Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Championship Road Race Series Round 1 5: Malaysian Grand Prix Kenny Roberts Jr. got his ...-1 .-ng Nrt n tile beginning of the 500cc race, but as has been the case for ..-t of tile yeiII', he .mrted to fIIde back In tile pack before getting T-bonecI ..cI taken out br IIIu ........ end, West Honda's Loris Capirossi also got ahead of McCoy to claim seventh, leaving the Australian to '7? wo down - one to go. World fend off a highly aggressive Shinya U Championships, that is. After this Nakano and the Gauloises Yamaha to weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, only the line. the 125cc title remains to be settled By then, Sepang's previous douin the final 2001 GP at Rio de Janeiro ble winner Kenny Roberts Jr. was in two weeks time. long gone. The Telefonica MoviStar In the bigger classes, the champiSuzuki rider had led the first couple ons won the races - new 500cc of laps, and was in the leading bunch champion Valentino Rossi and his on the fourth lap and trying to repass Nastro Azzurro Honda taking an Rossi when he was T -boned from assured and convincing 10th win of behind by an impetuous Max Biaggi. the 15-race-old season in a dramaBoth riders crashed, without serious packed 500cc race; and Telefonica injury. Biaggi's fourth crash in six MoviStar Honda rider Daijiro Katoh races may cost him second place claiming his 10th win to secure his overall, with Capirossi closing to first 250cc crown. within four points of the Marlboro That's the way champions are supYamaha rider. posed to do it. Repsol Honda's Tohru Ukawa Rossi's victory, by 3.5 seconds, came through in the later stages to came only after he had bided his take fifth, ahead of teammate Alex time, sticking close to mid-race Criville, West Honda rider Alex Barleader Garry McCoy and his Red Bull ros, and battling Telefonica MoviStar Yamaha, then pounding to pull away Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau. with 10 of the 21 laps of the 3.43"Even though the championship is mile circuit remaining. Toward the over, it's always great to win," said n e _ s 6 OCTOBER 31,2001 • c u e . e By MICHAEL SCOTT PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE Rossi. "1 got a good start, but missed second gear. The first lap was very difficult, but luckily I managed to end it in fourth, and the situation was almost under control." After he'd caught McCoy, he found him hard to pass. "His riding style is so different, and it was difficult to hold my concentration, having him sliding in front of me at every corner," said Rossi. "So 1 decided to try and pass him, and then I immediately made a gap so I could finish the race in a relatively comfortable situation." He set a new record lap in the process, and added: "In this heat, there's only one way to ride ... spinning and sliding. It's big fun to ride a 500 like that." Capirossi said: "We worked very well during qualifying, and found the perfect set-up, which meant we could choose the best tire. It was a tough and difficult race, but now I am only four points behind Biaggi in the championship. We will see what happens in the last race." The 250 race was stupefyingly processional, Katoh drawing steadily away until he had a margin of more than 15 seconds by the 15th of 20 laps over his last remaining title rival Tetsuya Harada, who had his hands full fending off persistent front-row starter Fonsi Nieto, who in turn had to fight off fourth-placed Roberto Locatelli to the finish. It was a race of little drama, however, especially after Emilio Alzamora and his Telefonica MoviStar Honda crashed out of third place before half distance. Katoh's stunning win apart, the ride of the afternoon came from first-time front-row starter Roberto Rolfo, who fell on lap three, rejoined in last place, and surged through to 10th at the end, passing the injured Marco Melandri's factory Aprilia on the final lap. Katoh appeared to show signs of emotion on the podium, but it may have been dust in his eye. Afterward, he said: "In practice, Harada had some problems and I thought I might have a little advantage. I just tried to

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