Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his extraordinary career in Holland today, becoming only the second rider in history to reach 100 Grand Prix wins. 13 years after his very first victory in 125cc, the Italian took the hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race win with a perfect display in front of a huge Assen crowd to pass the century mark. It was his 40th win since joining Yamaha in 2004, meaning that over half of his premier-class wins have come with the Japanese factory.
His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished a strong second and had a milestone of his own to celebrate as it was the fiftieth podium of his career. Like Rossi, The Mallorcan has now finished on the podium in all but one round this season. Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland made it four Yamahas in the top six after finishing fourth and sixth respectively.
The eight-time World Champion got a strong start from pole and was second at the end of the first lap, passing Casey Stoner soon after to take a lead which he never relinquished. With his M1 and Bridgestone tyres working perfectly throughout, his race pace was even better than he had shown in practice and he gradually stretched his lead from Lorenzo in the latter stages of the race to seal his historic victory. The 30-year-old Italian and his fan-club joined forces on the slow-down lap to unroll a 25-metre banner which pictured every one of his 100 wins, spanning a career which began when he was 17 years old. Auto Racing Daily
Championship standings
Pos. Rider Points Team 1 Valentino Rossi 131 pts Fiat Yamaha Team 2 Jorge Lorenzo 126 pts Fiat Yamaha Team 3 Casey Stoner 122 pts Ducati Marlboro Team 4 Andrea Dovizioso 69 pts Repsol Honda Team 5 Colin Edwards 67 pts Tech 3 Yamaha 6 Dani Pedrosa 67 pts Repsol Honda Team 7 Loris Capirossi 56 pts Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 8 Marco Melandri 55 pts Hayate Racing Team 9 Chris Vermeulen 53 pts Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 10 Randy De Puniet 51 pts LCR Honda MotoGP 11 James Toseland 39 pts Tech 3 Yamaha 12 Alex De Angelis 31 pts San Carlo Honda Gresini 13 Nicky Hayden 27 pts Ducati Marlboro Team 14 Toni Elias 27 pts San Carlo Honda Gresini 15 Mika Kallio 26 pts Pramac Racing 16 Sete Gibernau 12 pts Grupo Francisco Hernando 17 Niccolo Canepa 12 pts Pramac Racing 18 Yuki Takahashi 9 pts Scot Racing Team MotoGP 19 Gabor Talmacsi 0 pts Scot Racing Team MotoGP
| 
|