World Championship Road Race Series
Round 5: Gran Premio Cinzano O'italia
By MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE
It's an Italian slugfest at Mugella
MaGELLO, ITALY, JaNE 8
] t was a very Italian Grand Prix.
There may have been other heroes
emerging this year, but at Mugello the
unholy trio - Valentino Rossi, Loris
Capirossi and Max Biaggi - once
again claimed the MotoGP class as
their own. The added fillip for 73,000
sun-baked fans was that one of the
motorcycles was also Italian.
Capirossi's Ducati had already set
the highest-ever recorded top speed
in qualifying. Now the little rider with
the big horsepower figures went even
faster, clocking 206 mph in the race
as he scrapped for the lead, overcoming wild slides, fighting back
from near disaster, and banging fairings as he chased Rossi all the way to
the finish. He looked as though he
was in serious tire trouble, on a softer
rear than the rest - but in fact he set
fastest lap (just short of a record) on
the 20th lap.
Rossi's Repsol Honda did win, but
it was only by 1.4 seconds, with
third-place Biaggi only dropping
away slightly in the closing stages.
"That was a great show for the
everybody, but also for the riders,"
said Rossi afterwards. "To see all the
crowd on the hill at Mugello is a very
great emotion."
A sweat-drenched Capirossi was
also cock-a-hoop.
"This is fantastic. It feels as
good as a win," he said.
(Above) The start of the MotoGP race
saw Loris Capirossi (65) get the
holeshot and lead the first four laps of
the race, ahead of the pursuing
masses.
(Right) Valentino Rossi quickly fought
back from his poor start from pole
position to take his third win of
the year in front of his adoring
Italian fans.
30
JUNE
18, 2003'
cue
I e
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He had seesawed to and fro, the
top speed of the Ducati close to
breathtaking, but the bike sliding
through the twists. It took him several
attempts to repass Biaggi after a big
slide had dropped him back - he
would pass on speed at the end of the
straight, only for Biaggi to take it
back two or three corners later. They
collided once.
Biaggi was only narrowly defeated
and said: "I had chances and took
them whenever I could, and I fought
as hard as I could. Races are for winning, but I am happy to be on the
podium.
The air was thick with all Italian
hero-worship, but the day brought
forth another new star: GP rookie and
Mugello first-timer Makoto Tamada,
riding the Pramac Honda. The exWorld Superbike winner had made
a bad start from the third row of
the grid and finished the first lap
down in 18th. From then on he
