Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

er. 50cc class' relatively recent curse - of having one dominant rider spoiling the races - seemed set to continue when factory Aprilia rider "Ouclrti 00 Double Tops at Jerez Sensation' - the headlines said It aU. Three races into the season, and the Desmosedici's hugely impressive start in MotoOP got even more impressive. Loris Capirossi was on pole, Troy Bayliss all but knocked him off but for a small sUp on his fast lllp, llOd with a little bit of help from the pair of Camel Hondas, they even knocked Valentino Rossi and fltS1:-day fastest man Sete Olbemau onto the second row. Both days of practice took place in blazing heat that reduced grip in the timed afternoon sessions so that qualifying times were slower than last year by eight tenths - although the cooler morning sessions SllW the fastest-ever times, with Rossi dipping below the 1:42 mark for the fastest-ever lap. There were a number of crashes, aI5o, including two for Bayliss and Alex Barros, as well as Tohru Ukawa, Max Biaggl, John Hopkins, Andrew Pitt, Ollvitr Jacque and several others in all classes. Poshions, as ever, depended on hundredths of a second. The front row was covered by .275 af a second, Rossi was fifth just another two hundredths slower, and the first 13 riders were within one second of pole. Capirossl was bllbbling bver with enthusiasm with Ducati's first pole. "This is a special day" Capirossi said. "['m an Italian rider on an italian bike. We have worked hard with fine tuning the chassis, but once again we have confirmed the performance of our machine.' Bayliss ended up just a hundredth behind and was typically matter-of-fact. "I didn't think we'd do that good," Bayliss said. "We spent the session messing about with race tires, then as soon as we stuck in a soft rear· bang: we did some good laps. We're looking okay on race setup, but 1I0t spectacular." His front row was completed by Biaggi's production Honda and Ukawa's factory bike, the Italian moving up the order in the later stages after a slow start, chasing a confident front wheel feeling. ·We made it a lot better today•• Biaggi said. while Okawa was happy with his fastest-eYe' Jerez lap on his spare bike, after his spill. RossI was under pn!BSW'e again, not far off pole but ItIII off !he 6'ont lOW for the tnt time this year. A series d real the momIag proved he was stBI!he man to bee&, and he blamed traIIic an his last lap _ his IlnaI position. acIding tblIt they be stiR had some pr0blems. "bat IlClChklg like yes1leldey. The main ttlIng is Iryklg to fiDd tnIdIon, but I hope that is the _ for ~.' he SlIicI. South African GP winner and factory bike fIrsttimer Sete Qlbemau was next to him. He'd been fastest on the first dey but failed. to improve QO the "I'm doing It on grip." Roberts saiq, able to exploit a higher corner speed wl\l!n the track was codIer. ".But ! can only do it for two laps before the tir!s go." He dropped away in the final session, ending up 17th after failing to improve his time; but Hopkins went the other way, on his second machine after the favored bike with a new, stiffer chassis gave persistent engine llOd gearbox problems. "I went out with soft tires and found I was four seconds behind Rossi,' he said. "ThIU gave me something to aim at.' Even more remarkable was Nobuatsu AokI, alongside him on the two-stroke Proton, almost 10 mph down in straightllne speed. but simply flying everywhere else. He gave credit to the Bridgestone tires and the handling of the chassis. "The setup is better than 100 percent," he said. The best Yamaha was Olivier Jacque's, in a down-beat ninth, with Carlos Checa's slmllar bike alongside, then Colin Edwards on the Aprllia, overcoming electronic problems on day one with a onesecond improvement on the second. "The most important thing was to find the right balance between traction and handling. but I think we're okay now,' Edwards said. Brldgestone.shod Tamada was alongside on the Pramac HOllda - a gritty performance for the Jerez first-timer after he, too, had crashed. Shinya Nakano led row four from Jeremy McWilliams on the second Proton, a troubled Barros, and injury victim Marco Melandri. A disgruntled Roberts [eft the track straight after the final session after dropping away to the front of row five: Mechanics later found a setup glitch that had left him with serious rear grip problems. Nonyukl Haga was alongside, Ni<:ky Hayden battling to pick up the pace was next. then Andrew Pitt on the best of the three Kawasakis, with wild card Alex Hofmann next, and former OP winner Oarry McCoy 22nd and last. MOTOGP The action was furious in the opening laps, with Bayliss leading briefly but giving way to Capirossi and Gibernau by the end of the first lap, with the fastaway Hopkins' Suzuki fourth and Rossi behind Biaggi and Checa. Several minor collisions or near misses shuffled the pack behind them, with Aoki getting the worst of it, dropping right to the back after starting from the second row. Hayden also had a smack at the first corner, bending his brake lever around to make his Repsol Honda even more of a handful. The champion - Rossi - was in no mood for waiting around and pushed "'in second. ·It would be good to be up front. but it doesn't really make much diIfeIence; Olbemau said. "The limes are so dose. I spent today gettklg to know the bike better llOd working on race setup," ...... -."... Hopkins was alongside. in what was something of a tumarouncI in fortunes for the SuzukI in a weekend of surprises fO!' the so-far troubled machine. Kenny Roberts Jr. had been significantly fastest in the first free training llOd was quick the next moming, too. through the melee in determined style to take second on lap two. cue • Manuel Poggiali took the lead on the fourth of 27 laps and started to pull away. Far from it. Aprilia's Randy de Puniet closed him back down again, and Fortuna Honda's Robbie Rolfo came along, too, with Australian Anthony West and his Aprilia joining the party for a while and even moving to third before succumbing to sliding tires. But it wasn't over yet, and the crowd went wild as young charger Toni Elias braved the pain of his left hand injury to come charging through on his Repsol Honda, closing down a five-second gap then emerging victorious after a breathtaking last lap when the lead changed hands three times. Rolfo was second, then De Puniet and Poggiali, with West staying ahead of Seb Porto's Honda for fifth. Lucio Cecchinello won a close 125cc race, regaining the lead he held for much of the race by inches from fellow Aprilia riders Steve Jenkner and Alex de Angelis. Local hero Dani Pedrosa and his Honda had been with the leading group, but he and Stefano Perugini lost touch in the closing stages, finishing a second adrift. Jenkner was the hero of the race, finishing lap one out of the top 10, then forging through to close on the leaders in the closing stages. Now-and-then early leader Pablo Nieto retired at the end of the ninth of 23 laps. I • n • _ S • MAY 21, 2003 19

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