Starting from pole for the fifth time in a row, Lorenzo lost ground to his rivals at the fearsome downhill turn one and was relegated to third first time around. For the first few laps there was little he could do except hang on behind Pedrosa and Stoner but on the sixth lap Stoner ran wide and Lorenzo stormed through to take second. By now Pedrosa was nearly a second clear but Lorenzo’s pace had begun to improve and he started to push as hard as he could and exert some pressure on his fellow Spaniard. On lap twelve, with the gap now narrowed to half a second, Pedrosa crashed out and left Lorenzo in the lead and from then on it was plain sailing for the 23-year-old as he expertly controlled his advantage over Stoner to bring it home and take his second win on US soil. Today’s victory was his 11th in MotoGP, his 32nd in all classes and his 10th successive podium.

Rossi had suffered all weekend with pain in both his leg and his shoulder and today looked like it was going to be a tough day for the reigning champion, unable as he was to make any further headway after passing Nicky Hayden for fifth position. Once Pedrosa had crashed out however and with Ben Spies exerting pressure on him from behind Rossi’s fighting instinct kicked in as he spied a podium possibility, gradually closing down a two second gap to Dovizioso to come within striking distance with six laps remaining. On the 27th lap he made his move and passed his countryman, managing to hold him off over the last couple of laps to make a popular return to the podium.

With exactly half of the season gone Lorenzo heads the championship with an impressive 72-point lead over Pedrosa, whilst Rossi is 120 points adrift of his team-mate in fifth position. Both riders will enjoy a two and a half week holiday now and the Italian will be more glad than anyone for the time off, during which he will be working on his fitness in an effort to be back to his best next time out in Brno.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1st Time: 43.54.873
“I am so happy to win here at Laguna Seca, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of. I rode so well today, right on the limit and I had to push very hard to stay in touch with Dani. He is always so strong on race day but I knew if I kept the pressure on him then there was a chance he would make a mistake and I would be able to catch him. I’m sorry he crashed but from then on it was very easy for me because I had a big gap from Casey. I really enjoyed riding my M1! I have a big lead in the championship but there is half of the season left and it wouldn’t be the first time a rider has lost the title with such a big lead, so we can’t take anything for granted. I am really looking forward to some time to relax now after two very busy months. Thanks to everyone in my team for doing a brilliant job.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“We can’t deny that we leave for the well earned summer break with a small amount of disappointment because Ben was looking really strong and I think he had a great chance of claiming the home podium he desperately wanted. He got a great start and it took him a few laps to find his best rhythm like a few times this season. But then he was able to set some really fast lap times and he was able to pass Nicky and close right on Valentino. We were hoping for a podium at that stage though we know it would not have been easy because Valentino was riding at an incredible level. Ben was right behind him and looking strong for the last few laps and the home fans were super excited by his attacking riding. Unfortunately Ben ran wide in a couple of places and lost crucial time and that was something out of his control. He is a little disappointed and I understand that because he couldn’t fight right to the end. But we’re happy with his performance because his spe ed was undoubtedly good enough for the podium. I’m really happy with Colin’s performance and I think it was easily his best weekend of the whole season. He was pushing at his maximum every lap of every session and he was strong in the race, passing Melandri and Simoncelli, who don’t just lie down and make it easy. A sixth and seventh is a decent result for us and helped us consolidate our fourth position in the Team World Championship, so we can return refreshed and ready for a strong second half of the season in Brno

Rossi dropped one place to third at the start but Lorenzo, starting from pole, slipped right back through the field to eighth after the first corner. Both riders quickly began to make up ground however, the Italian passing Casey Stoner into the corkscrew and the Spaniard overtaking three riders to cross the line in fifth first time around. It was a short lived stint in second for Rossi as Stoner passed him back into turn one on the third lap while Pedrosa began to open up a big gap at the front of the field. There was no change for several laps until Andrea Dovizioso crashed on lap seven, elevating Lorenzo to fourth and giving the youngster clear air in front just as he began to find his rhythm. On lap twelve Rossi made his decisive pass on Casey Stoner and re-took second place and he immediately set about trying to close a gap of nearly three seconds to Pedrosa.

Over the next few laps however it was Lorenzo who was the man on the move and the brave Mallorcan gradually began to move closer to Stoner until he was able to make a brilliant pass on the brakes into the final corner to move into third. With Rossi unable to make much headway into Pedrosa’s lead at that point, another Fiat Yamaha showdown began to brew as lap-by-lap Lorenzo edged closer to his team-mate. With four laps to go the 22-year-old saw his chance and tried to pass the World Champion at the final corner, but he suffered a big slide in the process and ran wide, letting Rossi back through and dropping back over a second. The drama wasn’t over yet however as on the final lap Rossi suddenly found himself within striking distance of Pedrosa and a final-corner overtake looked to be on the cards, but in the end he was just a couple of tenths too far off and crossed the line 0.344 seconds adrift, with Lorenzo 1.926 seconds behind him.

Rossi extends his lead at the top of the championship to nine points over Lorenzo, who in turn stretches the gap from Stoner to seven points. There is a now a two week break before the MotoGP paddock returns to Europe for another double-header at the Sachsenring in Germany followed by Donington in the UK.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: +0.344
“The first half of the race was quite difficult because we weren’t at 100% today. I didn’t expect Dani to be so fast but he was very strong and there wasn’t much I could do to go with him! The last ten laps were very exciting because Lorenzo was pushing me so hard that I had to really make another step and then Dani slowed down and suddenly he was right in front of me! I thought there was a chance to pass on the final corner but unfortunately I was just too far off and it was too much of a risk. Second is good today because we were not in perfect shape here, we missed something in the setting and this is always a hard track anyway, so we have to be happy with these twenty points. We have extended the championship lead so it’s a good result for us and we have shown that we are still strong this year even when things are not perfect. This consistency is the most important thing for the championship. Now I am happy that we have some time to rest because these have been a hard two weeks and the next two races are very important because we are all so close!”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“It was a tough weekend but Colin still had a good race. He had a good pace and while it wasn’t fast enough to be on the podium he got some good points and now he’s fifth in the championship and still the top independent team rider. It was also his 100th point-scoring finish in MotoGP and I’m pleased that he has achieved that with the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha Team. Colin has done a fantastic job for our team and it shows what a consistent performer he has been for Yamaha. For James it was a big disappointment because although it was a difficult weekend I think a top ten finish could have been possible. It was a marginal jump start but that’s the rule, it is the same for everybody. Unfortunately he didn’t see the signal to ride through the pits, so he learned a lesson today.”

Rossi won in spectacular fashion here last year and he looked immediately comfortable out on track, lapping consistently in the top three aboard his M1 and Bridgestone tyres. Lorenzo meanwhile, who did not complete the race here last year on his Laguna debut, proved lack of track experience was no barrier to fast lap times and spent most of the session in second before setting a brilliant lap with 11 minutes to go and moving into first. He looked to have the practice sewn up until his championship-leading team-mate sneaked ahead on his final lap, bettering the Spaniard’s lap time by just one tenth of a second.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 1′21.981 Laps: 32
“I am happy with the session today, it was a good performance and at the end, with the harder tyre, we did an especially good job and I was able to make the best time. We got a lot of data about the track, which we will use tomorrow in order to improve things further. We need to work a bit to improve the front feeling because we can still make the bike a bit easier to ride in one or two corners and then we will also look at the electronics in order to control the wheelie, because there are a lot of bumps and jumps on this circuit. Once again me, Lorenzo and Stoner are very close so we can expect another big fight this weekend, but we are confident that our M1 is working well.”

Before last year Rossi had just one podium to his name at Laguna since MotoGP returned there in 2005, but he produced one of the performances of his career in 2008 to win an important victory, which went on to prove one of the key turning points of his season. A race-long battle with Casey Stoner threw up some nail-biting moments between the pair but the Italian prevailed to take his first win on American soil. After two wins on the bounce he is heading stateside in flying form and will be hoping to extend his championship lead this weekend with another great result. Thursday sees the now traditional Laguna Seca Superkart race and Rossi this year will make a few display laps in a Superkart before Yamaha legends Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts Senior take centre stage for the real thing.

Lorenzo was a Laguna Seca first-timer last year and a promising showing during practice came to nothing when he high-sided on the first lap. The 22-year-old went on to taste American success later in the season with a podium in Indianapolis and he is determined that he will get to grips with the tricky Laguna track this time around. The youngster has had a brilliant season to date and will undoubtedly be in the mix once again this weekend as he seeks to better his team-mate with a return to the top of the podium.

Laguna Seca is an all-American track where the intense dry heat, unpredictable asphalt and anti-clockwise layout reward the loose and aggressive riding style of the US dirt-trackers. The track boasts some of the most dramatic elevation changes on the world championship circuit as well as fast, sweeping corners, the most notorious of which is the world-famous ‘Corkscrew’. Machine set-up is relatively straightforward, with throttle connection a much more important factor than top-end power and a well balanced chassis the key to those elevation changes and diverse corners.

Valentino Rossi – “Back to normal!”
“The wonderful memory of the 100th win is still fresh, but now we have just a few days to recover before the next race, which is hard for everyone. We have to try to relax as much as possible and recharge the batteries a little, because Laguna is always a tough weekend and often very hot. Last year I had a great battle with Stoner and for me it was for sure one of the turning points of the championship and a very important win; I have some good memories. I think this year it will be hard again because Lorenzo is in brilliant form and I am sure Stoner will also be back to his best. Laguna is a great place to race and an exciting track, I also have a little trip to Los Angeles and Yamaha US first which I am looking forward to. The championship is very open at this point so we need to keep focus, get back to normal after Assen and try to get another good result this weekend.”

Jorge Lorenzo – “Looking forward to the challenge”
“Last year Laguna wasn’t good for me but I don’t think about this. It’s the only time I’ve been there but I don’t see that as a problem – until 2008 I’d never won in Portugal before and I won my first race there in MotoGP, and then again this year I won in Motegi where I’d never won before, so I don’t consider any track ‘bad’ for me – the past doesn’t matter. We are feeling very strong after the last races and everyone is very motivated to continue in the same way so I am looking forward to the challenge and learning more about the track. I will do my best and hopefully that will mean we can run at the front again.”

Davide Brivio – “Focus on the championship”
“We still have great memories from Laguna Seca in 2008 and we’re happy to be arriving there after two wins and leading the championship. It’s a great place to race and the American fans are always brilliant so we hope we can give them another good show! Our package is working well everywhere now so hopefully the case will be the same again this weekend. Now that the 100 target has been reached we can focus on the next target – the championship! Now we race for that.”

Daniele Romagnoli – “A consistent package”
“After the last great race in Assen this is a very short break for everyone but we have to move straight on to the US for the next round! The high motivation in our team continues after another strong performance from Jorge and we are looking forward to having the chance for another good result. This year our package is much more consistent and we know that we can put up another good fight, despite Jorge’s inexperience at Laguna. Everyone in the team enjoys going to Laguna – it’s a great place – so we’re looking forward to another exciting weekend.”

Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 100 (79 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 217 (157 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 53 (43 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)

Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 22
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 24 (3 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 118 (24 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 33 (7 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7)

Laguna Seca: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1′21.488

Laguna Seca: Best Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1′20.700

Grand Prix Results: Laguna Seca 2008
1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 44′04.311
2. C.Stoner (Ducati) +13.001
3. C.Vermeulen (Suzuki) +26.609

. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) NF