Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has taken victory in the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix and extended his lead in the championship on 75 points. Toni Elias, the Alice Team Ducati rider appeared on the podium again with an excellent third place. Jorge Lorenzo took a good second place.

Nicky Hayden, the Repsol Honda rider did not start the race after taking the decision not to ride because of problems with his foot. It started swelling and bruising on Friday during the qualifying.

The race showed a good mix of tyres, mix of teams and manufacturers. Only one big disappointment occurred in Casey Stoner’s crash, but he still keeps second position in the championship with only 5 points remaining.

After the race a very happy Valentino, in winning at his hometown, said:
“Today is a truly fantastic day and I can’t believe that I have matched Agostini’s record! He was one of my heroes so it’s quite incredible to have made 68 wins. This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it hard to concentrate because there is so much distraction!

“I got a good start but then Dani came past me very fast and I then lost a lot of time getting past him and had to take some big risks -I had a big slide! Once I was past him I could see Casey, although I have to admit that today I wasn’t as confident as I was in Brno that I could win.
I was very fast once I found my rhythm.Then I saw Casey slide out. I’m sorry for him once again but this is very good for our championship so I am happy for our team. We have 75 points, which is a lot; but there are still five races and I will ride to win at every one”.

Via | Yamaha racing

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