Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

do it." He was less than two tenths some sort of fuel delivery problem. [JDG!J[JiJj]@@[? {0t[J [J1@[? !i3DCfJ@fll_D "I got alongside Checa every lap, adrift at the finish. but never far enough to close the _ McWilliams was next, after going door on him," McWilliams said later. backward for the last five laps, suffer- Hayden was going great guns, ing almost terminal fuel delivery however, and as the end of the race problems after a blinding race. approached, he got past Ukawa and "The engine was going wrong from The shortest track of the year frequently lays on surprises. Nobody expected this, however. With less than ten minutes of the final session to go, veteran Ulsterman Jeremy was leaning on Capirossi. With seven the start, but by the end it was almost McWilliams fitted his two-stroke three-cylinder Proton KR with a soft rear Bridgestone and laps left, Melandri finally succumbed unrideable; I almost pulled in," he went out to set a pole time fully half a second faster than everyone else, all jammed up to the pressure, sliding off and out said. close together. The obsolete SOD, pulled out of mothballs for one more race, had beaten after a missed gearshift. the best of the MotoGP monsters. Tamada was next on the Pramac As it transpired, it was not to be. In an uncanny repetition of what happened in 1998, This left Capirossi and Hayden Honda, battling confidence and tracwhen Kenny Roberts Junior's Modenas KR3 was nudged off pole by the smallest of marbattling for fourth; the rookie got tion all weekend but picking his way gins by Max Biaggi, the same rider did the same thing. This time, the margin was just two ahead of the Ducati on the 29th lap. thousandths, and it was Biaggi's 54th career pole. through from a bad start. He was four "Somebody told me I'd better not go near the Proton pit," joke Biaggi. "When I saw The experienced former World Chamseconds clear of Edwards, who was McWilliams's lap, I didn't think it was possible, but Michelin gave me a really good tire, pion reversed the position again on troubled with oil leaks on his spare and I pushed as hard as I could." the last lap, but it was still a brilliant Biaggi was using the revised chassis for a second race, this time with two in the bike, after crashing his number one garage. race for Hayden. machine with the new chassis in "Honda's policy is not to have adjustment in the chassis, but this second one is a bet"I'll take fifth," he said. "In the last morning warm-up. ter basis for me," he said. corners I rode a little too conservaMcWilliams remained delighted to be second. Roberts was another four seconds "Some people see bringing out the two-stroke as a backward step, but it's a lot of fun tive, and Capirossi just snuck by. But behind after succumbing to McCoy, just riding round, and it's a big boost for the whole team's morale," he said. "We know this it was a really fun race - the best I've then getting ahead again in the closbike so well that there's nothing much to do - just get the jetting right." had all year and really something to He had been worried at a lack of tire development for the two-stroke, but it turned out ing stages as the Kawasaki rider's build on. When I get behind these that Bridgestone's latest four-stroke rear worked well enough for him to improve on his tires started to slide. last-year's lap time by an amazing 2.3 seconds. guys at these new tracks, I pick up so "I was getting big two-wheel drifts Loris Capirossi put in a lIyer in the final session to put the Ducati on the front row much. It's a big help. And it's nice to even going into the turns," McCoy again, third fastest. and three tenths down on McWilliams. get out there and just charge the "We know our bike is fast, but this proves we can be fast wherever we go," he beamed. said. "It was really greasy and pretty Like everybody else, he was concemed with the importance of a good grid position. whole way." scary. " Overtaking opportunities through the constant twists are few and far between. Ukawa was two seconds back at Roberts was as philosophical as he Valentino Rossi was less than a tenth down for (remarkably) his first-ever front-row the end, narrowly fending off Nakano start at the Sachsenring. could be. "We've done okay, but we still have a few things to find out tomorrow," he said. These to the finish. Checa had dropped "I can't use any of my ability to included rear tire choice. "I put on a soft tire at the end... but we went too soft," he away at the end, battling as ever with explained. . setup and feel. Jacque had been Until McWilliams and Biaggi upped the pace, times had been uJtraciose, and from third with the gang but dropped away by Italian Roberto Rolfo (31 earned his to 15th places were inside one second in a frantic battle not to drop off down the grid and first career 250cc Grand Prix victory get caught up in the almost inevitable melee as the bikes funnel into the first tight comer. two seconds at the end. On the Sete Gibemau led row two, less than a tenth down on Rossi, saying: "Even though I after a race-long battle with Ranely de cool-down lap, he stopped to do a lost the front row, we worked well today." Puniet (7). In the end, de Puniet was burnout, only to be highsided. Then came Troy Bayliss, riding in typically spectacular style and surviving a slide-off displaced one spot fur'ther by Fonsl on the first day on the Marlboro Ducati; then Carlos Checa and Tohru Ukawa, all as close Roberts, watching from close Nieto, who finished second. as you like. Carlos Checa was top Yamaha, at a track that has hitherto favored the brand. Nobuatsu Aoki led row three on the second Proton, after his spare bike had arrived . .-------------~~!'III~I.I!~!!iiiii!!i1ll~iii. (from Iran! - see Briefly... ) only midway through the second day of qualifying. He followed McWilliams for his fast lap, vaulting from 22nd to ninth and ahead of the Yamahas of Shinya Nakano, the injured Alex Barros and Marco Melandri. Fireball Colin Edwards led the next row from Kenny Roberts Jr. (a second faster from day one to two} and Nicky Hayden, with wild card Norick Abe slotting in to spoil the all-American feel. He was one of only four not to improve on day two, after crashing his only bike early in the final session. Then came Noriyuki Haga, a dismayed Olivier Jacque, a bemused Makado Tamada - hunting for frontwheel confidence - and Garry McCoy, who also failed to improve after an impressive start· saw him as nigh as J5th on day one, thanks to a new Dunlop rear and some Kawasaki chassis changes. By the end, wild card Alex Hofmann was right on his heels on his Kwacker and might even have gotten ahead if he hadn't crashed in the final session, losing time and reducing himself to just one bike. John Hopkins was 22nd, also failing to cut his time - "We've been making some big setting changes, but we were just chasing our tails," he said. Then came rookie Kiyonari, crasher Pitt, and de Gea, on the aged WCM Roc Yamaha. His teammate Chris Burns pulled out after the first day, pain from his Donington collarbone break proving too much to bear. he dived inside under braking for the first corner. Experience suggested that Rossi had let him through, because for the about to accept defeat. Both struggled with slides, but Rossi's carried him wider at the rest of the race he was looming over exit from the last cor- Gibernau's shoulder and often coming alongside. It looked as though he ner, and he had to hold off the throttle to avoid was playing with him and waiting for going onto the grass. It was enough behind, said: "Watching that is the ride the bike," he said. "The rider the last lap. for Gibernau to inch alongside and win. only fun I've had all weekend." can't make much difference - the bike is at the limit at the moment." This last part was true, but it was Bayliss had been alone since the no game. Rossi was at the limit. breathtaking. Rossi moved to the departure of Biaggi. Behind him, Melandri had been determinedly left on the fast right at the top of the track's roller-coaster downhill delaying the pursuit. At half distance he had Capirossi, Checa, Ukawa, plunge, igot a better drive down Hayden, Nakano and McWilliams in a big pack behind him. Checa was losing places, to Hayden on lap 17 The last-lap showdown was Norick Abe was a close 10th, fending off a determined Aoki, whose Alex Hofmann's Kawasaki was hard tire was working rather better as 17th. He was a 10th ahead of Kiy- the race wore on. As with McWilliams and Checa, the Proton was regularly just a tenth or two behind the Yama- onari. Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki) and David de Gea (WCM Roc Yamaha) were a lap down. Others to crash out ha every time they crossed the line, were Nori Haga, on the eighth lap, and the battling Alex Barros at half distance. Hopkins' Suzuki expired on and to Nakano one lap later. Now he but Aoki also wasn't quite able to overtake. "I tried, because I could see he was But it was flawed. He was too tight had his hands full with McWilliams, having trouble with his front tire," Rossi still has a huge points lead - on the entry, and Gibernau was not but the Proton rider was suffering said Aoki. "Unfortunately, I couldn't 187 to new second-place man Giber- the hill and was in front as he took a tight line into the penultimate lefthander. He had the line, and the lead. cue' e lap seven in a cloud of smoke. n e 'IN S • AUGUST 6, 2003 11

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