Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128321
By H ENNY RAy ABRAMS PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE ayback is he ll. Gau lo ises Fort una Yamaha's Valentino Rossi got revenge on his former employers with a brilliant, hard -foug ht victory ov e r a slew of Ho nd as in his Yamaha de but be fore a cr owd of over 45,00 0 in t he season-opening betandwin.co m Africa's Grand Prix at the Phakisa Raceway. The win was historic for any numbe r of reasons and declared his greatest eve r by no less than Rossi himself. "I think this was the best race of my caree r," Rossi said after emerging victorious in a pitched , race-long battle with old rival Max Biaggi and his Camel Honda. "It is a surp rise for us, for everybody I think, P 12 and difficu lt to explain the emotion." So caught up in em otion was the Gauloises Fortu na Y amaha rider that he pulled off the track on the cool-down lap to co mpose himself. Then he got up, kissed the prow of the w inning machine and began the celeb ration - wheelies, burnouts and champagne for starters. It was richly deserved. "I have a different emotion in that respec t than normal," he said. "Normally when you w in the race, you are very, very happy. But this time is a little bit different so I stop one secon d with the bike ." Rossi made the surp rise defe ct ion from Honda , where he'd won the previous three premier class world titles (the first in 5OOcc, then two in MotoG P) afte r the end of the 2003 race season . Honda refused to release him from his cont ract, which meant he couldn't test the strug- APRi l 28 , 2004 • CYCLE NEWS gling MI until several weeks into the new year. Making up for lost time, he and the crew he brought over from the Repsol Honda squad, led by crew chief Jeremy Burgess, had a crash course in motorcycle developmen t, wh ipping the underachieving M I into shape in less than three months. When the race was complete, Rossi had beco me the fi rst rider ever to win back-to-back races in the premier class w ith two different manufacture rs. Burgess' joining Yamaha was the key to success, Rossi said, and th e genial Australian was quietly satisfied. "Pro bably the biggest job I've ever done ," said Burgess, the power behind Mick Doo han's five 500cc titles, of transforming the MI. "Without the guys, it would have been impossible. It would have taken just so much longer. More to the point, them wanting to come was the 40th Anniversary The first MotoGP of the season gets under way in South Africa, and Valentino Rossi (46) leads the way over Sete Gibernau (15), Max Biaggi (3) and the rest of the screaming four-stroke pack. (Right) Rossi (46) and Biaggi (3) baHled for the entire distance, with Rossi earning the victory. biggest plus." Fast in every session all weekend, the only rema ining question on Sunday morningwas race distance. The concerns were about tire wear, and they came to noth ing. The tire started to move after seven , eight laps, normal for the Michelin rear. ''After the middle of the race , [the tire) stay constant," Rossi said. "Very much movement in the corners, but more or less she stay with me. Some part I was