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Rossi wins Dutch Moto GP

June 27, 2009, 11:52 PM Post Comments
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Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi won his 100th career Moto GP race at the Assen TT Saturday, claiming victory in 42 minutes 14.611 seconds.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished second, more than five seconds behind the dominating Rossi. Ducati's Casey Stoner took third in 42:37.724.

Rossi set off from pole, shrugging off an early challenge from 2008 Assen champion Stoner in the opening lap.

The world champion kept his grip on the lead, pulling away from Lorenzo and Stoner with blistering pace to grab his fifth Assen victory and avenge last year's defeat to Stoner.

"It's fantastic to win here because of the history," Rossi said. "It's a special day in my life. I will never forget it."

Stoner appeared to give up with nine laps to go as Rossi took a 10 second lead over the Australian. The Italian was nearly three seconds ahead of Lorenzo at the same stage.

"I am satisfied with my performance today," Lorenzo said. "Valentino was just good today."

Rossi now leads the championship standings with 131 points. Lorenzo is second with 126, four more than Stoner.

On a disappointing day for Honda, Dani Pedrosa, who finished second in qualifying, crashed out on lap 22 while teammate Andrea Dovizioso slid into the gravel halfway through.

Earlier Saturday, Hiroshi Aoyama claimed the 250cc, moving to the top of the standings following Alvaro Bautista's crash on the final lap.

Aprilia's Sergio Gadea won the 125cc in a time of 39:07.577.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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