Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo riding the factory Yamaha kept the challenge of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa at bay to win the MotoGP race of the Grand Prix of San Marino and Rimini Riviera by over seven seconds. After having stayed with Lorenzo for the better part of the race, Casey Stoner faded away so much so that he surrendered second place to Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa. Fourth place went to local rider Marco Simoncelli on the San Carlo Gresini Honda while Andrea Dovizioso on the third Repsol Honda finished fifth just ahead of Yamaha rider Ben Spies who took the sixth place. Valentino Rossi on the Marlboro Ducati made a great start and held fourth place for a while before his challenge faded and he took the seventh place ahead of the chrome and blue liveried Rizla Suzuki of Alvaro Bautista. Lorenzo trails Stoner in the championship by 34 points and Rossi finds himself demoted to sixth position in the championship.
A truly poignant moment today was when Wayne Rainey, who was paralysed after a crash at Misano eighteen years ago, received the constructor’s trophy on behalf of Yamaha.