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/128323
MOTOGP Round 2 May 2, 2004 I!lIIBiiiiiiI He sc ram bled back on board the orange KTM and had moved back to fifth by the finish . Steve Jenkner was second, after surviving a massive moment when he was flicked out of the saddle , ran off the track , and missed the edge of the air fence by inches. Third-placed Hector Barbera had also come back from an off-tra ck excursion in a fraught race where only 26 of 35 starters made the fi nish. MOTOGP Fears of mixed wet-and-dry conditions were allayed by steady, almost day-long rain, and the track was streaming as Gibernau led off the line , followed by Rossi, with Checa and Biaggi disputing third; Bayliss was carving through the pack at impress ive pace . By the end of lap two the Australian [Bayliss] had go ne, and Rossi was back to fifth, w ith Max third , and Barros beh ind Checa. But the re was plenty of shuffling in the spray, and the next time around Melandri was Biaggi, Gibernau and Barros celebrate. ahead of Rossi and Barros visor as well as the universal grip probbehind him, soon to start dropping away. lems, and was engaged with Edwards... Biaggi pushed and probed at Gibernau , but Hayden had by now passed them the pair of them soon starting to open up both , and with eight laps to go was less a small lead. By lap seven it was more than five seconds beh ind his former than four seconds, and they never saw Honda teammate. The next lap it was 3.7, anyone else for the rest of the race until then 2.8, then 2.0, then less than a secthey started lapping backmarkers. ond , with five laps to do something about The issue was in doubt from then on. it. By the finish he was crawling allover After half distance Biaggi upped the pressure, and when he nosed ahead at the end the numbe r 46 Gauloises Yamaha and of the back straight to lead lap 16, it even showing his front wheel. But Rossi is not seemed he might have enough in hand to easy to pass, and he never quite made it. run away. But the very next lap he ran C heca dro pped the troubled Edwards wide again, and Sete was back in front . He at the end; Roberts had bee n losing ground stayed there to the finish, bot h of them stea dily throughout, 26 seconds adrift at close to crashing a number of times as the the flag and in danger of being lapped. rain grew heavier and the puddles dee per. Naturally enough, in the cond itio ns, Even before half distance, Melandri there was drama aplenty for everybody had nailed Checa's factory Yamaha on his else. Nakano was next, only narrow ly surTech 3 machine to take third. O n lap nine viving a big slide on the last lap - the Rossi move d into fourth ahead of Chec a, Bridgesto ne w et tires not yet up to bringing Barros with him, the move giving Michelin's level. Melandr i some breathing space, and soon Fabrizio's humble Dunlop-shod WCM he too was moving clear of his rivals. By was six seconds ahead of an asto unded lap 18 he was 13 seconds behind the lead Abe at the end, having climbed to 12th by ers, but almost ten ahea d of his rivals... lap 12 before he slipped off. He kept the Barros now fourth , with Rossi five secengine running, had some difficulty swingonds be hind him. ing his leg over the high seat-tail, but reThen came the crash at the second of joined in 16th, ahead only of the soon-tothe dou ble-rights before the run back to retire Kurtis Roberts (unsure of whether the paddock area . his handling problems we re beca use of "I can't explain it," Melandri said. "I him or the bike). wasn't pushing hard , and I hadn't even "But that's the most laps I've done in a opened the throttle when the back slid row on the bike ... you have to start round ." somewhere," Roberts said. This left Barros in a safe fourth . Rossi Sadly John Hopkins was off-fo rm. had no such com fort. Checa had dropped But he wasn't finished yet. away beh ind him, tr ou bled by a fogged At undiminished pace , he 30 MAY 12,2004 • CYCLE NEWS Gibernau had a .4 second lead over Bioggi with two laps remaining and stretched it to 5.5 at the finish. closed up again on his former rivals and set about them. He surged past a fading Aoki's Pro ton, the Japanese rider's good early pace sabotaged by corner entry problems wit h too much engine braking, and also Hofmann on the same lap. Then he proceed to push the unsponsored blue bike past the factory bikes of Capirossi and Abe three laps later. He might have caught Nakano too, given a couple more laps. A mighty impressive ride, three seconds clear of Abe at the finish . Capirossi was another three behind , his bad day the result of being put off the t r a c k twice . I just wanted to finish," Capirossi said. Hoffmann complained of aquaplaning but was happy with some points for 13th; Aok i (also on Bridgesto nes) had similar pro blems, 13 more seconds away. Twenty seconds behind came a depressed Hopk ins. "I didn't feel like much of a wet rider today," Hopkins said. " I lost my confidence when the bike threw me off three times at Le Mans last year." But with only 15 finishers, he was still in the points. Byrne highsided out on the first lap; Bayliss fell on the second , and Xaus a little later. McWilliams retired his Aprilia with terminal grip pro blems, having bucked the trend and chosen a hard rear tire . Tamada was never in the hunt at all, dr opping to the back, pitt ing for a tire change, re-joining then retiring again; Kurtis Roberts pulled in halfway throug h, Hod gson st o ppe d o n the track w ith "mechanical problems" after a fi ne ride . In the champions hip Gibernau leads Biaggi 41 points to 40; Rossi has 38; then come Barros (29), Hayden (22) and Edwards ( 18). 250 GRAN D PRIX Att rition in the early laps ro bbed the race of a fair amount of excitemen t... Rolfo did " BY the end , Roberto Rolfo went wire to wire in the 250 Grand Prix for the victory.