Rossi win delays Stoner -ozzy go- ukpress.goggle.com

Championship leader Casey Stoner will have to keep the
champagne on ice for at least one more race after MotoGP title
rival Valentino Rossi scorched to victory in a thrilling Portuguese
Grand Prix.

Australian Stoner could have won the title this weekend had he
finished 15 points better off than the Italian superstar, but in the
end the Marlboro Ducati rider was forced to settle for third place
behind Rossi and the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa at Estoril.

Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) was made to battle all the way to finish
ahead of Pedrosa, the duo swapping places several times during
the 28-lap race before he finally took the chequered flag by less
than 0.3 seconds from the young Spaniard.

Stoner, with 287 points, now leads the championship by 76 points
from Rossi with four races to go. Pedrosa is third in the standings
on 188 points.

Stoner told BBC2: "I got third position and we've got to be pretty
happy with that. Unfortunately in the race I had a problem with
my clutch. It just kept coming in and going free, so there was no
engine braking and I just kept running wide into turns. It was
very difficult to manage." ukpress.goggle.com/Ducati.com pic