Capirossi, the winner for Ducati here last year, tried one last overtaking move at the final corner but failed to get past Rossi and came home second in 43:08.678.

MotoGP rookie Daniel Pedrosa rode through the pain barrier to earn a courageous third place podium spot for Honda in 43:11.692.

But the battle between Rossi and Capirossi earned the biggest cheers from the crowd.

For Rossi, the victory, which was his fourth in Malaysia since entering the premier class in 2000, has put him back in the hunt for an eighth world title.

A delighted Rossi, who celebrated by banging his fists on the fuel tank immediately after crossing the finish line and churning up smoke on the exhaust later, said: "It is not every day you can see a race like this.

"This was one of the best wins of my career. We fought to the end and it was a great show."

(News extract from The Star dated 11 Sep 2006)