable and they give me an extra motivation. It's an incredible feeling to see so much yellow around the track, the fans were "coming crazy" today and it was a wonderful race!"

"As we had hoped it stayed dry, the sun came out and everything went to plan! My team have worked brilliantly, my bike was perfect and I could ride it exactly how I wanted, I need to say a huge thank you to them and also to Michelin. I didn't get a very good start but once my tires had warmed up my M1 really flew and I was able to fight back to the front."

"From the very beginning everyone was pushing at 100% and it was great fun in those first few laps! It was really a perfect race for me today and I felt like I had everyone on my side; Mugello is a magical track for me and this victory gives us a lot of power and confidence for the next races. I had a special helmet for this race with a big heart on it and today I think we showed that we really have a lot of heart at Yamaha. This is a great, great moment for me."

2007 MotoGP Italy - Mugello - Race Results

Circuit Length: 5245; Temp: 24; Weather: Dry

Race 1 - 23 Laps

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time

1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 42'42.385

2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'3.074

3 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'5.956

4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'6.012

5 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'13.244

6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'19.255

7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'19.646

8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'22.810

9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'22.837

10 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'24.413

11 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'24.781

12 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'28.001

13 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 0'36.733

14 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'45.098

15 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'45.145

Rider Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points

1. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 115

2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 106

3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 82

4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 68

5. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 63

6. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 59

7. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 47

8. Toni Elias Honda ESP 45

9. Alex Barros Ducati BRA 43

10. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 39

11. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 36

12. Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 35

13. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 20

14. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 19

15. Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 18

16. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 14

17. Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 12

Team Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Team Points

1. Ducati Marlboro Team 162

2. FIAT Yamaha Team 145

3. Rizla Suzuki 122

4. Repsol Honda Team 118

5. Honda Gresini 113

6. Pramac D'Antin 78

7. Kawasaki Racing Team 28

8. Tech3 Yamaha 26

9. Honda LCR 20

10. Konica Minolta Honda 18

11. Team Roberts 4

Manufacturer Standings as of June 3, 2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points

1. Ducati 118

2. Honda 109

3. Yamaha 106

4. Suzuki 82

5. Kawasaki 28

6. KR212V 4