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MotoGP Rossi claims second while holding on to championship
Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi finished
a fighting second in today’s Czech Republic Grand Prix after
a determined 22-lap race. The Italian had a close battle on his
YZR-M1 machine with championship Honda rivals Sete Gibernau and
Max Biaggi, ultimately holding on to finish in second – 3.514
seconds behind Gibernau. Rossi’s team-mate Carlos Checa also
had a tough fight throughout the race to a final sixth place.
Meanwhile Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 riders Norick
Abe and Marco Melandri finished in eighth and ninth places respectively
– the latter lucky to escape from a high speed tank-slapper
in the opening lap. The duo started from mid-grid and fought their
way through the pack to fire their Yamaha YZR M-1s to top ten finishes.
After an unfortunate start Rossi slotted into
fourth place at the end of lap one, with Checa just inside the top
ten riders. After a slight scare at the end of the first lap as
his wheel touched the trackside grass causing a serious wobble,
Rossi went on to pass Honda riders Alex Barros and Max Biaggi into
second position. Meanwhile team-mate Checa entered a fight to stay
in the top ten as Makoto Tamada (Honda) and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki)
closed in.
With Barros out of the picture, having crashed
out after 14 laps, Rossi made a beeline for the lead. The Yamaha
rider managed to pass Gibernau on lap 17, and then the two swapped
places no less than six times as Biaggi crept up close behind the
duelling pair into third. Finally it was not to be Rossi’s
day, as a worn rear tyre meant he was unable to make another steady
pass on Gibernau. Checa won his final personal duel by holding off
Colin Edwards’ Honda, passing him to finish sixth.
Norick was dicing with his team-mate towards the
closing stages of the race and the experienced Japanese rider used
every ounce of skill to get the better of Marco at the line. It’s
his second top ten finish so far this season and he feels he is
now getting close to recapturing his best form.
Marco fully expected to finish higher despite
his injured right hand, but he never fully got to grips with his
machine set-up as changeable weather during the weekend conspired
to deprive him of precious dry time. But as ever he gave everything
in the race and has shown what a force he will be at Estoril, Portugal
in two weeks time.
Rossi’s second place leaves him with a 17-point
cushion over Gibernau – 184 to 167. Biaggi sits third on 158
with Edwards on 104 in fourth. Checa is currently seventh, but just
four points shy of fifth place in the order.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises
Fortuna Yamaha) second
“We tried! The race was at a top level, the rhythm was very
good and it was a great fight. I tried to follow Sete and understand
a good point to overtake. With five or six laps to go I made my
attack. But we had lost grip with the rear tyre and I had lost a
little bit too much time. In the earlier part of the race the bike
was good under acceleration but not later, and then it also became
difficult under braking. When our bike loses rear grip it becomes
very difficult to stop. In the end Sete was too strong and had a
better rhythm than mine. It was impossible to beat him. Anyway I’m
quite happy, we’ve worked well but we need to get our bike
to 100% for the whole race next time. Now we have two days of testing
where we will look at solving that.”
Carlos Checa (Gauloises
Fortuna Yamaha) sixth
“The conditions were the same for me as everyone else but
we had some limitations because of the lack of set-up time. I started
quite well in the big group at the front, and the lap time was good
but then the rear grip dropped down and I got involved with Edwards.
His bike was a little bit faster than mine so that made it difficult
to pass him on the brakes, as I was not close to him on the corner
entry. One time I tried and ran a little bit out but I was able
to pass him eventually, as he had a problem that slowed him down.
We need to keep working but I was pleased that the lap time was
good at the beginning.”
Davide Brivio, Gauloises
Fortuna Yamaha team director
“All in all a good result. I think that we had a good race
and a good fight to the very end for the win with Valentino. We
are still leading the championship and so we are still going forward.
We are testing after this race for two days, starting tomorrow,
with a new fairing and some electronics. For Carlos his result is
not so bad, considering that both riders had a very short time in
the dry to set up the bikes. Normally this year we have needed as
much time as possible because Valentino has not so much experience
on this bike.”
Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises
Tech3) eighth
“I made a mess of the start and the first two laps were really
hard. Then by mid-race I could feel I was losing a bit of rear grip
because of the higher temperatures this afternoon. Then it felt
a bit better at the end of the race and I could pass Marco, so I’m
happy about that. Tyre choice was always going to be tricky because
we only got one dry session, and I had to concentrate so hard all
race to keep the slides under control.”
Marco Melandri (Fortuna
Gauloises Tech3) ninth
“I’m very disappointed. In the only dry session we had
I could only manage a few laps and even though we tried to makes
some progress this morning the bike was never really right. I nearly
fell on lap one and through the whole race I could never get on
the gas early enough and I even had to be really gentle on the throttle
on the straights. I thought I could go much better than this. The
hand wasn’t a big problem, but the lack of set-up time was.”
Hervé Poncharal,
Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 team director
“That was a tough race and it must have been very difficult
for Marco. He struggled towards the end and his lap times came down.
Norick is improving all the time and it’s great to have two
bikes in the points. It’s not a fantastic result, but after
the Sachsenring and Donington we have to be happy with this.”
Race: 22 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Gibernau Honda ESP 44' 3.480
2 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +3.514
3 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +4.330
4 M. Tamada Honda JPN +16.257
5 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +17.930
6 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +21.181
7 C. Edwards Honda USA +22.471
8 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +31.079
9 M. Melandri Yamaha ITA +31.158
10 K. Roberts Suzuki USA +31.625
11 N. Hodgson Ducati GBR +34.094
12 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +54.124
13 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER +54.288
14 J. McWilliams Aprilia GBR +57.471
15 N. Aoki Proton KR JPN +1' 18.515
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 59.302
Championship standings
MotoGP
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 184
2 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 167
3 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 158
4 Colin Edwards Honda USA 104
5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 86
6 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 83
7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 82
8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 75
9 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 69
10 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 64
11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 49
12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 46
13 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 41
14 Kenny Roberts Suzuki USA 35
15 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 34
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 225
2 Yamaha 199
3 Ducati 94
4 Suzuki 48
5 Kawasaki 46
6 Aprilia 25
7 Proton KR 8
7 Harris WCM 8
8 Moriwaki 2
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