Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi won a sixth World Championship crown in the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi after winning from fourth on the grid.

His rivals Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa finished second and third respectively. A podium would have been sufficient for the Italian to take his first title for three years, but he opted to claim it in style.

It did not start so well. Ducati Marlboro man Stoner came through to snatch first position from pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi’s team-mate, as he was slow off the line.

Repsol Honda pair Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden were second and third and Sheffield rider James Toseland eighth after making up two early places.

Lorenzo remained ahead of Rossi, who seemed tentative; however by the second lap he was up into third and bearing down on the leading pair.

Pedrosa, who started in fifth, had taken top spot on lap two but Stoner sneaked up the inside to claim it back on lap four.

There was little action throughout the field - Marco Melandri’s trip to the gravel and drop down the order one of the few moments of drama - but at the front the action was intriguing.

Rossi reeled in Pedrosa by the 10th tour of the track and the Spaniard dropped off to fight off countryman Lorenzo as ‘The Doctor’ went after reigning champion Stoner.

Rossi took the lead halfway through the race, with 12 laps still to run; Stoner could not keep up with the Yamaha rider as he eased home for an eighth world title in all and sixth in the premier class.

Toseland evenutally finished 11th on the Tech 3 Yamaha as Shinya Nakano, fellow rookie Andrea Dovizioso and John Hopkins passed him, the latter in the final laps.

Stoner’s second place gives him an 11-point advantage over Pedrosa in the fight for second in the championship.

Valentino Rossi Factbox

Born: February 16 1979 in Urbino, Italy

His first passion was go-karts but follows his father Graziano by taking up motocycling and races in his first grand prix with Aprilia in 1996 in the 125cc category.

* Wins the 125cc world championship in 1997

* Moves up to the 250cc category and seals World Championship in 1999 with Aprilia.

* Takes the 500cc world title with Honda in 2001 before winning the 2002 and 2003 championships as the event becomes MotoGP.

* Switches to Yamaha and secures the 2004 and 2005 world titles to become one of the sport’s all time greats.

* Suffers disappointing 2006 and 2007 seasons but pledges to stick with Yamaha and his decision is justified when he surges to the 2008 championship.

* Nicknamed ‘The Doctor’ in Italy, he has become one of the country’s most loved sportsmen despite a tax evasion probe in 2007 which resulted him in paying a 35 million-euro bill.

* Known for his colourful helmets, Rossi has also shown an interest in Formula One and rally cars, media often speculating that one day he will swap two wheels for four.
 Eurosport