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/128325
MOTOGP - Ca rlo s Checa (7) was on aweso me form at La Mons, running at the front all weekend. Here he leads Sete Gibernau (partially hidden), Bia99i (partially hid · d e n ), Rossi (hidden) and Colin Edwa rds (4 5) early in the race. Round 3 May 16, 2004 By MICHAEL Scon PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE T ~: Ho ov second win in championship It was also soaked spectat between the qualifier Gibe r the 12th of 2 Fortun a Yamah ' Camel Hond a' Max Biaggi was y now gaining speed, hile Gaulolses Yo aha' s Valentino Rossi was trying his hardest to stay with the t o . Gibemau was 1.6 seconds c1ea at the finish, the next three covered by just 2.6 seconds , in spite of getting somewhat split by a trio of batt ling backmarkers in the last tight come rs. Checa was seco nd, Biaggi third, and Rossi fourt h. The crowds sawall but the fault-free Gibe rnau survive mistakes: Checa running wide to lose the lead, Biaggi running across the curbs at the first chicane, Rossi run ning wide once and also cutting the chicane at the ot her en d of the lap, as well 32 before the return of the salety car. W hat they didn't see was the controversy after the race . The rules clearly state that at that point of the start procedure, on ly o ne mechanic is allowed to he lp, and if a rider cannot st art his machine with this help , he must go direct- UWe a right Horlicks of that - we didn't have; the front fork settings right so Valentino could brake deep and attack in the race. We'll probably fix that in half an hour in tomorrow's tests." - Jeremy Burgess sta lled - he blamed "a bad feeling with the new electronics." O ne, then two, then eventually fou r mech anics rushed onto th e grid, with even IRTA boss Mike Trimby joining the panic-stricke n party afte r Rossi had failed to bump-start the Yamaha. The n they deployed the starter ro llers before he left the line, just in time to avoid having to start fro m the back of the grid, or from Pit Lane, since he was able to get back MAY 26, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS Iy to Pit Lane. But no action was taken for this clear infraction . Race director Paul Butler took respon sibility. "It was my decision, and I took it in the interests of the sport and of safety," he said later. Had anybody raised a protest, that decision might have been overturned and Rossi be e n penalized . Nobody did protest, however, and th e luckiest man in racing got away with it again. 40th Anniversa ry "That was re ally to ugh," Gibe rnau said. "I have a high feve r, but I rode at 100 pe rce nt all the way and didn't th ink about it. Tho ugh I can feel it now." Gibe rnau had said that tests after the last ro und at Je rez had allowed the team to pin down many of the problem s of the first tw o race s. Checa was delighted w ith his first podium since Esto ril in 2002 . "I tried to stay with Sete, " Checa said. "But he was too fast. Th en at the end I had to pass three backmarke rs (Rube n Xaus, Kurti s Robe rt s and Miche l Fabrizio), and I do n't think they had seen the blue flag. With Biaggi so close, it was quite scary." He admitted that Rossi's presence in the team had made a big difference preseason. Biaggi had had a torrid time with Rossi, especially in the later stages. "My real problem this weekend was with the bike whe elying." Biaggi said. "Which I never rea lly fixed... I had to use the throttle with millimetric precision. They [the backmarke rs] totally prevented me from trying a last assault on Carlos. Probably, I could not pass him, but I