Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Ke nny Robe rts Jr. (1 0) ran inside the t op ten and ev entually finished In 11th. E lia s , of th e Team Repsol Te le fo nic a MoviStar Aprilia team, a ttacked on th e final lap, br iefl y taki ng th e lead in the s ec o n d turn , only to run wide on th e exit and allow de Pu niet back in fro nt. Th a t wou ld be his la st c ha nce, as d e Pun ie t beat him to the line by tw o bik e leng th s , offic ially .0 7 2 of a second. Th e fina l champ ionship standings s how Poggiali with 249 points, Ro lfo 14 b a c k , and Elias th ird wit h 226 . C a s e y Sto n e r won his fir s t -ever 125cc Gr and Prix . The 18 -year -o ld Australian beat Stev e Je nk ner and He c to r Barbe ra in a th rillin g last-lap smackdown. On the final tour, Barbera trie d to p a s s S to n e r. b ut th e Safilo Ox y d oLC R A p r ilia rider k ne w B a r b e r a couldn 't make it around th e o utside in the la st co rn e r. Stoner ke pt a tight lin e , and when Barbera faile d to make the corner, S to ner s ped to th e fla g. "It is a fa nta stic fee ling to win this last race of th e yea r," Stoner sa id . "I have been waiting a long time for this victory . and it feel s very good . The race wa s very ha rd . and when I was leading, I knew 1 had some speed left if I needed it for the last lap ." The race came d own to the last of 24 laps . The S pa niard Barbera ran wide while tryi ng too hard a nd fell to thi rd, with Je nkner s econd, after a last la p mistake , . 2 6 8 of a s econd back . Spaniard Dan i P edrosa h ad wrapped up th e title with a win tw o ra c e s ago in Mal a ysia ; he th en broke both ankles and a tib ia in a c ras h during th e 125c c race in Au stra lia tw o we e k s a go . T h e Cl in ica Mob ile d o c to rs said it wo uld b e th ree to fou r m onth s before h e cou ld ride aga in. Pe d ro sa fini s hed the seaso n with 223 p o in t s , 5 7 mo re tha n A lex de Angelis, a nonfinisher today. Ba rb e ra moved into th ird with his th ird -pl ace CN finish. Mali ora Community 01ValenciaG rand Prix Valencia, Spain Results: November Z. 2003 [Round 16J 1 2 5 QUA LIFYIN G : 1. A lex de A ng e lis (1:40.4 40) : 2 . Pablo N ieto ( 1:40 .55 1) : 3 . Mar co Simoncelli ( 1:4 0 .599 ); 4 . Hector Ba rbera ( 1:4 0. 723 ); 5 . Andrea Dovlzioso ( 1:40. 802 ); 6 . Stefano Perugini ( 1:40 .91 1); 7 . Alvaro Bautista ( 1:4 1. 120 ); 8 . Casey Ston er ( 1:41. 2 10) ; 9 . Gino Borso i ( 1:41.354) ; 10. M ika Ka lli o ( 1:4 1.4 5 7); 11 . Mirko Gian sa nt i ( 1:41.59 0): 12. Amaud Vincent ( 1:4 1.606); 13. Steve Jenkner (1 :41. 642) ; 14, Robbi n Harm s ( 1:41. 862 ); 15 . Lucio Cecchinello (1:41.875); 16. Youichi Ui (1 :41.946 ) : 17. J o rg e L or enzo ( 1:4 2 . 056) ; lB . Rob ert o Locat elli ( ) :42 .1 46) ; 19 . F ab ri zio L e l p oggiali won the 250cc champi onship in his rookie year with four wins. Aauma ( 6 4 ) ; 17 . Gino Bor soi (5 4) ; 18 . Arna ud Vi nce nt (3 9 ) ; 19 . Sim on e Co rsi ( 32); 20 . (T IE) Alvaro & utistli/Ma rcO Simoncelli (3 1). 250 Q(JALIF YING : 1. Randy de Pun iet (I :36.499 ); 2. Toni Elia s (I :36 .590) ; 3. Syl vain Guintoli (1:36.647) ; 4. Manuel Pog9iali (1 :36 .735 ); 5. Alex Deb an ( 1:3 7 . 2 2 1); 6 . F ran c e B et t ein i (1 :3 7. 3 27 ): 7. Fon s! Ni eto ( 1:3 7. 7 1 1); 8 . Naoki Matsudo ( 1:3 7.875); 9 . Sebasti an Porto ( 1:38.028) ; 10 . Roberto Rolfo ( 1:3 8. 110 ); I t. Hector Faubel (1 :38.3 13 ); 12. Eric Batalll e ( 1:38.468); 13. Anth ony West ( 1:38. 586 ); 14. Jaroslav Hules ( 1:38 .744) ; 15. Chez Davies (1 :38 .850); 16. Jakub Smrz ( 1:38.935); 17 . Erwan N igon ( 1:3 9. 05 9); 18 . D irk He idolf (1 : 39 . 11 2); 19 . Rad om i l Ro us ( 1:3 9. 3 34 ) ; 20 . Christian Gemm el ( I :3 9. 38 2); 21 . Johan Stigefelt ( I :39.4B9) ; 22 . J oan Olive ( I :39 .49 8) ; 23 . Hug o Marchand ( 1:39.731 ); 24 . Alex Baldolini ( 1:39 .887) ; 25 . Luka s Pesek ( 1:4 0. 04 0 ); 26 . Alvaro Moli na ( 1:40.098) ; 27 . Henk van der Laqemeet ( 1:4 1.656); 2B. Patrick Lakerv eld ( I :42.534 ). 250 GP: I. Randy de Puniet (Apr); 2. Toni Elias (Apr) ; 3. Manuel Poggiali (Apr); 4 . Sylvain Guintoli (Apr): 5. Fonsi Nieto (Apr) ; 6. Sebestte n Porto (Hon); 7. Roberto Rolfo (Hon ); 8 . Franco Berte ini (Apr); Here are the 2003 World Champions: (fro m left) Manue l Poggia li in the 250cc c lass, Va le nt ino Rossi in MotoGP, and Danie l Pedrosa In t he 125cc class. ( 1:42.2 16) ; 20 . Thomas Luthi ( 1:42.286) ; 21. Gabor Telrn ecsl ( 1:42.335) ; 22 . Julian Simon (1 :42 .398) ; 23 . Stefano Bianco ( I :42.430 ); 24 . Mllx Sebbatani ( 1:42 .452 ); 25 . Mike di Meglio ( 1:42.54 3) ; 26 . Imre Toth ( 1:42.55 1); 27. Manuel Hernandez ( 1:42 .827); 28. Em ilio Alae mo ra (I :42.996 ); 29 . Sergio Gedee (1 :43 .09 8) ; 30. Dar io Giu sepp ett i ( I :43. 29 6 ); 31. Ma sao Azu ma ( 1:4 3. 4 20 ) ; 3 2 . A ndrea B all er tn ! ( I :43.426); 33. Simone Corsi (I :43 .445) ; 34. David Bonache ( 1:44 .590 ); 35 . Ismael Ortega ( 1:44 .745); 36 . Gioele Pellino ( I :4 5. 123 ); 3 7. Michele Danese ( I :45.780). t 25 GP: I. Casey Stoner (Apr); 2. Steve Jenkner (Apr); 3 . Hector Barbera (Apr); 4. Marco Simoncelli (Apr); 5 . Mirko Giansanti (A pr); 6 . Alvaro Beut iste ( Apr) ; 7 . Pablo Niet o (Apr) ; 8 . Andrea Dovizioso (Hon) ; 9. Lucio Cecchinello (A pr); 10 . Gino Borsoi (Apr); 11. Jorge Lorenzo (Oer); 12. Gabor Telrn a cs l (Apr); 13. Stefano Perugini (Apr); 14. Robbin Harms (A pr); 15. Masao Azuma (Han); 16. Mllx Sebbe te nl (Apr): 17. Roberto Locatelli (KTM ); 18. Fabrizio La! (Mal) ; 19 . J ulian Simon (M al) ; 20. Sergio Ged ee (Apr) ; 21. Stefano Banco (Gil ); 22 . Im re Toth (Apr) ; 23 . lsm e e l Ortega ( Apr) ; 24 . Emilio Alze mora (Der). Time: 40 min. 27.66 2 sec. Distance: 24 laps, 60 .1 miles Average speed: 88 .572 mph. Mllrgin of victory: 0.268 sec. 125 WORLD C'SH IP POINTS STANDINGS ( After 16 of 16 rounds): 1. Dani Pedrosa (223/5 wins);ยท 2. Alex de Angelis ( 166); 3. Hector Barb era (164 /2); 4. Stefano Perugini (16 2/ 2) ; 5. Andrea Dovlzloso ( 157); 6. Steve Jenkn er ( 151/1); 7. Pablo Nieto (148/1); 8. Casey Stoner ( 125/1); 9. Lucio Cecchinello ( 112/1); 10 . Mlrko Giansanti (93 ): 11. Mika Klillia (88) ; 12. Jorge Lorenzo (79/1): 13. Youichi Ui (76) ; 14. Gebor Talm acsi (70 ); 15. Thomas Luthi (68); 16. Ma sllo T VALEN Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden had a goal this weekend: He wanted to be first in a session; warm -up. practice, qualifying, it didn't matter. And it was an achievable goal because it's a track that suits him. "I feel really comfortable on this track," Hayden said after qualifying fourth fastest. on the front row for the first time in his rookie MotoGP career. It was a track he first visited a year ago this weekend as a spectator the n retumed to a month later for his first European test of the Honda RC-21IV. "It's kind of like a little bit tight. It pays to be aggressive." Having qualified second on the provisional grid to teammate Valentino Ross i on friday , Hayden took a shot with his next chance, Saturday's free practice , an d he hit the mark . His lap of I :33.797 was best of the session and a more accurate reflection 01 race pace tha n Sa turday's qualifying tire-assisted times . f ortun a Yamaha's Carlos Checa was second, .193 of a second back, with Rossi third, .3 16 beh ind Hayden . "It' s the last race of the yea r, so definitely don't want to hold anything back and go for it," Hayden sa id. "The last few races things ha ve just been going better and better. , put a lot of pressure on myse lf to do good here at the end of the year . , knew the seaso n was ticking away fast. Before it's over, I wanted to get so me good results." Final qua lifying was next, and Hayden had the confidence to aim for the front row. Second from the sta rt by virtue of fri day's performance. Hayden spent the heart of the cool and breezy Saturday afternoon session testi ng race tires . With time running out, he made his final push . Des pite a small mistake in the final comer sequence, he ca me in fourth, though he could have been second. "I just made a little mistake, and that's just how it is," Hayden sa id of the final-tums gaffe. "It wasn 't going to be a lot better time ." His ideal time , projected from the earlier intervals, would have been .3 of a second faster, a time that would have put him second on the grid. "The TI [interval] was fastest, the T2 and D . The last one I lost like three -tenths from my best lap , and the ideal time was 33.0 [under the 1:33.148 tumed by second-fastest Sete Gibemau and his Telefonica MoviStar Honda]. My fault. No excuses. Part of doing a qua lifying lap is pushing , and I just made a mistake." Most of the hour was taken up with race tires , though the times were consistent and fast, a harbinger of things to come, he hopes. "I actually improved my time from yesterday," Hayden said. "My long run was actually 16 laps. So that was a big part." Then he waited to the end with his final qualifier and landed at the end of the front row. Hayden hadn't planned on going to the front-row press conference, thinking they might only take the top three. But he got the call and beamed through the entire proceedings. "I actu ally did one qualifier and went a bit better, ca me in and got my last one, and I went better, but it wasn 't quite good enough," he said. "Stayed on the front row, which was goo d. I definitely wanted to be on the front row th is weekend. It was a goal of mine. This moming, too , to be fastest in the session, it didn't really count moming practice.. But it was kind of one of my goa ls this weekend . I didn't care; warm-up, qualifying, or whatever, I just wanted at the end to be quickest. I've been every position, second, fourth , lot of 12ths, lot of sixes, so it was good to be fourth." Hayden refiected on a season of mostly ups and very few downs . He started well with a pa ir of sevenths then fell back and took several races to get going. The final part of the season has been one of constant improvement. "It hasn't .been easy," he said. "It's been tough . A few times this yea r, I've tho ught, 'Man, what have I got into?' Now it's coming good. And obviously I'v e got a 'g reat tea m behind me and all the sponso rs who gave me an opportunity and let me leam. And everybody wanted to know, 'When, when are you going to do something?' I just basically sa id, 'When it feels right. When everyth ing comes together , when I feel good on the bike. Tires.' I believe in myself a nd hoped I'd be up here with the front guys. Hopefully just kee p working hard and improve every day. Hope to be up here talking to you guys tomorrow." c u e ' ... n eVIl' s NOVEMBER 12. 2003 11