Valentino Rossi: Undisputed King of Mugello

By the time Rossi secured pole position during Saturday's qualifying session, there was little doubt that a seventh consecutive win in Mugello was going to follow. There was a feeling that a script had already been written that would deliver an ending only 'feel good' Hollywood movies can offer. For an Italian crowd, that 'feel good ending' had to be the chance to celebrate yet another victory of arguably Italy's greatest motorcycle rider of all time (and arguably the greatest motorcycle rider of all time).

Indeed, Mugello always looked to be Valentino Rossi's favorite circuit. After all, he remains unbeaten in the venue since 2001. Yes, even when Michelin was heavily disadvantaged last year thanks to the rule changes, Rossi still managed to find a way to win.

Perhaps it is because it is in Italy in front of his fanatical follwing that Rossi just gets that little bit of extra motivation. But whatever the reason, the fact remains that Rossi has been untouchable in the famous venue.

Of course the script took an unexpected twist at the start of the race. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and reigning champion Casey Stoner had great starts while Rossi dropped back to fourth place. But it wasn't long before Rossi was picking off his rivals, setting them up before overtaking them decisively. By the fourth lap, Rossi would snatch first position from Casey Stoner.

Stoner of course would try to fight back, trying to prevent Rossi from running away. But the pace of Rossi seemed to be too much, with the Italian padding up his lead by almost a tenth of a second per lap.

Stoner could not find any answer to counter Rossi's blistering pace. Stoner would then make an error running wide in the first turn and then dropping down to third behind Pedrosa.

Pedrosa too could not match Rossi's pace and the Italian only extended his lead even more. The best Stoner could do was battle for second position as Rossi pulled away.

Stoner eventually grabbed second position from Pedrosa. But by that time, Rossi already had a comfortable three second margin. Once again, Rossi remained untouchable in Mugello.

The race would finish with Rossi winning, followed by Stoner, and then by Pedrosa.

It was Rossi's third straight victory of the season. With the victory, Rossi also increased his championship lead in the rider's standings by 12 points.

Clearly, Valentino rossi has cemented his reputation as the undisputed king of Mugello.