Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(2;09.37 8) ; 25 . Jaso n DiS alvo (2: 10.288 ); 26. Luis Cos ta (2 : 10. 948) ; 2 7. Dieg o Giug ovaz (2: 1 1.229) ; 28 . Katja Poen sgen (2: 11.725) ; 29 . Cesar Berre s ( 2 :1 2 .1 6 4 ); 30 . Ja rno Boesve ld (2 : 12 .324 ); 31. Arn old Lirjen s (2 :12 .377 ) ; 3 2 . G ert Pieper (2 ; 12.816 ); 33 . Stuart Edwards (2 :12 .832). 5 00cc Q UALI F YIN G : 1. Loris Cap iros si (2 :00 .743); 2. Max Biaggi (2:0 0. 8 76 ); 3 . Vale ntino Ro s s i (2 :0 1. 18 5 ); 4 . Alex Ba rro s (2 :0 1.492) ; 5 . Sh tn ye Na k ano ( 2:01. 64 6) ; 6 . Kenny Robe rts J r. (2:01. 77 3) ; 7. Ca rlos Cbeca (2 ;0 1.89 7 ); 8 . Nori ck Abe (2;0 2. 2 18 ); 9 . Se te Gibe rna u (2 :0 2.4 40 ); 10 . A l ex C r ivil le (2 :02 .521); 11 . T o h r u Uk aw a (2 :02 .913) ; 12 . Olivi e r J a c qu e (2: 0 3. 0 2 6); 13 . Noriyuki Haga (2:03.116); 14. J urgen vd Goo rbergh Tohru Ukawa (11 1 managed t o hold off Jurgen van den Goobergh (171 and the P roton In their battle for eighth pl a c e. (2 :03 . 134); 15 . Ga rry McCoy (2: 04 .04 6 ); 16 . Chris Walker (2 :04.287); 17. Leon Haslam (2:04.58 9); 18 . Haruchika Aoki (2:04.60 7); 19 . J ose Lui s Cardos o (2 :04.609) ; 20. Anthony West (2 :05 .04 2) ; 21. Joha n Stige felt (2:06. 146) ; 22 . Jas on Vincent (2 :07 .008) ; 23 . Bar r y Ven em an ( 2: 0 7 . 190); 2 4 . Ma rk Willi s (2:0 7.574 ). twists f ollowing the b a c k st raig h t, fending o ff Vinc ent's response, t h en k eeping c l e a r co n t r ol unti l they c r ossed t h e li ne . His fi rs t win a lso moved h im f ro m seven t h to t hird in the championsh ip. " I stayed with the l e a d e r s, and I w a s a ble to gi v e it m o re a t t h e f i n ish ," t h e delighted teenager sai d . "The c rashes a lso helped my c h a mp i onsh i p pos i t ion - but th e w in sho u ld h a v e co me t h r e e r a c e s ago [a t L e M ans , w h ere h e led until t w o corners from t he end ]." J enkner was a lone ly t hi rd , wh il e Ueda h ad g rad u ally m ov ed u p to a va lua ble fo urth after a c arefu l r id e . W i t h 19 c rashes , it was a good da y for a pru d e n t pr i vate e r . Cz ech J a kub Sm rz ( Ho n d a) was a caree r be st f ifth . It wa s a lso w orth remounting after a c rash , as B o rso i proved wi th sixth , fend ing off Mi r k o Gia nsa nti 's Honda to the f inish. Pogg ia l i had been w ith t hem after his remount, b u t fell for a second time at Du ik erslo o t. T his left ei g h t h to Ja rda -H u les ( H o n da), wi th Al essa ndro B rann etti (Aprilia ) su rv iv ing an off-tr ack r un to recl a im n inth ah ea d o f Ja rno M u eller ( H o n da ) . T h e c ras he s s tarte d on t h e first lap, w ith de Ang elis , Caffiero , N ieto a n d Sc a lv in i all taki ng a dive . It went o n: A zuma next t ime round , and Pog giali , and a h o st of othe rs, r ig h t up u ntil U i , from a safe fourth p o sitio n w ith fiv e la ps left. The freak res u lt m ean t the cham p io ns hip closed u p considerably , wi t h none o f th e top m en scoring si gnifi c a ntly . Pogg iali stay ed o n 88, but Borso i closed to w ithin three poin ts, whil e Elias lea pt from seven th to t hird on 77 , p assin g 7 6 - po int U ed a . Azum a is now f ifth on 72 , C ec chi n ell o next o n 66 . eN &auloises Dutc h IT Assen, Netherlands Results: June 3D, 2001 125« QOAUFYlNG: 1. Gino Borsot (2: 12.2 12): 2 . L u c io Cec c hi ne llo ( 2 : 12 . 3 7 3 ) ; 3 . Yo uc hi Ui (2 :12.393); 4 . Ste ve J enkn er (2: 12.4 6 1); 5 . Ton i Elias (2: 12.673) ; 6. Manue l Pogg ial i (2:13.464 ): 7. Jeecsie v Hules (2 ;13 .78 1); 8 . Pablo Nieto (2: 13.7 82 ); 9 . Al ex De An geli s (2 :1 3.82 4); 10. Daniel Pedrosa (2 : 13.9 18) ; 11. Jamo Mulle r (2: 13. 99 7); 12. J aku b Sm rz (2 ;14.56 7 ); 13. Arnaud Vincent (2: 14. 579) ; 14. A ng el N iet o Jr . (2: 14 .59 6); 15 . Gla nl uig i Scalv in i (2 : 14. 6 3 2) ; 16 . Ang el Rod riguez (2 ;14 .677 ); 17 . Masao Az uma ( 2 : 14 . 7 26 ); 18 . Si mone Sa nn a (2: 14 .7 38 ); 19. Ste fan o Pe rug ini ( 2: 14. 769 ); 20. Nor b o ru Ueda (2 : 14 .8 00) ; 21 . Ma x Sa bbatani (2 : 14. 85 4) ; 22 . Ga s pa re Ca ffie ro (2 :14 .855) ; 23 . J o an O li ve ( 2 : 14 .9 7 9 ) ; 2 4 . Ga bor Telm e c s l (2: 15.142 ); 25. Ales sandro Brannetti (2:15.321) ; 26. M irko Gia ns anti (2 : 15. 7 8 4) ; 27 . M ar c o Pe t ri n i ( 2 ; 16. 72 7) ; 28. Raul J a ra ( 2: 16 .9 5 9); 29 . Eric Bataill e ( 2 : 17 .3 4 8) ; 30 . Wilhe lm v a n Leeu wen (2 : 18.224 ); 31. Adrian Araujo (2 : 18 .4 19): 32 . Patrick L ak er v el d ( 2: 19 . 14 3 ); 33 . Ad r l D en Bek k er (2:20.90 5) ; 34 . Ronn ie Timmer (2 :2 1.425) . 2 50 c c QUALI FYING : I . T e t su y a Har a d a (2 :0 4 .363 ); 2. Da ijiro Ka to h (2:04 .5 49 ); 3 . Marco Me land ri (2 :04 .64 4) ; 4 . J er em y M c W ill i a m s (2:04 .911) ; 5 . Ro berto Rollo (2:05 .49 2) ; 6. Randy De Puniet (2:05. 763 ); 7. Neok i Matsu do (2 :05 .87 4 ); 8 . Sebastian Porto (2 :0 6 . 139 ); 9 . Robe rto Loc atell i (2 :06 .287 ); 10 . Shahro l Yuzy (2:06 .3 18) ; 11. Alex Debon (2:06.340); 12 . Alex Hofmann (2:06 .388); 13. Sylva in Gui ntoli ( 2:06 .7 39); 14 . Lu ce Bosco scu ro (2:06.8 25 ); 15. Lorenzo Lenal (2:06. 866); 16 . Klaus Nohles (2:06. 93 1); 17. Em ilio Alzam ora (2:06.938 ); 18 . David Che c e (2 :07. 2 48 ) ; 19 . Da vi d De Gea (2:07 .498 ); 20 . Fonsi Nieto (2:0 7.7 16 ); 2 1. J e ron imo Vida l (2 :07 .826); 22 . Franco Bettain l (2:07. 88 2); 23. Da vid Th oma s (2:09 .152); 2 4 . Riccar do Chi arell o Blaggi gets a lift on the podium after winning his second 500cc GP of the season. 12 5cc GRAND PRIX ; 1. Toni Eli as (Hon) ; 2. Arn aud Vincent ( Hen): 3. Steve n Je nkner (Ap r); 4 . Noboru Ueda (Hen) : 5. J aku b Smrz (Han) ; 6. Gino Borsoi ( A pr); 7. Mirko Gian santl (Hon) ; 8 . Ja ros lav Hu l es ( Ha n); 9 . A lessandro Br ann et tJ (Apr) ; 10. Ja rno Mulle r (Han ) ; 11. Sim on e Sanna ( A pr ); 12. Ste fano Perug ini (ItI) ; 13. Adrian Araujo (Han ); 14. Raul Ja ra (Apr) ; 15. Max Sabbatani (Apr); 16. Marco Petr ini (Hon ); 17. Eric Bat aill e (Hon) ; 18 . Wil helm Van Leeuwen (Hen) : 19. Ronn ie Timm er (Yam) . T ime: 41 m in . 34 .738 sees. Dist ance: 63.75 6 m iles A verage speed: 88 .90 mph Margin of victory: .607 sees. Fastest lap: Toni Eli as. 2:23 .889 . lap 17 25 0cc GRAN D PRIX: 1. J er em y McWill iam s ( A pr); 2. Emi lio Alz emo re (Hen): 3. David De Gee (Yam ); 4. Syl vain Guintoli (A pr) : 5. Franco Battaini (A pr); 6. Marco Melandr i (A pr): 7. Luce Boseoseuro (A pr); 8. Ricca rdo Chiarello (A pr): 9 . Jer onimo Vidal (Ap r) ; 10. Da vid To ma s (Hon) ; 11. Daij lro Kat oh (Hon ); 12 . A lex Hofma nn (A pr) : 13. Randy De Punier (A p r); 14 . Se b asti a n Por to ( Yam ): 15 . J arn o Bo esve ld ( Yam) ; 16. L o ren zo Lanzi (Ap r) ; 17 . Robe rt o Locate lli (A pr): 18. Klaus Nohle s (Apr) ; 19. Naoki Mat sudo (Yam ); 20 . Al ex Debon (A pr); 21. Gert Pieper (Hon): 22 . Lui s Costa (Yam ); 23 . Arn old Litjens (Han) ; 24 . Tetsuya Harada (A pr) : 25 . Ceasar Barro s (Yam) ; 26. Shahro l Yuzy (Yam ). Tim e: 39 min . 28 .5 16 sees. Distan ce: 67.50 m iles A verag e speed: 102.60 mph Marg in of victory: 16.37 1 sees. Fast est lap : Tetsuya Harad a. 2:06 .988 . lap 14 500c c GRAND PRIX : 1. Max Biaggi (Yam); 2. Valentino Rossi (Hon); 3. Lori s Capi ross i (Hon ); 4 . Al ex Barro s ( Ha n): 5 . Shinya Nak an o ( Yam ); 6. Kenny Robert s Jr. (Suz); 7. Sete Gibema u (Suz); 8. Tohru Uk awa (Han) ; 9 . Jurgen vd Goorbergh (Pro); 10. Noriyu k i Haga (Yam ); 11. Olivier Jac que (Yam ); 12 . J o se L uis C ardoso (Ya m) ; 13 . Leon Hasl am (Han) ; 14. Haruchike Ao ki (Han); 15. Ant hony West Assen was in a benign mood for practice - dry thr oughout, thou gh a tou ch windy . Th e old cathed ral still claimed victims, however, of its deadly deceptive fast come rs and suspension-punishing swoops and dips . . The fastest line , as dem onstr ated by Loris Capirossi, was also the least dramatic, stay ing clear of the unsettling dips if you cut the apex too tight. Neat and tidy, he was also devastatingly fast , breaking the ail-tim e record on the first day , then slashing anothe r seven tenths off that on the second afternoo n on soft tire s, break ing the 2;0 1 barrier for the first tim e. "That was a fantastic lap ," he grinned . "But the race wiil be a different story from today." The sizzling exhaust of his Cobas-tuned Honda sound ed quite the fastest thing down the straight, but in fact his margin was narrow, and Max Biaggi had followed him into the double-zeros. The difference was just .133 of a second - j ust an eye- blink around the longest and fastest track of the year. Biaggi took until day two to get fast, working (he explained ) on stabili ty for the critica l and conti nuous changes of directi on . Whe n he found th at (" Bra vo to m y team") he slashed almost two seconds off his previous best to duel with Rossi for pol e in the very fast final session. Valenti no Rossi ended up thi rd best, at 2:0 1. 185 and only thr ee tenths off pol e. And if this wasn't close enough, last year's winner Al ex Barros was fourth , less than two tenth s slower. Rossi could have been inside the zeros too, he said , but for a mistake to ward the end of his last fast lap , "but I don't know if I could have been pole. The important thing is we found a good race set-up. Of course, the race will be different. It will be run in the 2:02 brack et, not 2;00 . And it will be a hard one." Th e qualifying int ervals rem ained close across the second row, led by Shinya Nakano after his familiar but sti il impressive late surge. "Not bad for a 500 rookie at Assen ," Rossi sm iled, having displaced cham pion Kenny Roberts Jr. in that session. Roberts was in a rather distant mood, and professing himself ti red of waiti ng for the engine imp rovements he so desperately wants. He'd been in the top four on the first day, but his rate of imp rov ement - though bett er than half-a-second faster - wasn't quite good enough. "This is our level right now," Roberts Jr. said. "I have to accept this . Obv iously I'm not happy with this situat ion." They were still packed up tig ht; Carlos Checa close behind , closing on the second day after softening the rear suspension . Nor ick Abe was alongs ide. blaming a crash in the final session for not being furth er ahead. He'd been with the fast men until then, but missed out on the final gallops. His bik e look ed sti ff and happy - set too hard? Or was he cutti ng the apexes too mu ch in short- cir cuit style? Sete Gibemau speeded up signifi cantly to place ninth , but said; "We're stiil way off. " He was only 1.7 seconds off pol e, and hoped for a good start and a slow pace. "Then I can be in it," said the hero of the Catalunya race. Al ex Criv ille was alongside, then teamma te Tohru Ukawa, with Olivier Jacque closing off the row. But whil e the 250c c ch am pion. in his second race back from wri st injuries, was happy enough to have achi eved his thi rd-row targe t. the two factory Honda men were fighting th eir bikes to find the smooth way around . Criville was particularl y upset, at a favorite track where he has won before; Ukawa at least thankful that a crash on the first day hadn't done anything worse than spoil a pra cti ce session. Noriyuki Haga led row four - another to fail very heavily, in the final session. He looked very knocked about after the looping highsider, after catching his rear wheel on the outside of a curb: but gamely return ed to go charging out again . to set his best lap. Jurgen van den Goorbe rgh was next , dismayed that his expectations that the Proton would be his "best ever Assen bike" were not rewarde d with lap times. He was already struggling som ewhat when his ignition went awry in the final session , leaving him stru ggling for enough power on the corner exits to find the fast slipstrea m he needed. At least the Team Roberts mecha nics found a reason, and he was hoping for a good start and a good tow for the race. Garry McCoy and Chris Walker were next, but neith er would start - the former with drawing before he could damage his unheale d wrist, the latte r out after yet another crash. It was nasty , also catc hing his wheel on a curb on the way into the fast Meuwenmee r curve, and he fell hard enough to sm ash a chunk out of the rear of his helm et. Concussed, he was lucky not to have suffered worse. Thi s mo ved fastest twin rider Leon Haslam and his much more senior rival Haru Aoki up to the next row - good stuff fro m Haslam , in his first race back, With Cardoso 's factory Yamaha heading the next row from West's V-twtn, then Stigefelt's Sabre, then the pair of Pulse V4s. sandwiching Veneman's V-twln . with Willis the slower after another breakdown cut his final session down to one lap. cue' e nevvs JULY 11 , 200 1 23

• Cover