Valentino Back on Top, Lorenzo Wins MotoGP Championship

It was a good day for the Fiat Yamaha team. For the first time since the opening round at Qatar, Valentino Rossi finished on top of the podium. Rossi's teammate, Jorge Lorenzo took third, and with the podium finish he earned enough points to claim the 2010 MotoGP Championship.

“I want to say congratulations to Yamaha and to Jorge; he has been fast all season, at all tracks and in all conditions and he deserves to be the World Champion,” said Rossi, who took his 6th win at Sepang.

It was a thrilling race for the MotoGP in Malaysia. By the end of the first lap, Rossi had dropped back to 11th place, Casey Stoner had crashed out, and Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were up front leading the way around the Sepang track.

But it didn't take long for Rossi to catch up with the front two riders. By the end of the third lap, Rossi had climbed from 11th up to fourth, and just a few laps later, he was closing in on Dovizioso.

By the midway point, Rossi had taken the lead, but the fight wasn't over yet. Rossi, Lorenzo, and Dovizioso would swap the top spot numerous times before the race was over.

In the end, Rossi took his second victory of the season by .224 seconds ahead of Dovizioso. But Rossi's return to glory was overshadowed by his teammate, Lorenzo, who had just clinched his first MotoGP championship.

"This is my first title in the premier category and my dream has come true," Lorenzo said. "This is really the maximum a motorcycle rider can achieve in his career so we have to celebrate and enjoy these hours, minutes and seconds like it's the end of the world.

“World Champion - it sounds unbelievable to hear these words, it is such a pleasure, you feel like you're king of the world. We will enjoy this night to the maximum."

MotoGP - Malaysia - Race Results