Rossi show Schumacher why

Valentino Rossi showed Michael Schumacher exactly why he didn't want to join him at Ferrari next year by winning one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory at Mugello on Sunday - with the F1 legend looking on.

90,000 patriotic Italians gathered to see Rossi take his fifth successive home victory, while MotoGP fans worldwide and special trackside guest Schumacher - who had earlier been treated to a ride on the Ducati two seater - marveled at the unbelievable 23-lap battle around the picturesque 3.259 miles circuit, owned by Ferrari, high in the Tuscan hills.

The first half of the race saw Rossi and Sete Gibernau head a seven rider lead group bu, in the later stages, the race turned into a gnarly street fight between the Camel Yamaha of Rossi, the Ducati Marlboro of fellow home hero Loris Capirossi and the Repsol Honda of American Nicky Hayden. After constant lead swapping, it was Rossi who secured his much needed second win of the season by just half a second from Capirossi, with Hayden a close third.

"It has been a perfect day for Valentino and for Italy after this fantastic battle to the final corner," added team director Davide Brivio. "It was just what we needed after the bad luck of recent races - Valentino needed to win and you could see how much it meant to him. Yamaha have done a great job to bring our package back up to a competitive level and now I hope we can keep fighting for wins until the end of the season."