Valentino Rossi pipped Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo at the finish line in a thrilling finale to the FIM MotoGP Catalunya Grand Prix. With Lorenzo starting on pole, the two riders dominated the race throughout before exchanging the lead several times on the last lap. But Rossi, the defending champion, eventually sealed victory by 0.095 seconds in front of 90,000 fans in Barcelona, the 99th win of his remarkable career. Casey Stoner finished third, meaning that he, Rossi and Lorenzo and are now all level at the top of the championship standings on 106 points. Stoner's Ducati managed to hold off the challenge from Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso, who finished fourth, while Loris Capirossi came fifth. Daniel Pedrosa, Colin Edwards, Randy De Puniet, Mika Kallio and Nicky Hayden completed the top 10, while Britain's James Toseland finished 13th after posting a time of 39.433. "In Italian, for a race like this we say 'mama mia!'" Rossi told BBC Sport. "It was a great battle, the two Yamahas were flying on this track. "After some laps I knew I had to fight and it was a great fight to the end, I wasn't sure of the result until the end." Stoner revealed afterwards that he had not been fully fit. "I've been slowly getting a little more sore and sick each day, and I was cramping after the warm-up," he said. "I was really afraid to finish the race ? halfway through I just gave up, I had nothing left, and I decided to just run for the points." *PA Sport
