Stoner and Rossi were in class of their own through the race - they were setting low 1.57 laps before Stoner crashed, having more than 12 second advantage over 3rd placed rider in lap 6. Although many will try to describe Stoner's crash as breaking under pressure from Valentino Rossi, it was probably one of those things that happen when racing on the limit. Just to illustrate level at which were those two riders - Rossi slowed-down after Stoner's crash, but still continued to set laps that were faster than any other rider on the track most of the time.
Shinya Nakano made his way through the field from 12th place at the end of the lap 1 to 4th place at the race finish, being best Honda finisher in this race. Surprise of the day came from the Anthony West, who managed to capitalize great start and stay with 'leaders' till the end of the race. Chris Vermeulen seemed set for another podium finish, when suddenly dropped few places in lap 9, eventually finishing race in 6th. Marco Melandri scored second best result of the season by finishing in 7th place. Alex de Angelis finished 8th, ending string of Bridgestone finishers.
Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo were only Michelin representatives in top 10, which was complete disaster for French tyre manufacturer. After this race, Rossi gained 25 more points in championship battle, now leading Stoner by 50 points. With 6 races remaining this looks like great advantage, but for sure we may expect from Stoner to strike back, and he will get first chance to do it in 2 weeks.
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