Sep 28, 2008 - With his eighth victory of the 2008 season, Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) sealed his sixth MotoGP World Championship title , and eighth in all classes at the A-Style Grand Prix of Japan. The Fiat Yamaha rider proved unstoppable at Twin Ring Motegi as he relegated outgoing champion Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) to second place in the 24-lap race.

Rossi had started from the second row of the grid, and looked to be on the back foot when Stoner took the holeshot and attempted to break away. The top three in the standings, Rossi, Stoner and Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) became embroiled in an early battle for supremacy, narrowed down to a duel on lap five courtesy of a hard overtaking move by Stoner on his Spanish rival. The Ducati rider apologised for the pass, which took place on the run-up to the bridge section of the circuit, but still upped the pace in the ensuing laps - with Rossi hot on his tail.

Stoner, a valiant foe for his successor over the course of the year, returned to the podium after three races off the rostrum. Whilst it was not enough to prevent Rossi from confirming the title, it still marked his first top three finish in Japan in the premier class. Pedrosa, however, faded from the battle with Stoner and Rossi - allowing poleman Jorge Lorenzo to chase him down in the closing laps. The Repsol Honda rider was put under pressure by the Fiat Yamaha rookie, and the two rivals clipped wheels on the final lap. Neither hit the asphalt, but Lorenzo was left without the chance of maintaining his run of top three finishes.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) rounded off the top six, with the experienced Italian unable to repeat his winning ways of the past three years at Motegi. Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech3), Shinya Nakano (Gresini Honda), Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda) and John Hopkins (Kawasaki Racing) also featured in the top ten.

With his victory at Motegi sealing a sixth MotoGP title, Rossi moved one step closer to legendary status in a season already notable for his record-breaking performances. At Indianapolis, the Fiat Yamaha rider took the record for all-time premier class victories from Giacomo Agostini, incidentally the only other rider to have regained the title after two years away, with a 69th triumph, followed by a 70th today.

Rossi is now only the second rider in the history of motorcycling to lift all three titles. He is now the only man to win the premier class MotoGP World Championship with 500cc, 990cc and 800cc machinery, returning this year to the pinnacle after two seasons away. Rossi's natural skill, charisma and flair has already made him a huge fans' favourite and at just 29 years of age, he is already one of the sport's true greats.

Son of Graziano, celebrated rider of the seventies, the charismatic Italian entered Grand Prix racing with Aprilia in 1996, winning 125cc races in his first season. He went on to win the 125 world title in 1997, and after a move up to 250s with the Italian brand, collected the quarter-litre title in 1999. He then made a move up to the premier 500cc class in 2000 with Honda, challenging for the title in the first season whilst picking up two victories and second in the championship.

After winning the last 500cc World Championship in 2001, the following year he dominated once again in the first ever MotoGP four-stroke series onboard the Honda RC211V. He was just as untouchable the following season, before accepting the biggest challenge of his career by leaving the Honda camp and taking a Yamaha ride for 2004.

An historic year for Rossi began in the first race at Welkom, when he became the first rider ever to take consecutive victories for different factories, with a further eight wins sealing Yamaha's first title in over a decade. He has kept on winning for the Japanese manufacturer, with an additional twenty-eight triumphs (eight of which have come this season) since his maiden World Championship for Yamaha.

In 2005 he added to his previous triumphs, again achieving nine wins on the road to the title, his second with the Yamaha team. Linked with a move to four wheels, Rossi announced that he would stay with Yamaha for another year at Mugello in 2006, and was further spurred on by World Championship wins for rivals Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner. Signed up for the next two seasons with Fiat Yamaha, Rossi now has his sights set on Agostini's record of eight premier class titles and the accolade of the greatest rider of all time.

Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha - 1st
It's a great victory and a great achievement; I think it's at the same level as the first title in 2004 with Yamaha, maybe even better! This championship has been very long and hard and all of the team and all of Yamaha have worked very well, never giving up for one moment. We have been able to put a great bike onto the track in all conditions and at all circuits, and this has allowed me to ride like this and to win so many races. I am very happy! The race was a great battle and I had to ride at 100%, like I have through all through the season! Pedrosa and Stoner today were very strong and it was fun to fight with them like this, I am happy that it was a good race for the fans. It was a fantastic feeling to take the title with a win, like I did in 2001 and 2004. I think this is the hardest I have ever had to work to win a world championship and I have to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, my mechanics, the team and everyone involved for working this hard alongside me. Of course I also have to say a special thank you to Bridgestone, they have done a great job with the tyres all season and the decision to be with them has been a big part of our success this season. We have lost for two years and I don't think I was the favourite this season, but we have shown that we are a great team and that we never give up. I am so happy that I have now won three titles with Yamaha because this is how many I won with my last team and I want Yamaha to have the same merit - I am a Yamaha rider and I feel different with Yamaha than with anyone else before - I hope we will have more together! Now I have to get used to being World Champion again!

I think it's difficult to say, but maybe this is even better than the first championship with Yamaha in 2004. In 2004 I arrived after three championships in a row; the change was very big and no one expected me to win then, not even us to be honest! But this year is great too because I didn't start as the number one favourite after losing for two years. The taste of this is something special.

In 2006 I lost because of bad luck; I still won the most races and was the fastest on track for most of the time, but in 2007 Stoner was a lot faster than us and so we got to the end with a big of disadvantage. Winning this championship was very difficult but also very, very important.

The decision to change to Bridgestone tyres, which I took together with Jeremy, my team and all the Yamaha crew, was very important, as were the changes to the bike because the first 800cc M1 last year was not competitive enough. We spoke a lot during last season and I remember a strange meeting in Valencia last year, me with a broken hand, speaking with Furusawa about 2008. From then we started to work on the improvements for this season. It's also been important to have the right people in the right place and this year everything has been correct. It's been step-by-step.

I think I have made a lot of good decisions this year and we have been competitive from the start. Qatar was the worst race of the season but I knew our potential was good so, although we were a bit worried at that point, we weren't desperate because we knew if we fixed a few problems we could try to win.

I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes - I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before.

This season has had some different periods. At the beginning of the year we had some important results when Bridgestone wasn't the strongest: Jerez, Portugal and others, and in that period we took a big advantage from Stoner. After Barcelona Casey started to ride like a demon and dominated three races in a row, and then we went to Laguna which was the turning point of the season. Laguna was a real battle and from then on we have flown.

The show after the race was one of my friends pretending to be a 'notary', signing and certificating the eighth championship 'deed'. It was very exciting to be planning the championship t-shirt and celebration once again with my friends and fan club and the one we came up with is funny I think, it says - I'm sorry for the delay!

I am very content at Yamaha and this is why I signed for two more years. I had some good offers at other factories, but I already changed bike once and proved everything I wanted to and so there is no need to do that again. Also I am no longer 20 years old and I need a good atmosphere in my team in order to keep me focused and happy, and I have this at Yamaha. The atmosphere in our team, from the Japanese all the way down to the garage is fantastic and this is what makes me want to stay.

I think 2009 will be even more difficult than this year. Now I am the world champion again and I have demonstrated that I am still very fast; I think I rode the best of my career this year apart from the mistake in Assen, but next year is another story, it depends on how the winter is and how Stoner, Pedrosa and also Lorenzo are next year, as well as the other riders because there are many fast people in this championship. I think it will be a great championship and I'm looking forward to it, but first I want to finish this year and try to win the final three races!

As I said, there are many strong riders but of course I hope that in the future nobody will win like Valentino Rossi! Maybe my brother Luca will be as strong as me - I wanted to take him on my bike on the celebration lap, but they did not allow it. Maybe I will wait for him to be a MotoGP rider before quitting, then I will beat him in the first year, and then I will stop riding!

When you are 20 or 22 yrs old, you live everything in a different way. It's different - In 2000, maybe, I could have won on my debut, but I underestimated myself! In 2001 it was the last chance for me to win in 500, so I gave it my best and did that. In 2001 it was the year of the battle with Biaggi, in 2002 it was the year when everybody said that I won because of my bike, then 2003 was the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end. They were fantastic years but with Yamaha it is different. I enjoy it more.

During 2003 I started thinking about Yamaha. Of course I was scared about the new challenge, it was a big question mark. This year, when I tested the new bike and the new tyres, I understood that I could win. In 2004, however, when I tested the new bike I understood we had to work a lot. Sincerely, the feeling of winning in Welkom in 2004 was the strongest emotion of my career; more so than in Laguna Seca this year. The 2005 the M1 was very fast and that one and the 2008 one are the best Yamaha bikes ever.

I think Stoner next year will be back stronger again, so maybe he is the hardest rival I have ever had, more than Gibernau and all the others I fought against in the past. Last year I was sorry that after so many successful years, some people thought Valentino was finished and Casey was the new Valentino. As I said, until I stop riding a bike, my objective will always be to win. I like this life and I always try to do my best in it.

Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro - 2nd
At the beginning of the race everything felt good although I made a couple of mistakes on a cold tyre. We were running quite a hard compound today so we needed a few laps to get it warmed up. Once we did that the lap times were good and I felt happy with my pace. Unfortunately in the second half of the race I started to get tired in the changes of direction and I was having to close the gap coming out of the corners to get into the next one - simply because I didn't have the strength to flick the bike over with the throttle open. The lap times dropped off and when Valentino came past I couldn't keep up. He's had an amazing season - he only made one mistake at Assen and the rest of the time he's been on the podium, winning races. He's a worthy champion - eight world titles show that - and I want to congratulate him for that. I'm just disappointed that we made two mistakes in the mid-point of the season that allowed him to open up such a big advantage. Anyway, after the recent misfortune we've had it was important to come back here with a strong performance and some solid points. Now we can go to Australia with confidence and look to finish the season strongly.

Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda - 3rd
Third place was not so bad today, though of course I tried to be faster. I have had some difficult races recently and some injuries, so it was a good feeling to be competitive again. I wasn't so fast at the beginning of the race, I expected to be faster. Later on I was able to improve my pace, my times got better lap by lap, so I am happy about that. My pitboard told me that Lorenzo was coming, I got 'plus zero', 'plus zero', 'plus zero'. I expected him to get faster because he was chasing me. On the last lap he touched me but I was able to stay on the bike. My thanks to Honda and to Bridgestone. Also congratulations to Valentino [Rossi, who won today's race to seal his sixth premier-class crown], he rode a great race.

Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha - 4th
I am very happy with this fourth position; it was impossible to do more today. I tried so hard to pass Dani and the hairpin before the back straight was the only place I had the chance, but I couldn't do it. Yesterday I thought I had a chance to win and I was very confident, but this morning I saw the weather, much colder and yesterday, and I knew that it would be more difficult than in the qualifying session. The track was colder and for Michelin and for me this was more difficult. I have to improve my starts because once again I had problems and lost some places, but anyway I think I'm in good form for the last three races. The team worked very well this weekend, as always, so thanks to them and to Michelin. Big congratulations to Valentino and the other side of the box, to do what he has done is almost impossible! Finally well done to everyone for winning the Team's and Manufacturer's titles as well, I am so happy that I have played a part in this during my first season with Yamaha.

Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda - 5th
I got a pretty good start and was certainly in the mix there for a couple of laps but they just had a little bit more pace everywhere. I tried to make up for it a few times on the brakes, but I just didn't have the pace. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I had high expectations, I thought maybe we could get in there and find something extra for the race. We rode about as hard as we could and it got harder as the tyres went away. That pack was coming for me, I just tried to not make any mistakes, keep my rhythm and hold them off. I knew there was a couple of guys chasing but I didn't know there was that many coming for me. The bandana I wore on the grid, some fan gave it to me yesterday. I wore it for qualifying and got on the front row, so I figured, try it again. Congratulations to Valentino [Rossi, who won today's race to claim his eighth world title]. I know what it takes to win one and it takes a bad dude to win eight of them. Much respect.

Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki - 6th
All weekend has been not too bad for us - we've worked hard to find the best setting and to try to work in a different method. The race was a bit tough and I tried really hard at the beginning, and stayed with the front group, but in the middle of the race I made a mistake and lost contact with Nicky. I fought back to him and tried to catch him on the last lap but unfortunately I lost the rear and missed the opportunity. I think we had a bike capable of top-five today, but to be any higher than that would have been very difficult. We still need to keep working very hard and I feel quite good about the future and believe 100% in the Suzuki project. We now have to finish the best way we can this season so we are in a good position for 2009.

Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech 3 - 7th
I got a good start and settled in behind Valentino and Jorge at the first corner and I was happy because I've been caught up in a couple of incidents there in the past. I threw it in and then I just saw this front wheel staring straight at me. It was Dovizioso but luckily we all made through but the first lap I was just trying to get some heat into the rear tyre. I got it working and got into a good pace and saw that Loris was coming back to me. I was pushing hard but I was having a few issues with the rear spinning, which has been a problem all weekend. But then Loris made a mistake and he was right out to the kerb at the first corner. He was nearly in the dirt and I was right on his tail. I was behind him for what seemed like forever but it was fun. I could almost reach out and touch his back wheel but I couldn't do anything to get by him. Loris's bike was really good coming off the corner. It obviously has some bottom grunt because all I could do was watch him and I couldn't do anything with him. I couldn't get close enough to out-brake him and with the spinning problem I couldn't get any acceleration grip out of the corner to line him up for a pass. I put my head down and I was riding as hard as I could, but with the spinning issue I was losing a bit of corner speed, so I was braking extra deep to keep all the weight on the front to run some momentum in the corner. Seventh is not where I want to be but it feels good to get a solid race under my belt. It feels forever since I did that, so it is something to build on for the last three races.

Shinya Nakano - Gresini Honda - 8th
I didn't make the best start but I tried to push straight away to recover ground and I managed to pass some riders on the first lap. Then I made a mistake and lost the rear, which cost me a few positions. I got past Edwards again on the brakes and stayed behind him for the rest of the race. I spent a few laps trying to work out where I could pass him but he was very strong on corner exit and under braking. Towards the end I had Capirossi in front of me so I tried to overtake again but Dovizioso was very close behind and it was a tough situation to judge. In the end I decided it was better to defend than attack.

Andrea Dovizioso - JiR Scot Honda - 9th
Today I worked hard to catch up with the leaders. I finished the race in ninth but my race pace was good enough to get fifth. The race was decided in the early laps: in the first turn we were all in a group and no one had any intention of leaving space for others! It was a tough race, and I was riding hard and taking many risks to try and gain positions. At one point I almost touched Nakano, then I was confronted with a group of riders that brake hard like me, including John Hopkins and James Toseland and it took many laps to pass them, after which I was tired.

John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing - 10th
The start is always a bit hectic here because the first few turns are quite tight, so we just got our head down and settled into a rhythm. We caught up with James Toseland and I tried everything to get around him, but he just had a little bit more acceleration out of the turns than us. It was quite frustrating because on the brakes and mid-corner we were much quicker, so we passed each other on many occasions. We were side by side for a lot of the time so it was a big battle and it came down to the final lap where I made a pass that stuck at turn two. We managed to achieve tenth, but really I felt we were capable of a top five finish because we were lapping at the same pace as riders much further up the field. We've learnt a lot from this weekend, and we've made a lot of set-up changes, so it's definitely been positive. I've also regained a lot of confidence and we can now use the last three rounds to start preparing the bike for 2009.

James Toseland - Yamaha Tech 3 - 11th
I gave it my all on every lap and I stayed consistent without making any mistakes. But with that lack of dry track time on Friday it cost me because I was only a couple of tenths slower than fifth position and that time you can find on a dry day with the set-up. But the guys in front were so consistent that I couldn't really get close. One slight problem like a wet day makes it really difficult to get right on the pace. I was with Colin and Shinya early on but I'd been playing with the rear shock all weekend to try and get some grip at full lean angle. It was the best it has been but I was still losing a lot of time on the exit and they were just pulling away from me a bit. And because it is so stop and start here, if you can exit the corners better it gives you a good advantage and you can pull a couple of tenths a lap. I really wanted tenth but John came underneath me at turn one on the last lap and I tried to pass him back in the second part of it down the straight. But he came back on my side and he put my clutch on. It slipped my clutch and he was just able to get a bit of an advantage. I tried to get him back but he didn't put a foot wrong for the rest of the lap. It's disappointing to have worked so hard to keep that place and lose it at the end. At least now I can look ahead to three races where I know the tracks, so hopefully we can end the season on a high.

Randy de Puniet - LCR Honda - 12th
Honestly we expected a better race here. I made a good start but in the first corner Dovizioso went a bit wide. I tried to pass him in the inside but some riders overtook me because didn't have enough corner speed. So I lost few places finishing the first lap in 14th place. After that I tried to concentrate, but then the bike started to slide. With four laps to go I caught Hopkins and Toseland but was impossible for me to pass them. Besides my wrist started to ache a lot and I just did my best to finish the race.

Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro - 13th
I got a good start today but I ran off track when I was in the middle of fighting with a group of riders and lost all the positions I'd made up. It's a shame because it is really hard for me to overtake. I lose so much time on the exit of the corners that I'm always a long way back under braking. We recovered some ground but it wasn't enough. We'll see how it goes in Australia, which is one of my all-time favourite tracks and a place Ducati always seem to do well at.

Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Ducati - 14th
Until Saturday morning things were going in the right direction, then in the qualifying and today everything has changed. I don't know what has happened but I really didn't make it to find the right confidence to push at the maximum. I didn't have much confidence with the front tyre and I was losing too much time during the turns. Now I have to check the data with my technicians to sensibly improve for the next round in Phillip Island.

Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing - 15th
At the moment it seems that, if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. Early on in the race my front brake lever was coming all the way back to the bar, and the bike just wasn't stopping. Almost every lap I had to use the brake span adjuster to move the lever further out, but two corners later it would be back to the bar again. We don't know yet what the problem was, but eventually I just ran out of brakes at the end of the straight and ended up taking a trip through the gravel trap. So, a bit frustrating, but I don't want to dwell on this weekend. Now I need to look forward to my home race at Phillip Island, where I really want to put on a good show for all the Australian MotoGP fans. We made some progress with set-up during practice and qualifying here, and I hope we can continue to make further improvements before we line up for the Australian Grand Prix next Sunday.

Toni Elias - Alice Ducati - 16th
It has been a difficult weekend for me: I am ill and today it wasn't easy to race. In addition I went off track in the seventh lap due to some problems and to comeback it wasn't an easy job. I really lost too much time and therefore I decided to take this race like a long run in a free practice maintaining a really good rhythm. Now I hope to feel much better physically soon to be in the best conditions in Australia.

Alex De Angelis - Gresini Honda - 17th
It's been a really tough weekend. We haven't managed to find the right settings for this track. I want to thank my mechanics because I've had three crashes here but they've done a great job to fix the bike and I'm disappointed not to get a better result for them. I tried to push hard over the opening laps but I kept running wide and never found my rhythm. It has been a day to forget but we have to stay positive because now we go to Phillip Island, which is one of my favourite tracks.

Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki - DNF/Retired
:It's always very frustrating not to finish a race and when it is something that you have no control over that makes it even harder to take. I made quite a good start, but I had a couple of moments early on in the race as the tyres weren't quite up to working temperature. I got involved with a group of riders and as soon as the tyres started to work well I felt like I had a good speed and rhythm. After about three or four laps I started to have a bit of an issue with braking and stopping the bike, and eventually I ran off the track. I am really disappointed about what happened as I thought I was in with a chance of at least a top-10 today, but now I can look forward to my home GP next weekend and try to make up for it there!

Kousuke Akiyoshi - Rizla Suzuki - DNF/Crash
I had tried all weekend to get a good engine management set-up and last night we made some big changes and the feeling was a lot better. Unfortunately I crashed in the warm-up and it meant I had to use my spare bike for the race and I struggled to get a good start - but I did manage to get past five or six bikes. Then in the third corner I had a big slide and crashed. I am very unhappy about this weekend and now I must concentrate on the test tomorrow and make some more improvements and help to develop the 2009 bike.

Race Results - Motegi GP - 24 laps
 1.  Rossi       Yamaha    (B)   43:09.599
 2.  Stoner      Ducati    (B)   -   1.943
 3.  Pedrosa     Honda     (B)   -   4.866
 4.  Lorenzo     Yamaha    (M)   -   6.165
 5.  Hayden      Honda     (M)   -  24.593
 6.  Capirossi   Suzuki    (B)   -  25.685
 7.  Edwards     Yamaha    (M)   -  25.918
 8.  Nakano      Honda     (B)   -  26.003
 9.  Dovizioso   Honda     (M)   -  26.219
10.  Hopkins     Kawasaki  (B)   -  37.131
11.  Toseland    Yamaha    (M)   -  37.574
12.  de Puniet   Honda     (M)   -  38.020
13.  Melandri    Ducati    (B)   -  39.768
14.  Guintoli    Ducati    (B)   -  45.846
15.  West        Kawasaki  (B)   -  55.748
16.  Elias       Ducati    (B)   -  59.320
17.  de Angelis  Honda     (B)   -1:12.398
18.  Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)   - 8 laps, retired
19.  Akiyoshi    Suzuki    (B)   -24 laps, crash

Championship Point Standings (After 15 of 18 races):
 1. Rossi      312 - clinches 2008 MotoGP World Championship
 2. Stoner     220
 3. Pedrosa    209
 4. Lorenzo    169
 5. Dovizioso  136
 6. Edwards    118
 7. Vermeulen  117
 8. Hayden     115
 9. Capirossi   96
10. Nakano      95