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ang circuit. Riding with trademark smoothness and speed, the Roman was never headed again. He looked like a winner, but had a little help from the three Hondas behind him. Repsol Honda teammates Rossi and Tohru Ukawa had caught up after some highly fraught action - Rossi looking more like a club racer than a four-time World Champion at times, battling under braking and several times passing his teammate into corners, only to run wide and lose the position again before the exit. Rossi was ahead and pulled Ukawa up to Barros, then he did something similar to the Brazilian. Trying to outbrake him for the final hairpin, he ran too deep and had to pick the bike up. He ran wide again, taking Barros with him and letting Ukawa through to second, which gave Biaggi breathing space. Barros eventually recovered, and Rossi finally managed to find a way around his braking and sliding problems to reclaim second with three laps to go. By the finish, he had closed a two-second gap to just over half-a-second, but Biaggi had it under control. Barros was a second adrift in third for a full house of four-stroke rostrums, and Ukawa still just seven tenths behind after one of the most exciting races of the year. Biaggi was gracious in victory, making sure to thank the Japanese side of the Marlboro Yamaha racing team for continuing to work hard even though he is leaving (basically fired by the European part of the team). "That was the most difficult race of the year," he said. "I think I've proved again that I don't give up." His winning time was an amazing 45 seconds faster than last year - on a day when the first 11 riders were faster than Rossi's winning time a year ago. Rossi was less thrilled, after starting off the front row for only the third time this season. "Our settings weren't perfect," Rossi said. "We've been struggling all weekend. The brakes had the back wheel jumping a lot - as if it was at sea. It seemed a little better towards the end, but by then it was too late." Barros generously forgave Rossi for spoiling his chances by running him wide. "It's part of racing. I would have done the same to him. There's no point dwelling on it. I made two mistakes which lost me my early advantage - but I should be happy, because this was only my second race on the four-stroke, and I have made two podium finishes." Fortuna Honda's Daijiro Kato was fifth, six seconds adrift after losing touch with the leaders by half-distance; countryman Shinya Nakano was sixth in his first ride on the Gauloises Ml Yamaha, after catching and passing a troubled Carlos Checa's similar Marlboro-backed bike as he picked up the rhythm later in the race. Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's Kenny Roberts Jr. was a frustrated four tenths behind Checa, battling the recalcitrant corner entry and exit of a machine that has improved through the year, but not enough to allow him "to ride the hell out of it and the tires." West Honda Pons' Loris Capirossi was even more frustrated to be outclassed on top speed in spite of all his efforts, and finished ninth, well clear of the next group headed by Antena 3 Yamaha's Norick Abe from a close Akira Ryo and his Suzuki, Proton rider Jeremy McWilliams (left on the start after qualifying the twostroke triple on the second row) and Kanemoto Honda's Jurgen van den Goorbergh. Telefonica MoviStar Suzuki's Sete Gibernau was a distant 14th after blowing up, his motor in morning warm-up then having trouble with the replacement that saw him run off the track in the early stages, with Red Bull Yamaha's Garry McCoy battling sliding tires but claiming the last point. American rookie John Hopkins and his Red Bull Yamaha also had Dunlop problems, falling and remounting for a disgruntled 18th, behind the similarly troubled Regis Laconi's four-stroke Aprilia; GP firsttimer Andrew Pitt was 19th and last, the Australian ex-Supersport World Champion giving the new Kawasaki its first race finish. Telefonica MoviStar Aprilia's Fonsi Nieto had announced before the 250cc race that his title hopes were now gone. Circumstances in a processional but potentially important 250cc race changed that somewhat, when points leader Marco Melandri's factory MS Aprilia slowed radically toward the end of the first lap and he cruised to the pits to retire. (Above) Biaggl got his second wln of the year in Malaysia, just after not having been re-hlred by the Yamaha team for next year. (Below) Valentino Rossi (461 had a rough start to the weekend· qualifying eighth and then having to battle with Tohru Ukawa (111. and Barros to squeak out second place. cue I _ n _ _ os • OCTOBER 23, 2002 11