Even Hollywood can't distract Rossi from his seventh heaven

Brad Pitt watched on as Valentino Rossi's clinched his seventh straight Italian MotoGP
Valentino Rossi
Rossi claimed his seventh Italian MotoGP victory amid plaudits for his novel helmet. Photograph: Carlo Ferraro/EPA

The presence of Brad Pitt at yesterday's Italian MotoGP was a shot in the arm, PR-wise, for a sport that has never competed with formula one in terms of celebrity guests and hangers-on. Pitt, who attended the race with his six-year-old son, Maddox, hid under a hat, but he was not so well hidden that the world's press didn't notice him. I could also tell you that father and son both wore sunglasses and ear plugs, but you're not here to read a celeb blog; you're here to read about the real star of the day, whom not even Pitt could overshadow: Valentino Rossi.

Almost 100,000 Italians turned up at Mugello, a terrific circuit set in the Tuscan hills, to worship at the church of Rossi. They came to see if their hero could win a third grand prix in a row. They came to see if he could win a seventh straight Italian MotoGP - Rossi owns Mugello, like Federer owns Centre Court, or Tiger owns Augusta (although unlike those two, he never loses at his favourite venue). And they came to see for themselves if reports of the Doctor's decline were exaggerated.

Rossi did not disappoint. He did not quite cruise to victory, as he has before in his home race, but he led for most of it, and there was never much doubt that he had the pace and resolve to keep Casey Stoner (second) and Dani Pedrosa (third) at bay. If the crowd seemed unusually quiet for the majority of the race, it was because they were holding their breath, waiting until the moment when Rossi flashed across the start/finish line for the final time. Only then did they go mad, pouring on to the track in huge numbers, arms aloft, homemade banners held high. Several riders, including Rossi, had to take short-cuts across the grass to avoid the attention of the most exuberant spectators. If the Italian had dared to stop, he would have been mobbed and probably stripped down to his underwear. If one enterprising fan attempted to make a souvenir of Rossi's Yamaha, clear a perimeter fence, and ride off into the Tuscan sunset, I would not have been surprised. Everyone wanted a piece of the winner, but somehow he made it to the parc fermé intact.

What does this result do for the championship race? Since I last reviewed a MotoGP, after China, Rossi has won two races in a row, and jumped into a 12-point lead at the top of the table. His Yamaha is now working like a dream, an ominous sign for Honda and Ducati, and, even more ominously for the rest of the field, there is talk that Rossi will sign a new contract to stay with the team for another two seasons. That's great news. MotoGP needs Rossi more than vice versa.

Pedrosa continues to be the most consistent rider of the top quartet, but podiums won't be enough if he is to overhaul Rossi; the Spaniard has to start winning again. Jorge Lorenzo is now 28 points adrift of Rossi, and there is a feeling that the young sensation is beginning to feel the pace, physically more than mentally. He crashed in practice in China and France, and crashed out during yesterday's race, a simple rider error for which he has since apologised to his team.

Pedrosa and Lorenzo may be Rossi's closest challengers, but the Italian won't have forgotten about Stoner, who lies in fourth, some 46 points off the lead. The reigning champion can still retain his title, but he needs much more help - any help would be nice - from dismal Ducati team-mate Marco Melandri. Stoner is a one-man team, and so far ahead of Melandri, it's embarrassing.

As for Britain's James Toseland, he had his best ride of the season to finish sixth, again on an unfamiliar track. He is improving all the time, and moves up to eighth in the table. Toseland fans must now be desperate to see how their man fares at Donington on 22 June, on a track he knows well from his time in Superbikes.