Injury Doctor on podium

Valentino Rossi proved why is a World Champion today, with a breathtaking display at Donington, moving from 12th on the grid, inexorably closer to the front of the pack, and eventually scoring a second place.

The first half of th race was generally dull, with only Pedrosa's error in trying to overtake Melandri for the lead livening things up. Pedrosa regrouped himself and settled in to a comfortable lead on lap 12 of the 30 lap GP, whilst Melandri, Kenny Roberts and Casey Stoner kept close company, weighing each other up.

But the race edged towards a true grandstand finish as Ross - still carrying a wrist injury from Assen last week, worked his way to the battle for 2nd place on the podium - and some valuable points.

An error by Melandri let Rossi slip past two riders, jumping from 5th to 3rd in one corner, but Melandri hadn't given up the battle and eventually, it became a hectic dice for the final three laps between these two Italian rivals. Melandri#s last lap mistake on the Melbourne loop saw him run wide, at exactly the point where Rossi had taken a wide corner entry, so he could take advantage of any error by Melandri - Rossi slipped past and one corner later was looking at the chequered flag.