Rossi started from the front row of the grid in fourth place and held fourth position into the first turn. By the fifth lap he'd got into a rhythm and set the fastest lap of the race at 1m 45.594s on lap five. Carlos Checa (Yamaha), Ukawa, Rossi and Max Biaggi (Yamaha) were now pulling clear. Rossi moved into second place behind Checa on lap 14 and on the next lap he used the speed of the RCV to edge past the Spaniard at the end of the long start/finish straight and into the lead. He led from then on with team-mate Ukawa in close touch throughout.

"That was a really hard race for the bike, the tyres and me," said the Championship leader. " I have to say a big thank you to all my team because we changed so many of the settings over the weekend to find the best race set-up. I got a good start, and followed the others. Checa got into a good rhythm and I overtook Biaggi when the others started to get away. I tried to turn some laps in the 45 second bracket but I couldn't. I got away and Tohru came with me, but I was a little better on the brakes in three of the turns and I managed to stay in front. I'm very happy with this win."

Second-placed Ukawa looked as if he might have been able to repeat the success he had in the second race of the MotoGP Championship in South Africa when he overtook Rossi in the closing stages for a win. But although Ukawa pressed him hard all the way Rossi had just enough in hand to fend him off.

"I knew I had to make a good start," said Ukawa. "And I got the holeshot, my first this season. I led until Checa went past me and then I got him back and held it. The tyres were good today and the whole bike felt good. The work we did in qualifying really paid off in the race and I guess I'm happy with second. I'm not so happy that the points gap between Valentino and me has increased. But there's a long way to go this season and I'll be giving it everything."

Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) was fifth and as the first two-stroke past the flag effectively 'won' the race within a race. "I'm really very happy," said the Brazilian. "I had a great scrap with Loris to be the best two-stroke finisher, just like at Mugello. I couldn't have done any more than I did today because the long straight here makes things difficult for us. I want to thank my team for the excellent work they've done which allowed me to ride well at one of my favourite tracks. We have to try and close the gap with the four-strokes at Assen."

Sixth-place finisher Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) had an incident-packed race, running off track. "This was a tough race," he said. "I tried my very best, but we don't seem to be getting much reward for our efforts. I wanted to stay with the leaders from the start, but I lost a lot of time getting past the two Suzukis, they held me up in the turns and then I couldn't get past them on the straight. My off-track excursion was because Roberts braked hard well before entering a corner and I had to carry on in a straight line or I would have run into him."

Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500) finished a fighting eighth after a troubled time in qualifying. "The first corner was tough," said the MotoGP rookie. "It was really hard to find a way through the bunched-up pack. That really slowed me up and then after ten laps the rear tyre went off a bit. This isn't a bad result because I was running the same lap times as Barros and Capirossi and if I could have found a faster way through in the early laps things might have been even better."

Things got slightly better in the race for Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) who had qualifying difficulties and began the race 20th on the grid. He eventually finished 13th. "Unfortunately I just couldn't do any better," said the disappointed Japanese. "After all the problems we had yesterday, the situation has improved. The bike was sliding everywhere in the second half of the race and even if I have got three points from this race I don't feel very good about it."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) was brought down in a first lap crash and his machine was too badly damaged for him to remount. "I could have scored some good points today," said the Dutchman. "We ran a new compound rear tyre in the warm-up and I was faster than I had been all weekend. An 11th or 12th place finish was definitely possible today. I knew I was going to crash about two tenths of a second before I went down.  Jacque hit Abe who pushed Nakano across in front of me. I had nowhere to go and ended up in the dirt."

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team: 1st: "That was a really hard race for the bike, the tyres and me! I have to say a big thank you to all my team because we changed so many settings over the weekend in order to find the best race set-up. I made a good start and followed the others. Checa had a good rhythm. When the others started to go I overtook Biaggi. I then tried to make some laps in the 45's but it was not possible. I go and Tohru comes with me. I'm a little bit harder in braking and I managed to stay in front. I'm very happy."

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda Team: 2nd: "I was pleased to qualify on the front row and I knew I had to make a good start. I took the whole shot - the first time this season - and led until Checa overtook. I kept second from then on. My tyres are good today and I got a good feeling from the whole bike. We had a good few days qualifying and it paid off in the race. I guess I'm happy with second but obviously not happy that the gap is increasing between Valentino and me. There is a long way to go this season and I will always try my best!"

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons: 5th: "I am really very happy because I had a great scrap with Loris to be the best two-stroke bike, just like in Mugello. The truth is I could not have done any more than I did today because there is a long straight at the circuit and this makes it more difficult for us. Anyway, I would like to thank my team for the excellent work they have done, which allowed me to ride well at one of my favourite circuits. In fact I feel almost at home here and I feel as if I won the race. We used the same strategy as in Mugello, fitting soft tyres, and now we must work to be closer to the leaders in Holland and try to close the gap with the four-strokes."

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons: 6th: "This was a tough race. I tried my very best, but really we are not getting much reward for our efforts. I wanted to stay with the group of leaders at the start, but I lost a lot of time getting past the two Suzuki's as they held me up around the corners and I could not get passed them on the straight. Regarding my excursion off the track, I had to carry on in a straight line as I would have fallen or crashed into Roberts as he braked hard well before entering the corner."

Sito Pons: "I had high hopes before this race because I believed we could be battling for victory, but once on the track this was obvious not the case. Both Alex and Loris have performed very well and they have given everything they have got, but the four-stroke Hondas and Yamahas are currently one step ahead of the field. We will not give up and we will carry on working to try and surprise them. I am proud of the team ad the riders because we have once again scored a one-two in the two-stroke race!"

Daijiro Kato, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 8th: "It so hot! The heat that came from the engine during the race was almost burning my hands, but I'm satisfied enough with the race. At the start it was dangerous because three riders crashed really close to me: I lost precious time, after I started to ride with a good rhythm and at the end I also passed Jacque. I was afraid that the tyres would be finished but they were good until the end."

Fausto Gresini: "The race started quite badly but went quite well for Daijiro: I was afraid that starting so far back Daijiro would find big problems. The real enemy was the hot weather: we finished with the water ready to boil and the engine performance went down. This GP confirmed that the four-strokes are faster: it's not a surprise. We can only accept this and do our best with the material that we have. Anyway I'm really happy that Kato finished the race without problems because this means that the memory of the recent past has gone."

Tetsuya Harada, Pramac Honda: 13th: "Unfortunately, after all the problems we had, I was not able to do better. The bike kept on slipping even if from the half of the race, the situation has improved. I achieved three points but I do not feel satisfied."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Kanemoto Honda, DNF: "I could have scored some good points today. We ran a new compound rear tyre in the warm-up and I was faster than I had been all weekend. An 11th or 12th place finish was definitely possible today. I knew I was going to crash about 2/10ths of a second before I went down. Jacque hit Abe who in turn pushed Nakano across in front of me and I hit Nakano very hard. I just had nowhere to go and ended up in the dirt. "

Team owner - manager Erv Kanemoto: "For sure it would have been a long hard race for us if Jurgen had not been knocked down. The four riders all came together, there was nothing Jurgen could do about it. Luckily he's not injured and the bike is only slightly damaged, just little bits and pieces. Pity really, as we had been faster n the warm-up than in qualifying. We used a rear tyre in a different compound to what we had in qualifying and it worked a little better. But we can check out the endurance of that tyre in testing here tomorrow, and on Tuesday."