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
more slow, in some parts I was more fast. I find one po int where it is pos sible to overtake. I know at the end I just need to not make any small mistakes for me and arrive like this ." Rossi and Biaggiwere the only two riders at the front after Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Sete Gibernau developed traction troubles and lost touch by about the 10th of 28 laps. "At the beginning I was capable of running with the guys, but I knew from qual ifying that we were not going to be able to do the whole race," Gibernau said . The Span iard left the fight to the Italians, and it was fierce. Biaggi took the lead on the seventh lap then had to wait until the 23 rd to get it back again. Rossi was in front on the 26th with a pass in penultimate corner, a looping right , then ran wide, forcing Biaggi out wide as well. Biaggi couldn't answer back, knowi ng that final section of the track was his worst. "I knew all weekend we tried to fix t he last part of the track, the T-4, but I have a lo t of chatter," he said. '" know fo r me was very bad in this part. Rossi was much more fast over there. In that place he always take some advantage." Biaggi pressed to the finish , co m ing up .2 1 of a second short. Rossi completed the race in a new record speed of 101.02 mph, topping the previous average of I00 .2S I that was set by Gibernau in winning last year's race. ':-\gain for me, the race, in one word, is perfect because start in the first position, make a great rhythm, make a great battle with Max [Biaggi), and at the end I am first ," Rossi said . " Is incre d ible. I want to say thank you, especially to my mechanics, myoid mechanics. For sure without Jeremy Burgess and the rest of the team I'm not in first place. Now I thank Yamaha for the big effort." Biaggi's second was nearly as impressive as Rossi's win. The Italian is often criticized fo r riding like a 250cc rider, that he's not ab le to control t he bike once the (Right) Rossi gets a face full of cha mpagne a fter doing w hat no t ma ny thought he could· winning in his firs t race on the Yamaha M1. Briefly... Telefonica MoviStarHonda honored the late D aij iro Ka to with a minute of silence in their garage one year after his death . The risingJapanese star died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash on the second lap of the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The 2003 South African GP followed the Japanese round, and Telefonica's Sete Gibemau scored an emotional win, his first of the year and first ever on a fourstroke. For the first time ever. no motorcycle with the number "I " can be found in the GP paddock. Valentino Rossihas long chosen to run the nu m ber 46 on the prow of his machine,this year a Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha MI . Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Dani Pedrosa moved from to the 2SOcc class after winning the 12SccWorld Championship. And 2SOcc World Champion Manuel Poggialiretained the number 54 on his MSApriliateam R5250. Marlboro Ducati's Loris Ca piross i said in the pre-race press conference that the bikes had gotten too fast. His Desmosedici turned over 215 mph in a preseason test , a quantum leap over last year's best. The Italian said fans want close racing rather than outright top speed. Dorna CEO Carmela Ezpeleta said they were aware of the problems the issue placed on racetracks . The Jerez circuit spent 1.5 million euros to upgrade the track last year but can't be expected to spend that much every year. Ezpeleta named a number of venues Catalunya, Bmo, Mugello- allof which increased safety. But he said they should have a period of stabilitywhere expensive changes aren't necessary yearly. The MSMA, which includes all the major factories, is tryingto make sure that there's no increase in perfonnance. "We cannot continue to increase speed and performance," Ezpeleta said. Two of the options available are reducing capacity and adding we ight. Ezpeleta said the first stop comes next year when the capacity of the gas tanks on the MotoGP machines is reduced from 24 liters to 22. But a senior Honda engineer said the change would be irrelevant. "We are ready," he said. The fuel consumption will be the same or better because the manufacturers have one year to develop the machine. "If they decide on new regulation, we can do that. Any style is possible. No particular opinion. Just follow the regulation." Willthere be a 2005 So uth African GP? No one knows if the five-year-old race will continue. Before the first rider landed in South Africa, news of the financial problems between race organizers and Doma were made public. There was chatter that the race wouldn't go on, but it was on the schedule and had to, according to Doma boss Carmela Ezpeleta. But the future of the race was in doubt and stillis. On Friday, the track issued a press release stating: "The possibilityof the cont inuation of the MotoGP at Phakisa Raceway in South Africa is stillon the cards." It went on to say there were discuss ions between Dorna and the Continued on page '5 www.cycienEWs.com CYCLE NE WS • APRIL 28,2004 13