Rossi Wins 2008 MotoGP title

Valentino Rossi has sealed the 2008 MotoGP title after his win at Motegi.

Valentino Rossi has won the 2008 MotoGP title with 3 rounds left to run, after winning the Motegi race. Outgoing champ Casey Stoner was second, followed by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, just holding out Rossi’s team mate Jorge Lorenzo.

The 2008 MotoGP title brings Rossi’s haul of world championships to 8, with 6 premier class wins. Casey Stoner has praised Rossi’s effort in 2008, labelling him a "worthy champion".

Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Fiat Team) – 1st.

“It’s a great victory and a great achievement; I think it’s at the same level as the first title in 2004 with Yamaha, maybe even better! This championship has been very long and hard and all of the team and all of Yamaha have worked very well, never giving up for one moment. We have been able to put a great bike onto the track in all conditions and at all circuits, and this has allowed me to ride like this and to win so many races. I am very happy! The race was a great battle and I had to ride at 100%, like I have through all through the season! Pedrosa and Stoner today were very strong and it was fun to fight with them like this, I am happy that it was a good race for the fans. It was a fantastic feeling to take the title with a win, like I did in 2001 and 2004. I think this is the hardest I have ever had to work to win a world championship and I have to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, my mechanics, the team and everyone involved for working this hard alongside me. Of course I also have to say a special thank you to Bridgestone, they have done a great job with the tyres all season and the decision to be with them has been a big part of our success this season. We have lost for two years and I don’t think I was the favourite this season, but we have shown that we are a great team and that we never give up. I am so happy that I have now won three titles with Yamaha because this is how many I won with my last team and I want Yamaha to have the same merit – I am a Yamaha rider and I feel different with Yamaha than with anyone else before – I hope we will have more together! Now I have to get used to being World Champion again!”

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team) – 2nd.

"At the beginning of the race everything felt good although I made a couple of mistakes on a cold tyre. We were running quite a hard compound today so we needed a few laps to get it warmed up. Once we did that the lap times were good and I felt happy with my pace. Unfortunately in the second half of the race I started to get tired in the changes of direction and I was having to close the gap coming out of the corners to get into the next one – simply because I didn’t have the strength to flick the bike over with the throttle open. The lap times dropped off and when Valentino came past I couldn’t keep up. He’s had an amazing season – he only made one mistake at Assen and the rest of the time he’s been on the podium, winning races. He’s a worthy champion – eight world titles show that – and I want to congratulate him for that. I’m just disappointed that we made two mistakes in the mid-point of the season that allowed him to open up such a big advantage. Anyway, after the recent misfortune we’ve had it was important to come back here with a strong performance and some solid points. Now we can go to Australia with confidence and look to finish the season strongly."

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) – 3rd.

“Third place was not so bad today, though of course I tried to be faster. I have had some difficult races recently and some injuries, so it was a good feeling to be competitive again. I wasn’t so fast at the beginning of the race, I expected to be faster. Later on I was able to improve my pace, my times got better lap by lap, so I am happy about that. My pitboard told me that Lorenzo was coming, I got ‘plus zero’, ‘plus zero’, ‘plus zero’. I expected him to get faster because he was chasing me. On the last lap he touched me but I was able to stay on the bike. My thanks to Honda and to Bridgestone. Also congratulations to Valentino [Rossi, who won today’s race to seal his sixth premier-class crown], he rode a great race.”

Results 2008 MotoGP Motegi.