When a 3rd place finish eight races into the season is the worst result obtained, things are looking pretty good for the pilot in question.
That's the way it was for Valentino Rossi, who came home from America even further ahead of his closest rival, Marco Melandri, with a 79 point advantage, even if he never really succeeded in dominating the tricky Laguna Seca track and its infamous cork-screw curve. Always up there on the winners' stand this year, Rossi has racked up six wins so far, one 2nd place finish, and the 3rd place finish Sunday, July 10.
The Doctor was forced to surrender to wild hometown boys Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards supercharged by local fans and undoubtedly more familiar with the insidious surprises the asphalt conceals in the Southern Californian track. The Tavullia champ learns quickly, however, and it came as no surprise that he came in better than anyone else who had never raced there before, leaving more than a few Superbike veterans who compete here every year behind him in the dust.
Although Max Biaggi made a good show, he began making his move only after the race was nearly over and had to resign himself to a 4th place finish behind his compatriot, Valentino Rossi.
The next appointment in World Motorcycle Racing Championship competition is set for July 22 and a return to European soil in Donington, England, where Valentino Rossi feels more at home. We're all waiting to see if the Great Dictator will continue laying down the law in these more familiar latitudes.