Rossi Takes Catalunya Win on the Last Corner

Valentino Rossi got one back from teammate Jorge Lorenzo on Sunday, as the reigning MotoGP champion managed to pass the Spaniard in the very last corner of the Catalunya GP and deny him the home win. Two weeks earlier, it was Lorenzo & Stoner who spoiled Rossi winning record at his home track at Mugello.

The two riders went head-to-head for the majority of the race, but the last 3 laps were the really thrilling ones to watch by the Spanish crowd in the stands. Rossi and Lorenzo exchanged positions on top of the race for no less than 5 times in the closing kilometers of the race, with Rossi taking the chequered flag in the end. The Italian managed to find the inside of his teammate in the very last corner of the race, and eventually clinched his 5th MotoGP win in Catalunya.

"In Italian you would just say about that race, ‘Mama Mia!’. This battle with Lorenzo was very, very close. Our two bikes are set-up very well and we had the same pace so I knew we would get to the end of the race like that so it was fantastic," said Rossi at the end of the race.

"It was a great race and we know that Lorenzo is very strong, so to try and beat him in the future we have to be at 100%. I’m so happy about today and my 99th GP win. It was so important to take this victory here in Barcelona, more than just the 25 points, because for me, for my team and for the crowd it is just fantastic, so I think the show was unbelievable," added Rossi.

Although disappointed, Lorenzo took his defeat well enough, admitting that his teammate deserved it more for his courageous move on the last meters of the race.

"It’s not the same as a victory but second place is a fantastic result for us because it means we are maintaining consistent form, which we didn’t have last year. Being honest Valentino was braver than me and he overtook me in the last corner because I didn’t close the line enough and he won. I congratulate him for this win. I tried to be brave and where I saw gaps I went for it. Although we lost we know there are a lot of races until the end of the season," said Lorenzo.

Casey Stoner crossed the finish line on a distant 3rd place (more than 8 seconds behind), ahead of Honda's Andrea Dovizioso. Only half of tenth separated the two riders in the end. Suzuki's Loris Capirossi scored a decent 5th place of his own, ahead of local favorite Dani Pedrosa, Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards and LCR's Randy de Puniet.

In the overall classification, Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner are all on an unprecedented 106 points each on top of the standings, with Honda's Dovizioso and Pedrosa in 4th and 5th place respectively.