Is there no stopping Rossi?

Valentino Rossi took a convincing victory today in the Gran Primi Marlboro de Catalunya after battling hard with his Repsol Honda team mate and the Marlboro Yamaha's of Checa and Biaggi.

Ukawa made a great start to take the lead in front of pole sitter Biaggi. Checa also got of the line well, moving up into third place before going into the lead at the beginning of lap two.

Three corners into the race saw the first incident with Abe, Nakano and Vd Goorbergh coming together and travelling into the gravel as a single unit. Abe managed to keep his bike running and attempted returning to the race on lap four after a trip into the pit.

Rossi got passed Italian rival Biaggi at the end of the fourth lap and began his attack on team mate Ukawa. Rossi consequently set the fastest lap so far on lap five.

Gibernau came off the track at turn one, having just begun his sixth lap. He was in fifth position ahead of Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki team mate Roberts.

Lap thirteen saw Ukawa claim back the lead, but his advantage was short lived and Checa took the front position again to a cheer from his loyal home fans. Ukawa lost a bit of time and Rossi was able to get ahead into second place. He kept up the momentum and by lap fifteen, Rossi was leading the race.

Once Ukawa had passed Checa again, there was no stopping the Honda V5's as they pulled away. Both riders were dedicated to the win and battled continuously. Mean while, the West Honda Pons two strokes tousled in fifth and sixth position. Capirossi made a mistake however and after a trip across the gravel came out just ahead of Roberts.

The places stuck until the end of the race, despite Ukawa pushing hard. Rossi took his fifth win of the season, giving him a total of 145 points and a great lead in the Championship.

Top ten finishers:

1. Rossi
2. Ukawa
3. Checa
4. Biaggi
5. Barros
6. Capirossi
7. Roberts
8. Kato
9. Jacques
10. Hopkins