Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Championship Road Race Series Round 1: .Japanese Gra d Prix Third went to Marlboro Yamaha's Carlos Checa. Yamaha had come into the race sounding like a team that knew it was beaten. Their bike wasn't able to keep up with the Honda and they'd been making revisions right up to the race weekend, including bringing a new chassis to Japan. Checa, who went with the older chassis, took his time getting past another Japanese wild card, Shinkhi Itoh, and was well clear at the end. "The bike is ready to fight to win, that's the main thing, so I'm confident for the next race," he said. Itoh hadn't taken part in a Grand Prix since Motegi, Japan, in 1999, but you wouldn't know it from his ride. The Honda and Bridgestone test rider grabbed the lead very early and ran near the front the whole race, losing out to Checa on the 18th lap after having earlier been passed by Rossi. "] didn't realize that Rossi was following me when he passed me," he said. "I had a big slide riding on a big water patch." 10 APRIL 17, 2002' c u e • _ Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antin's Norick Abe was the first two-stroke, about 10 seconds behind Itoh. The Japanese rider had fought with Repsol Honda's Tohru Ukawa for much of the race before Ukawa crashed with three laps to go. What he learned from the fight was that the four-strokes would be trouble all year. "I hope to have more power for the next GP," he said. "Otherwise, it will be so difficult to be with the fourstrokes, get a podium, or win." Behind Abe came West Honda Pons' Alex Barros and Proton Team KR's Nobuatsu Aoki, who gave Bridgestone their highest placing in their MotoGP debut. Teammate Jeremy McWilliams and Kanemoto Racing's Bridgestone-equipped Jurgen van den Goorbergh both crashed. MS Aprilia Racing's Regis Laconi was next in eighth, a lap down in the debut of the RS Cube. West Honda Pons' Loris Capirossi was ninth after a disastrous start, the same fate to strike Fortuna Honda Gresini's Daijiro Katoh who was 10th. n __ s Pramac Honda Racing Team's Tetsuya Harada was 11th with John Hopkins 12th, despite two crashes in his Red Bull Yamaha WCM debut. "I never had a day so eventful in a race," Hopkins said. Neither did many others. The crashers included Ukawa, McWilliams, van den Goorbergh, Roberts, Gibernau (while going for second place), Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3's Shinya Nakano, Red Bull Yamaha WCM's Garry McCoy, and Marlboro Yamaha's Max Biaggi. "I touched the white line with my front tire. It was a silly mistake, but it's very easy to fall in these conditions," Biaggi said. The 75 crashes on the weekend may not have been a record, but it couldn't have been far off. Imola Circuit Exalt Cycle Race's Arnaud Vincent won the rain-soaked 125cc GP, inheriting the lead on the eighth of 18 laps and holding off a late-race charge by a trio of others. Vincent chased UGT 3000-Abruzzo's Steve Jenkner for the first seven laps before Jenkner was slowed by a deflating rear tire. That put Vincent Wortd Champion Valentino Ronl (46) picked up wh.... h. I.tt off last year, giving the n_ Honda RC211V fourstroke a victory In Ita tlrst .vent. He..., RossI I.ada former tac:tory 500cc Grand PrIx Honda rtder and wild card Itoh (72) and Checa (7) Into the chlcan•. into the lead with 14 seconds inhand, a gap that would grow slightly, then shrink in dramatic intervals as the race wore down. The trio of chasers, led by Scot Racing Team's Mirko Giansanti, closed fast. In the end, Vincent had his third 125cc GP win by 1.164 seconds. Second went to Giansanti, with Gilera's World Champion Manuel Poggiali third after Semprucci Angaia Racing's Nobby Ueda ran wide two turns from the end. Ueda ended up fourth. Privateer Japanese wild cards took over the 250cc Grand Prix, taking the first two spots in a rare finish for non-factory machinery. The winner was Motorex Daytona's Osamu Miyazaki, a 36-yearold who rode his TZ-250 Yamaha to

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