Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128174
from the fourth row of the grid on his Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki to lead the first 12 laps. And Rossi also managed to avoid the temptation of getting sucked into disaster by Marlboro Yamaha's Carlos Checa. Left 00 the line when he had the bike in neutral, Checa was by far the fastest rider in the wet, storming through from last away to take the lead on the 17th lap. "He arrived - from another planet," joked Rossi afterward. But, barely one corner after overtaking the would-be champion, Checa fell off. It was the fourth time in the last five races that Rossi has regained the lead by somebody falling off in front of rum. More crucial was the fact that his teammate, Tohru Ukawa, also fell victim to the dire conditions, crashing out on the second lap while lying fifth. If Ukawa had finished on the rostrum, he would have been close enough to Rossi to make him need one more race to tie up the title. "I got the signal from my pit he was out," said Rossi. Deadly rival Max Biaggi was the only other rider close enough to prevent Rossi taking the 100-point lead he needs, and he was lying second, close behind. "I still had to think about Max, and keep concentrating." said Rossi. In fact, the Marlboro Yamaha rider had his own agenda. Ukawa's disappearance gave him the chance to take second in the championship. "As soon as I saw he was out, I automatically slowed my pace," said Biaggi later. He finished second by only 1.6 seconds and moved to second overall in the points standings, eight points ahead of Ukawa. "It is not the same as being champion, but after our bad start to the year, I think if I can keep second, [it] will not be so bad," he said. Roberts was third, after leading from the second to the 12th lap - his best result of the year so far on the four-stroke Suzuki, and reflecting a big improvement in the bike's capabilities with the arrival two weeks ago of a new slipper clutch. "It's still not perfect, and it's hard for me to ride at 100 percent when I see other riders getting away from me so fast," Roberts said. "But considering at the beginning of the season, the bike was unrideable for me in the Kenny Roberts Jr. (10) stormed from the fourth row of the grid to lead the first 12 laps until Rossi decided It was time to take charge. rain, it shows that Suzuki knows we have problems and is working to make them better." The erstwhile leader was 18 seconds adrift at the finish, with fourthplaced Alex Barros and his West Honda closing at the finish to within six seconds, first two-stroke, after front-row starter Jeremy McWilliams had crashed out on lap five with a cold seizure, his engine way below temperature in the conditions. Second West rider Loris Capirossi was fifth, after defeating fellow two-stroke rider Norick Abe in a sustained battle. Gauloises Yamaha's Olivier Jacque was another 10 seconds adrift after dropping out of this battle after nearly crashing twice. The order had been shuffled in the very first corner, when Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau missed his backshift for turn one and ran three other riders - Fortuna Honda's Daijiro Kato, Proton's Nobuatsu Aoki, and Antena 3 Yamaha's Jose-Luis Cardoso - off the track with Max Blaggl (3) ended up second. His teammate, Carlos Checa (hidden). appeared destined for victory as he came from last to first . only to suffer the heartbreak of yet another crash. cue. e n e _ S • OCTOBER 2. 2002 11