Rossi vs stoner le man' s-20126

It was the race MotoGP fans have been waiting for, but certainly hadn't expected, at Laguna Seca on Sunday - when Valentino Rossi overcame a practice deficit to battle furiously with reigning world champion Casey Stoner at the US Grand Prix.

Stoner, winner of the past three rounds, held a commanding half-second advantage over the field throughout practice and qualifying, leaving Rossi to joke about needing a 30-second head start to prevent the reigning world champion taking his fourth victory in a row on Sunday.

But some pre-race modifications extracted vital tenths out of Rossi's YZR-M1 and he combined his new found pace with a clear strategy of counter-attacking whenever the Australian took the lead.

That determination to 'smother' Stoner's advantage resulted in some thrilling overtaking: Stoner twice lost the lead to Rossi at the top of the Corkscrew - Valentino running over the dirt to make the second pass stick, forcing them both wide - and