Valentino Rossi of Italy won his fifth MotoGP world championship with relative ease yesterday despite finishing second behind compatriot Loris Capirossi at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Spanish rider Carlos Checa on Ducati finished third at the Sepang International Circuit.
The title is Rossi's seventh championship, including the 125cc in 1997 and the 250cc crown in 1999.
The 26-year-old Yamaha rider needed to finish within 12 points of compatriot Max Biaggi to win the championship. He now joins Giacomo Agostini and Mick Doohan -- the only other riders to have won the top grand prix race five times or more.
Not wanting to risk too much following the crash last week he suffered in Motegi, Rossi made several calculated moves in the opening few laps as he maintained his composure to look to finish among the top four riders Sunday with a timing of 43 minutes 29.522 seconds.
Capirossi on Ducati finished at 43:27.523 seconds while Checa was 43:29.592.
"I tried my maximum to win but I had some problems with my tires and bike, so I did not want to repeat my mistake from Motegi last week," said Rossi, who took his second world championship title with Yamaha after switching over from Honda at the end of 2003.
The fifth straight title won by Rossi equals Australian Doohan's victories from 1994 to 1998. Rossi has won 51 of 93 races since he moved up from the 250cc class in 2000.
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