Rossi gets red card following yellow flag

World champion Valentino Rossi's lead at the top of the MotoGP standings was cut when he was stripped of victory in the British Grand Prix.

The Italian was handed a 10-second penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag at Donington Park yesterday. The offence was not initially noticed by race officials but after watching video of the race, Rossi was demoted to third.

That decision lifted Rossi's rival Max Biaggi into top spot and reduced Rossi's advantage in the title race to 34 points from Sete Gibernau, who was promoted to second.

Rossi was unrepentant after being stripped of the win. He said: "I did nothing wrong intentionally.

"I am disappointed but the rules are the rules and

I can't argue with the law. I didn't take advantage of the situation and went on to win. I only hope the outcome doesn't affect the championship. I feel clear

Officials only looked into the issue after the Italian had celebrated on the podium. Race director Paul Butler said: "The incident was on the second lap. We didn't see it at the time but reviewed it after the race."