Italy's Max Biaggi rode his Honda to an easy victory Sunday in the Pacific Grand Prix of Motegi.
Biaggi opened up a comfortable lead midway through the 24-lap race at the 4.8km Twin Ring Motegi circuit and crossed the finish line with a winning time of 43 minutes, 57.590 seconds, 3.754 seconds ahead of world champion Valentino Rossi.
PHOTO: AFP
It was his second Moto GP victory of the season for Biaggi, who started from the pole position and had a fastest lap of 1:49.404.
"I couldn't go much faster," said Biaggi. "Fortunately, it was enough to make a break from the rest of the guys and win the race."
The real drama in Sunday's race was the battle for second place with Rossi, Spain's Sete Gibernau, American Nicky Hayden and Japan's Makoto Tamada jostling for position.
Rossi, who was in second place on his Honda after six laps, sped off the course on the seventh lap to fall to ninth place but surged back into second place on the 18th lap.
"I lost control of my bike," said Rossi. "I was in second and fell to ninth but was able to get back to second place and pick up some important points.''
On the final lap, Tamada made contact with Gibernau, sending the Honda rider into the dirt.
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