MotoGP Round 8

Starting from the front row of the grid Edwards led the way from the first turn and set an electrifying pace that only American compatriot Nicky Hayden (Honda) was able to follow. With two laps remaining, Hayden closed in and made his first lunge for the lead, forcing Edwards off the track and onto the escape road.

The 'Texan Tornado' looked consigned to second place but he produced a stunning fight back to pull level with Hayden on the final lap and retake the lead with just a few corners to go. When Hayden launched one last attack into the final chicane, only to run straight onto the gravel, Edwards seemed certain to win but there was one final twist in the tale as he ran onto the grass on the exit from the corner and lost control of his YZR-M1 machine, which threw him into the air. As Edwards slid to the ground within touching distance of the finish line Hayden returned to the track to snatch his first win of the season, leaving the Yamaha man to pick his bike up and limp across the line in 13th place.

Edwards' Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi also produced one of his best rides of the season so far as he battled through the pain of cracked bones in his hand and ankle to take the flag in eighth place.

Rd 8. Results MotoGP.
Hayden, Nakano, Pedrosa, Stoner, Roberts, Hopkins, Melandri, Rossi, Checa, Vermeulen, Tamada,Hofmann, Edwards, De Puniet, Capirossi, Silva, Cardoso.

GP250: Lorenzo, de Angelis, Dovizioso, Debon, Locatelli, Takahashi, Simoncelli, West, Aoyama, Poggiali, Baldolini, Aoyama, Battiani, Tizon, Espargaro.