Rossi reigns in Spain

Valentino Rossi secured his first win of the 2007 season with victory ahead of home favourite Dani Pedrosa at the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.

The five-time world champion, starting from second on the grid, took the lead from pole-sitter Pedrosa on the opening lap and held it throughout.

The win moved the Italian to the top of the championship standings as Pedrosa settled for second in the race and Rossi's Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards finished third.

Toni Elias came from ninth on the grid to finish fourth with Casey Stoner, the winner in Qatar a fortnight ago, coming in fifth.

John Hopkins had looked good for fourth place until crashing out on the 16th lap.

Carlos Checa took sixth with champion Nicky Hayden, having worked his way up to fourth, slipping back to finish seventh.

Champion Jorge Lorenzo took victory in the 250cc category while Hungary's Gabor Talmacsi pipped Czech rider Lukas Pesek by a hundredth of a second in the 125cc race.