Rossi, whose last victory was eight rounds ago at Portugal last year, battled in the lead group in the opening laps, taking second position from Colin Edwards as he chased leader Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa and Rossi pulled away from the rest of the field, being led by Casey Stoner, before Rossi took the lead from Pedrosa on lap 5. Rossi and Pedrosa ran in tandem as they continued to pull away, Pedrosa able to keep up with Rossi but unable to make a pass.
On lap 17 and 18 Rossi set consecutive fastest laps, and this proved too much for Pedrosa who began to slowly fall away over the closing laps as Rossi took a comfortable victory.
Casey Stoner had a lonely race in third place on his Ducati, over 15 seconds behind Rossi at the chequered flag, a surprising result after showing competitive pace throughout the weekend.
Jorge Lorenzo's remarkable weekend continued, taking fourth place after dropping down the order at the start of the race, having to fight his way back past the other riders during the race while continuing to ride injured.
After a terrible start to the season, fifth for Marco Melandri must almost feel like a win, having run as high as fourth in the second half of the race before being passed by Lorenzo.
He was under pressure at the finish however, just holding off Nicky Hayden who had an up and down race, Colin Edwards who made two mistakes at the hairpin, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi.
Pos Rider Bike Tyre Gap 1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 44:08.061 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (M) +3.890 3. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) +15.928 4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) +22.494 5. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) +26.957 6. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) +28.369 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) +29.780 8. Toni Elías Ducati (B) +30.225 9. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) +31.440 10. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) +35.969 11. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) +36.246 12. James Toseland Yamaha (M) +43.191 13. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) +43.442 14. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) +45.855 15. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) +46.330 16. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) +50.593 17. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) +1:05.593 Not classified Rider Bike Tyres Gap Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 6 laps
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