Pedrosa ecstatic by overhauling Rossi

With this win, the Spaniard snatched second place by one point from rival Valentino Rossi, who retired his Fiat Yamaha with technical problems while running in the points.

However, Pedrosa revealed he was unaware he was taking second in the championship until the race was over.

"I didn't know, they just told me when I finished the race," Pedrosa told Italia1 television. "It's fantastic after such a difficult championship. And after all second is just after first, so it's not so bad."

The Repsol Honda rider chased the Marlboro Ducati of new world champion Casey Stoner and passed it for the lead on lap 6. After that the Spaniard managed to build a gap to win by over five seconds over the Australian.

"It's fantastic, I didn't think I could have such a race. We started very strongly behind Stoner, we were in the 1:32s so I didn't think we could get to the end with the tyres.

"I carried on pushing and pushing and I was just thinking of the public. I had to win here, so it's fantastic for me. It's the second victory of the year: it's not much, but it's good to do it here at home in the last race."

Asked if this race gave him confidence for 2008 with regards to his Michelin tyres, Pedrosa replied: "Yes, let's hope we'll keep on this way and to stay at the top."