MotoGP: Rossi picks up first win of new season

Rossi, hounded by Dovizoso and Hayden making an uncharacteristic bid for the podium suggesting that he has worked hard over the winter to get to grips with the Ducati that shamed the former champion last year.

But the big news of the day was that Casey Stoner, who had dominated practice and qualified on pole on a track he has made his second home, with four wins in four years, crashed while leading at turn four of the fifth lap. Rossi inherited the lead but found the chasing pair on his heels for most of the race.

As Hayden dropped off the back of the group, Lorenzo picked up pace: having been holding station just behind the leading trio, Lorenzo had saved his energy and his tyres, dealing with a hand injury and poor rear grip.In the last two laps, he passed both Hayden and Pedrosa. After the race he said "My hand was a bit sore but the bigger problem was the rear sliding. Once I had less fuel it was easier and I started to get closer, but I was on the limit physically and with the bike, so it was quite risky!"

Rossi's bid to break free was the catalyst for Hayden's isolation but the Italian could not drop Dovizoso who briefly bested Rossi to take the lead. That was all Rossi needed: rejecting the famous advice from Jackie Stewart that drivers should try to win races in the slowest possible time, he found a little extra twist in his right hand and finished a second ahead of team-mate Lorenzo.

Hayden fought to catch Dovizoso, eventually passing him but on the last corner Dovizoso "did a masterpiece in the last corner of the last lap where I overtook Nicky on the inside and then I used all the power of the RC212V to get to the line first. My Honda was very fast on the straight and I could use this advantage to compensate for our weaker points on the track." Clearly, cornering isn't too shabby either, at least at the end of the race. His lead at the line? 0.011 second.

Loris Caparossi - celebrating his 300th Grand Prix start - finished 9th.

American Ben Spies who, despite having raced previously, is being regarded as in his maiden season, started 11th and finished in 5th, surprising many with both his pace and his confidence: his trademark riding style, which has earned him the nickname "Elbows" because he sticks them out like a chicken and "Chicken" is something no one in their right mind would call a MotoGP rider, was under strict control as he made his way through the pack, making himself and his bike as narrow as possible to take opportunities.

Before the race, Lorenzo had said he aimed to collect a top-three place and was delighted to be there - making the most of a poor grid position and an unimpressive start: he's already signalling that he will challenge Rossi, leading to the promise of a thrilling three-way battle with them and Stoner.

Stoner has no idea what went wrong: after stunning performances in every practice session, including the Sunday warm up and a spectacular pole position in the race his bike refused to work properly: "The bike closed up at the front a few times but I had managed to control it, so I tried to make the turns more open. However, in the sixth lap, when I lost the front there was absolutely nothing I could do to control it. It was a big mistake, a stupid one," said Stoner with his characteristic modesty. Ominously, he said "my Ducati has improved a lot and Hayden confirmed that with his fourth place."