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Final result after 23 laps:

1 V Rossi (It) Fiat Yamaha

2 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati

3 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda

4 A de Angelis (SMR) Honda Gresini

5 C Edwards (US) Yamaha

6 J Toseland (GB) Yamaha

7 L Capirossi (It) Suzuki

8 A Dovisioso (It) JiR Honda

By Julian Shea

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Lap 23: Rossi's adoring fans have been uncharacteristically quiet this afternoon but once their hero gets onto the final lap, thousands of yellow 46 cards are held up in the stands. Rossi's seventh win in a row at the track - sensational.

1 V Rossi 2 C Stoner 3 D Pedrosa

A great sixth place finish for Toseland, and also a hugely impressive fourth place for Alex de Angelis, his first top-10 finish.

Lap 20: The last time Rossi won three races in a row was 2005, but barring a disaster, that's about to change in a couple of laps' time.

Lap 18: This is working out superbly for Rossi - he's on course for his third win in a row this season, and his nearest championship challengers are on course for a third place finish (Pedrosa) and did not finish (Lorenzo).

Lap 16: Dovisioso passes Capirossi into seventh spot, so Toseland had better watch out and not get too focused on thinking about what's going on in front of him, or he could be passed.

Lap 15: Rossi is now nearly three seconds clear and still improving on the fastest laps of the leading bunch.

Lap 14: Rossi may be clear at the front, with Pedrosa and Stoner seeming to have second and third sewn up - but not necessarily in that order - so the real battle is for fifth place, with Colin Edwards working his way up the field and passing team-mate James Toseland.

Lap 12: Stoner goes past Pedrosa into second, getting his brakes right at around 200mph, but Rossi is still 2.5 seconds clear of the field.

Lap 9: Toseland up into sixth, passing Dovisioso to make a point after the Italian forced him off the track at Le Mans last time out - the Englishman was not happy about that, so that pass will make him feel much better. And at the end of the lap he goes up the pitlane markings to slip past Capirossi into fifth place - not bad, considering he's not raced here before!

Lap 9: Bad misjudgement by Stoner at the start of the lap as he overbreaks, allowing Pedrosa up the inside into second place behind Rossi.

Lap 8: The front three are a country mile clear of the rest, with Rossi 0.7 seconds ahead of second-placed Stoner.

Lap 6: Two more bite the dust - Hopkins from 13th and then, more significantly, Lorenzo - no sign of any injury, he just misjudged a dipping corner and went straight off, rolling round in the dirt and not looking very happy with himself.

Lap 5: Randy de Puniet skids off and his sliding bike forces Marco Melandri, arguably the unluckiest man this season, off the track. What has he done wrong to earn his luck this term?

Lap 4: Great move by Toseland bounding up into seventh place, passing Edwards and Hayden, whose bike looks to be struggling. Just to add to the drama, someone's windscreen shatters and bounces across the track.

Lap 3: Rossi bides his time in second before a beautiful overtake on the inside at the downhill Casanova corner.

Lap 2: Stoner nips past Pedrosa into the lead as they go over the stripe for the first time. Something seems to have gone wrong for Chris Vermeuelen, who has gone backwards through the field, but James Toseland is eighth, challenging team mate Colin Edwards for seventh place.

Lap 1: Sensational start from Dani Pedrosa, ahead of Stoner, Rossi and Capirossi.

1258: 96,252 fans at Mugello today, and that's just the ones who have paid at the gate. Eyes down, here we go....

1250: Angelina Jolie may be in France on the verge of giving birth to twins, if you believe the tabloids - or possibly having already done so - but her other half Brad Pitt is at Mugello this weekend, and was just having a word with Loris Capirossi on the grid.

MotoGP really does seem to have a uniquely relaxed atmosphere on the grid, considering how pumped up they must all be - can you imagine wandering the press walking around the tunnel at Wembley asking footballers what celebs they've just had sticking their head round the dressing room door saying hello?

1200: Another month, another race and hopefully this one should be a cracker. Jorge Lorenzo may like to plant his flag and proclaim circuits are "Lorenzo Land" after victories but with six wins on the bounce at Mugello, Valentino Rossi has every reason to claim ownership of the place and demand passports and visas from his rivals just for riding there.

With Yamaha having grabbed so many of the headlines this season, there will be pressure on Casey Stoner to perform well in front of the Ducati fans.

Hopefully the afternoon race can match the excitement of the morning's 125cc race, where the injured Bradley Smith produced a sensational performance, leading going into the final lap before having to settle for a fifth place finish.