Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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World Championship Road Race Series Round 9: German Grand Prix By PHOTOS MICHAEL SCOTT By GOLD f, GOOSE CHEMINTZ, GERMANY, JULY 21 fI.,.,alentino Rossi can be beaten, and W two-strokes are still capable of winning races, at the right circuit. But only if they don't bump into each other. Even Rossi described his eighth win in the nine-race-old season as "a gift." And so it was, after a difficult weekend for the new giant of Grand Prix racing. For the first time, he wasn't on the front row of the grid, and though he did pull through to take the lead, there was no room for comfort, no chance of cynical games before running away. And no room for mistakes. When he did make a slip, on the 25th of 30 laps of the short (2.29 mile) and tortuous Sachsenring circuit outside Chemnitz, pole qualifier Oliver Jacque and his Gauloises Yamaha and West Honda Pons' Alex Barros needed no written invitation to sweep straight past and start working on putting a gap on the hitherto dominant Repsol Honda. A capacity crowd of almost 80,000 sun-soaked fans, already enjoying the closest race of the year - the first nine within three seconds at half-distance of the 30 lap race - were then treated to a final drama. Jacque was in front, but at the start of the 28th lap, Barros made his move, diving up the inside from quite a long way back into the tight first turn. "It was the only place I could do it - the Yamaha was faster than my Honda," he said later. (Above) Max Blaggi (3) got the jump on the MotoGP field off the startline, though he didn't lead the entire first lap, as Tohru Ukawa (11) ended up getting past the Italian. (Right) Polesitter Olivier Jacque (19) rode the MotoGP of his life at the Sachsenring, leading several laps before ending his day In bitter disappointment. 16 JULv31. 2002' c u e . . . . n ... _ s But he was trying too hard, and though Jacque lifted to give him room, Barros lost the front wheel and slid off, bringing Jacque down as well. And leaving the race to Rossi. "The win was good for me, and the race was good for the show," said Rossi later. "There are some places where the four-stroke is quicker, but on the slow section, the lighter twostrokes were better. When Barros braked too late for the corner, it was a gift for me. But I still had to keep full concentration to stay ahead of Max [Biaggi]." Biaggi was satisfied after changing the setup after morning warm-up and losing ground in the early laps while he adapted. "I'm very, very satisfied with the result... but poor Barros and Jacque," he said. Third-placed Tohru Ukawa had no sympathy to spare, fighting his own battle. "That was a very hard race for me," he said. "( got a great start and led for several laps, but I was in a lot of pain. A week ago, a rostrum finish was only a dream."