It looked like the Casey Stoner of last year as the Aussie stormed away from the rest of the field to win at Assen by a margin of over 11 seconds.
The Ducati rider was quickest throughout the weekend, and his race was as good as won as soon as Valentino Rossi crashed on the first lap, taking down Randy De Puniet.
A sparse 16-bike grid - a result of Loris Capirossi and John Hopkins both being ruled out by pre-race injuries - meant Rossi was still able to pick up points after remounting at the back of the field. Riding with a broken gear lever, he finally fought through to a distant 11th position, passing Melandri and Elias on the way.
Nicky Hayden showed the new pneumatic-valve Honda engine has pace, running in third place behind Stoner and his Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa. But it's a thirsty beast; he ran out of fuel on the last corner, gifting the final podium place to a delighted Colin Edwards, who's only too familiar with disappointment at the very same spot.
Brit James Toseland benefitted from the misfortunes of crashers Rossi, De Puniet and De Angelis, and managed to fend off a last-minute charge from Sylvain Guintoli to hold on to 9th place, having qualified back in 13th.
1 25 1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 42'12.337 168.361 
2 20 2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 42'23.647 167.612 11.310
3 16 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 42'29.462 167.230 17.125
4 13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda 42'32.814 167.010 20.477
5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 42'39.683 166.562 27.346
6 10 48 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 42'40.945 166.480 28.608
7 9 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 42'44.667 166.239 32.330
8 8 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 42'47.229 166.073 34.892
9 7 52 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 42'50.903 165.835 38.566
10 6 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 42'51.154 165.819 38.817
11 5 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 42'58.362 165.356 46.025
12 4 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 43'00.550 165.215 48.213
13 3 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 43'11.931 164.490 59.594
Not classified
  13 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 11'41.383  19 Lap
Not finished 1st lap
  14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda   
  15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda