Rossi broke the longest winless spell of his career with a masterful run at the Chinese GP.
Five-time world champion Valentino Rossi broke his uncharacteristic winless GP streak with a victory in the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix. Joining the Yamaha ace on the Shanghai podium were rivals Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.
With a damp track during the previous 125 and 250 races, officials called the MotoGP contest a wet race just minutes before the start. Although teams were scrambling with tire decisions, all riders opted to start with slicks.
The 22-lap race began with Colin Edwards jumping out from his pole position to snag the holeshot away from Stoner, who also had a stellar start. Turning the first lap, Edwards held a slim lead, with Stoner, Pedrosa and Rossi all in chase.
Pedrosa jumped out front on Lap 2, with Rossi able to dispatch his old teammate for second. But by Lap 5 The Doctor was able to slip past his Spanish rival for the lead and then build up a gap on the Honda with his Bridgestone-shod Yamaha.
On Lap 6 Edwards, who was fending off Stoner for the final podium spot, ran wide and fell out of the top 5. Meanwhile, another rider has troubles, with Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen pulling into the pits due to troubles with his GSV-R.
At the midway mark, Pedrosa had closed the gap on Rossi, as the duo sparred ahead of the distant third-place Stoner. The Aussie was all alone in with teammate Marco Melandri far behind but winning a heated war for fourth-place.
But as the laps began building, Jorge Lorenzo picked his way through the field. Celebrating his 21st birthday, the Spaniard defied the pain from injuries sustained in a terrifying Friday practice high-side to sneak into fourth-place ahead of Melandri.
During the final laps, Pedrosa was creeping closer to Rossi, but the Italian broke his rival with three to go - jumping out of reach and motoring on to his first victory since Estoril in 2007.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa has been the most consistent rider so far and is the only one to finish on every podium.
"After seven races it is a great feeling to win again," said Rossi, "I am very happy! This is a very important result for us because above all I was able to ride exactly how I wanted from start to finish and this was great fun for me. I had a great battle with Pedrosa and he pushed me hard and to be doing 1'59s until the end was unbelievable!
Although finishing second to the Yamaha, Pedrosa's podium finish delivers the championship lead at 81 points.
"I'm very happy with today's result," said the points leader. "We had been expecting a wet race, so to get second today is fantastic and it's 20 good points for the Championship. I started a bit cautious during the early laps because I didn't know what the track conditions were like, but then Valentino and I began to set an extremely fast pace. Lap by lap our rhythm got faster. I had the advantage through the middle section of the track, he had the advantage through the first and last sections. My Michelin tires were working really well and we were riding at lap record pace all through the race. The wind was very strong today, so my engine was over-revving, which is why I decided to ride a little more conservatively in the final laps to secure second place and the World Championship lead."
A third-place showing from Stoner got the Aussie back on the steps, but clearly not in the same dominating form he showed last year at Shanghai.
"I'm disappointed to be honest because I know we could have done better today," said the defending champ. "The bike has worked really well in practice and we thought we had the ideal set-up for today but we changed a couple of things and for one reason or another the package just wasn't as good as before. I made a good start and I was happy with that but even in the first corner I couldn't get the bike turned, Colin Edwards came past me, and that was the story of the race."
Not finishing on the rostrum, for the first time in his young MotoGP career, Lorenzo's gutsy fourth-place may be the greatest performance at the Chinese GP. With the 13 points gained, Lorenzo is well within striking distance of Pedrosa.
Jorge Lorenzo displayed the heart of a champion by riding with a broken ankle to finish fourth.
"Without a doubt, this result today is like a victory for me," said the rookie title threat. "On Friday I couldn't imagine being able to ride, then yesterday it was a little bit better and then finally today I was not able just to ride, but to be competitive and enjoy myself as well! I've ridden with a lot of pain in both legs but the staff of the Clinica Mobile made it possible for me to keep going, so I want to thank them. I lost a lot of places early on but in the second half of the race I found my rhythm and then step by step I started to move forwards; in fact I think I made more overtakes than in any race so far in this category!"
Melandri's fifth-place finish was his best to date on the factory Ducati. Americans Nicky Hayden and Edwards took up sixth and seventh, with the Kentucky Kid running in fourth for portions of the race.
Toni Elias brought the Alice Ducati to an eight-place result ahead of Suzuki's Loris Capirossi, with Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano rounding out the top 10.
Shanghai Results MotoGP:
1. Rossi (Yamaha)
2. Pedrosa (Honda)
3. Stoner (Ducati)
4. Lorenzo (Yamaha)
5. Melandri (Ducati)
6. Hayden (Honda)
7. Edwards (Yamaha)
8. Elias (Ducati)
9. Capirosi (Suzuki)
10. Nakano (Honda)
11. Dovizioso (Honda)
12. Toseland (Yamaha)
13. De Puniet (Honda)
14. Hopkins (Kawasaki)
15. Guintoli (Yamaha)
16. De Angelis (Honda)
17. West (Kawasaki)
18. Vermeulen (Suzuki)
