Ducati's Loris Capirossi stormed to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix for the second year running on Sunday.
However, Valentino Rossi's second place will have felt just as sweet as it allowed the world champion to gain more ground on MotoGP championship leader Nicky Hayden, who finished fifth.
Capirossi led an Italian podium sweep after starting from pole, while Rossi closed the gap on Hayden from 21 points to just 12 with two races left this season.
"This gives me a great chance for the championship -- especially with Nicky finishing fifth," beamed Rossi. "It's wide open now."
Marco Melandri finished third behind Rossi's Yamaha to take sole possession of third place in the standings and help Honda to secure the constructors' title.
Hayden currently has 236 points with Rossi on 224. Melandri improved to 209 and Capirossi 205 to keep alive their slim hopes of snatching the riders' championship.
Rossi would have shaved another point off Hayden's lead if Japan's Shinya Nakano had not skidded out in the closing stages and allowed the American to move up from sixth to fifth.
Hayden's Honda suffered renewed clutch problems which resulted in a disastrous start from row three and his second straight fifth-place finish.
"Another fifth obviously isn't great," said Hayden. "The start was a bit of a disaster. It was the worst part of the race. Lap one was pretty wild."
Spain's Sete Gibernau finished ahead of Hayden in fourth on his Ducati.
ROSSI SURGE
Despite typhoon warnings, the weather cooperated in Japan following last week's rain-hit Australian race, helping Rossi maintain his surge on a circuit he openly dislikes.
"These 20 points are so important," said Rossi, bidding to win his sixth consecutive premier-class title. "They're even more important at this track. It's not my favourite."
A cliff-hanging 2006 season closes with races in Portugal and Spain.
Japan's Hiroshi Aoyama won the 250cc race on his KTM as Spain's Jorge Lorenzo stretched his lead in the championship to 27 points after coming third on his Aprilia.
"I'm never usually happy with just a podium but this time I am," said Lorenzo. "At the beginning I struggled. I don't know why but when my tyres wore down I improved a lot."
Honda's Andrea Dovizioso failed to cut Lorenzo's advantage, the Italian finishing fourth. San Marino's Alex de Angelis took second for Aprilia.
Meanwhile, Finland's Mika Kallio blew past newly crowned world champion Alvaro Bautista of Spain on the final lap to win a thrilling 125cc race for KTM.
Bautista clinched the title last weekend with his seventh victory of the season for Aprilia.
