Valentino Rossi extended his lead in the
MotoGP standing on Sunday with a win at Donington Park in England. The Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha pilot won his fifth race of the season and now sits 22 points ahead of Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi in the standings.
Valentino Rossi's win puts him 22 points ahead of Sete Gibernau in the standings.
put in his best effort since joining the MotoGP series last year, taking second place on the day. The Telefonica Movistar Honda pilot held off his teammate, Gibernau, at the line to take his first podium of the year.
"This podium almost feels like a win after the last two races," said Gibernau. "This was a hard weekend and we ended up changing the set-up almost 100% today. The rain was a worry, but the bike felt good and I could push hard to fight with Colin. This podium is very important."
Nicky Hayden barely missed out on his third straight podium of the year and had to settle for fourth on the day, while Troy Bayliss was almost ten seconds back and ended the race in fifth.
"I'm not happy," said Hayden. "Not happy at all with the way I rode. My bike was good but I didn't really put the race together. I put my best laps in at the end of the race but I was too far back to fight near the front. It was all pretty frustrating. If the season was going better I could relax a bit, but I just want to train more and come back stronger."
MotoGP Results:
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
2. Colin Edwards (Honda)
3. Sete Gibernau (Honda)
4. Nicky Hayden (Honda)
5. Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
6. Carlos Checa (Yamaha)
7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati)
8. John Hopkins (Suzuki)
9. Alex Barros (Honda)
10. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
MotoGP Standings:
1. Rossi 164
2. Gibernau 142
3. Biaggi 142
4. Edwards 95
5. Barros 86
6. Hayden 83
7. Checa 72
8. Capirossi 64
9. Melandri 57
10. Tamada 56
