Casey Stoner took the greatest victory of his young career at Catalunya on Sunday - the young Australian brilliantly matching
Valentino Rossi blow-for-blow to claim his fourth win of the season.
Rossi began the Catalan Grand Prix from pole position and with momentum firmly behind him after an emotional home victory at Mugello last weekend - which had marked the first time the former five-times
MotoGP champion had beaten Stoner for four rounds and put the Italian back within nine points of the Ducati star.
Last season's Catalan race began with a nasty first turn pile-up, but fortunately there was no repeat in 2007 as home hero
Dani Pedrosa rocketed from the outside of the front row to safely lead Stoner, Suzuki's
John Hopkins and a cautious Rossi through the first turn.
A near highside later in the lap for second-on-the-grid
Randy de Puniet helped the top four pull clear of the rest of the field - but not each other; by the halfway stage of the 25 laps Stoner, Rossi, Pedrosa and Hopkins were covered by less than one second with a near five-second gap over the injured de Puniet.
While they may have been almost inseparable on track, the potential of the top four was very different. Stoner and Rossi were focussed entirely on victory at all costs, but Pedrosa - although just a fraction behind - never looked capable of attacking, while the relentless pace soon proved too much for Hopkins' Suzuki.
The Stoner/Rossi fireworks really began on lap 18 when Rossi dived inside the Ducati. Stoner - as he had earlier in the race - immediately responded by cutting back underneath the #46, but this time Rossi also retaliated and held the lead for the first time.
Catalunya's 1km main straight was perfect Ducati territory, but the top speed differential between Stoner's factory Desmosedici and its chief rivals wasn't as overwhelming as it has been. Rossi and Pedrosa had both been able to stay in Stoner's slipstream but - with the situation now reversed - Casey looked set to slingshot past Rossi on the run into turn one.
