Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

150 GP QU Ali FYING: I. Daniel Pedrosa ( 1:]]. 123); 2. Randy de Punter (1:37.407); 3. Sebastian Porto ( 1:37.4 36); 4 . Manuel Poggiali ( 1:38J)0 7); S. Toni Elias ( 1:38.5 36); 6. Fraoc c Battaini ( 1:38.6704); 7. Fonsi Nieto ( I :38.90 3); 8. Roberto Rolfo (I :39.08 5); 9. Hirosh i Aoyama (I :39.088) ; 10. Alex De Angetis ( 1:39. 15 1); II. Sylvain Guintoli ( 1:39. 163); 12. Anthony West (1:39.3 14); 13. Alex De bon ( 1:39.36O); 14. Eric Batail1e (1:39.5 16); 15. Hector Faubel ( 1:39.775); 16. Joan O live ( 1:39.828); 17. Dirk He idolf ( 1:39.936); 18. Jakub Smn ( 1;39.976): 19. Chaz Davies ( 1:<0. 14<); 20. Naokl Malsudo (1:<0 .20 1); 2 1. E""" Nigon ( 1;<0.2<9); 22. Hugo Man:hand ( I:40.302); 23. Arnaud VIncent ( I:40.6 16); 24. Gregory Lefort (I :40. 778): 25. Alex lWdoI inl ( 1;<0.788); 26. Chris lianGemme! ( 1:<0.9<2); 27. Radom~ Rous (1:<1.60 7); 28. G' egO<)' leblanc: ( 1.<1.855); 29. Johan 5tigefe!t ( 1;<2. 182); 30. Tare Sekuguchi ( 1;<2.21<). 250 GP: I. Daniel Ped rosa (Hon ); 2. Randy De Puniet (Apr); 3. Ton i Elias (Han) : <. Hin>shi Aoyama (Han); 5. Alex De Angel' (Apt) ; 6. Anthony West (Apt): 7. Forni N:eIO (Apt ); 8. Fraocc Battafni (Apt ); 9. Alex Debcn (Apt ); 10. joan Ohve (Apt); II. Jakub 5mn (Han ); 12. Chaz Davies (Apt) : 13. Heet er Faubel (Apr); 1-4. Naoki Mau udo (Y am); 15. Alex Baldolini (Apr ); 16. Dirk Hekloif (Apt): 17. Hugo Marchand (Apt ); 18. E""" Nigon (Yam 19. ): ); Christian Ge mme! (Han); 20. Gtegot)' lei"" (Apt); 2 1. Tam SelUguchi(Yam 22. Gtegoty leblanc: (Apt ); Time: 4 3 min., 3.338 S«. Distance : 26 laps. 67.38 miles Average speed: 93 .89 mph M ~rgin of victory: 7.7 11 sec. Fastest t.p: Daniel Pedrosa, lap 5. 1;38.202 25 0 GRAND PR IX W ORL D C 'SH IP PO INTS STANDINGS (Afte, ] of 16 rounds): I . Randy De Punier (60); 2. Daniel Pedrosa (son wins); 3. Fons i Nieto (H); <. (TIE) Rabeno RoIfo (l2I l ""nyAlex de Anigelis (32 ); 6. (TIE) Toni Elias/Alex Debon (28); 8. Sebastian Porto (25); 9. Anthony West (13); 10. Hircsh Aoyama ( 18); I I. Ftaneo Sa,..;,,; ( 1<); 12. Manue l Poggiali (13). 12S G P QU AU FYIN G, I. And.... Ooviz_ (I :<2.608 ); 2. Jotge loren zo ( 1:42.990); 3. Heet er Barbera ( L43.086); 4. Robert o Locate lli ( 1:0 .190 ); 5. Mirko Gtansanti (1:-4 3.282): 6. Steve Jenkne r ( 1:43.3104): 7. Youichi Ui (1:43.]]9); 8. Mike De Meglio (1:13 .42 1); 9. Marco Simonc elli ( 1:4 3.4~ 1 ): 10. Pablo Nieto ( 1:43.458); I I. Afvaro Bautista (1:-4 3.5 15); 12. MotoGP Dualifying Ultraclose qualifying is back. In France , the first 12 ride rs all qualified within a second of pole , wit h the issue in dou bt until the very end. The three-strong front row was covered by less than two-tenths. And the trio did not include Rossi. It was the first time since the Spanish GP last year - a race that Rossi won . The full track had been resurfaced, and times dropped accordingly - with pole a massive 1.8 seconds faster than last year. Times also improved from the first to the second day... and packed up close, with Friday's fastest man Edwards down to fifth on Saturday. The man on top at the end was points leader Giber nau, overcoming a fever to displace an in-form Checa by I 1/2 tenths. It was the satellite Honda rider's third career po le and the first time Spanish riders had taken the top two positions . And it had bee n hard work. "Nonnally you get sweaty going for pole - today I felt a lot worse than that . I'llgo straight to bed now," Gibemau said. Tests at Jerez had been fruitful. "We worked on the chattering problems, and tho ugh it is not completely resolved , we have bee n able to set some good time s," Gibemau said. Asked abou t rumors that he has a special facto ry e ngine, he was adamant. "We have nothing special from HRC," Gibemau said. Checa's second flagged a continuing improvement in form and in his feeling for the bike. "We 've bee n changing a few things, looking for a better fee ling from the front ," Checa said. "But I'm satisfied." Biaggi was also a strong pole contender, ending up third, just four-thousandths slower than Checa. "The perfect bike doesn't exist, but we have made a lot of progress this weekend, and I have a good race setup," Biaggi said. Rossi may have been off the front row for a second successive race . but he was less than a quarter of a second off pole. He was dearly trying hard , but as clearly see-sawing arou nd under braking. " It was better today than yesterday," Rossi said. "But we are still behind . We're still having problems with braking, and though we tried many suspension changes and solved some of them, it was not all. The Simone Cor-si ( 1:4 3.956); 13. Case y Ston er (1:-4 3.975); 14. Thomas Luthi ( 1:+4. 194); 15. Gino Borsol ( 1 :~ 4 . 26 1) : 16. Stefano ~rug ini ( 1:44.324): 17. Mattia Pasini ( 1:44. 142); 18. Julian Simon ( 1 :~ 4 . 3 64) ; 19. Fabrizio Lai ( I :44.435); 20. Mika Kallio ( I :~4. 6 S 2 ) ; 2 1. Lukas Pesek ( I :44.877); 22. Gabor Talmacsi ( I :44.9 77); 23. And rea Ballerini ( I:45.(67); 24. Gioele Pellino ( 1:45.08 1); 25. lmre Tot h (I :45. 158); 26. Darlo Giuseppetti ( I :04 5. 189); 27. Sergio Gadea ( I :45.492); 28. Robbin Harms ( 1:45.553); 29. Manuel Manna (L 45.62S); 3D. Vesa Kallio (1:<5.726); 31. Angel Rodrigue' ( 1:<6. I H); 32. Ra ymond Schout en (I :46 .282); 33 . Julian Mira lles ( I :46.366); 14 . Jordi C a rcha no (1:46.559); 35 . Alexis Masbou ( 1:4 7.001 ); 36. Man ia Angeloni (L 4 7.304); 37. Yannick Deschamps (1;48.700) : 38. Mat hieu Gines (1:<9.152). 125 GP: I. Andrea Dovizioso (Hon); 2. Robert o Locatelli (Apr ); 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Oer); 4. Mif"ko Giansanti (Apr ); 5. Hect or Barbe ra (Apt); 6. M,1ca Kallio (KTM); 7. Pablo Nielo (Apt) ; 8. Casey Stoner (KTM); 9. Alvato SaUl " (Apt ); 10. Ste ve Jen kne, (Apt ); II. Gino ' Borsoi (Apr ); 12. Mattia Pas;n; (Apr ); 13. Julian Simon (Hon ); 14. Lukas Pesek (Han); IS. Simone Com (Han) ; 16. Gabor Talmacsi (Mal); 17. G ioele Pellino (Apr ): 18. Angel Rodriguez (De r): 19. Daria Giuseppetti (Han); 20. FabriDo La (Gil): 2 1. 1mre Toth (Apt); 22. Se'lio Gadea (Apt ); 23. M.nueI M.,..,. (Mal); 2<. Jonl' CMchano (Apt) : 25. Julian H ,.... 1es (Apt): 26. Vesa Kallio (Apt): 27. Mattia Anigelon (Han) ; 28. i Ra ymond Schouten (Hon): 29. Madlteu Gines (Han ); 30. Yannick Deschamps (Han ). Tlm e: 4 1 min ., 26.14 7 sec. Ol,tance: 21 1 , 62 . 19 miles aps Average s pe ed: 90 .Q.4 mph Ma rz:in of victory: .594 sec. F ~s t est lap : Andrea Dovtzioso , lap 14, I :-42.6S I 12S GRAND PRIX WO RLD C 'SH IP PO INTS STANDINGS (Aft er] of 16 round,): I . AndTea Dovizioso (6312 wins); 2. Roberto Loca telli (048); 3. Casey Srcoer (34); 4. Steve [e nkeer (H); 5. Heet e r Barbera (33); 6. Pa.tMo N iet o (29); 7. Mirko Giansanti (28); 8. Marco Simoncl!!1li (25); 9. Jorge lorenzo ( 16); 10 . Gino 8of'50i ( I S). race is going to be hard - I hope we can make some improvemen ts in morning warm -up ." Edwards ended up fifth, one of only four riders not to improve on the second day. This was beca use of a mistaken tire choice. "It was e ight degrees hotter than yesterday," Edwards said. "I couldn't better my time... but we didn't realize straight away and only changed after 45 minutes . By then it was too late . But my rhythm was perfect." Melandri was sixth, another fast Yamaha rider, less than half a second from pole and completing the second row. Hayden led the third , another not to improve. He 'd been second fastest on the first day. "The trac k changed a lot today," Hayden said. "Compared with yesterday, I didn't have the confidence in the rear. I hope we can try a few things in wann-u p. Perhaps it's just a little thing. I'm really going to have to dig tom orrow." Tamada was alongside, then Capirossi on the best of the Ducatis, improving on day two by better than a second. ''I'm happy. The important thing is I could get good lap times on race tires," Tamada said. "We improved the suspen sion and front-e nd geometry, and the bike is more ridable with Michelin's 16.5-inch tire . It helps you flick it into the co rne rs faste r, and I'll race it for the first time tom orrow." Bayliss led row four, in the to p te n as he picks up the pace afte r a bad start to the year. "We worked on just little things," Bayliss said. "We have the bike going pret ty good on race tires . I'm tenth, but I have a smile, which shows how hard we 've bee n wo rklng to get that." Barros was alongside , his fast first day spo iled by front-end grip prob le ms. Nakano finished the row; Kenny Roberts led the fifth, the first rider more than a second off pole. 'At tracks like this we need help from the factory with some better performance," Roberts Jr. said. Hodgson was alongside, then teammate Xaus ; Hopkins led the next row from Abe and McWilliams. Hofmann's Kawasaki was 19th, heading the Prot ons of Aoki and Kurtis Roberts after the German had blown up both bikes in the final session, also lailingto improve. Shane Byme missed the final session after withdrawing from the race ; the WCMs of Fabrizio and Burns qualified last. www.cyc lenews.co m Briefly..• Continued from page 35 session was red-flagged for some IS minutes while marsha ls lavished the slick with cement dust ; soon alter the restart exactly the same thing happened again, to the same rider, but on a different part of the track . "In American racing, it is compulsory to pack the fairing belly-pan with absorbent material, but In MotoGP just a belly-pan with a plug that you remove when it rains," said Suzuki team boss Garry Taylor. New British GP star Sh ane " Sha ke y" Byrne pulled out of the French GP on the second day of practice after battling with right hand injuries sustained in his first-lap crash at the Spanish GP two weeks ago. Byme has fractures in his hand and was battling to hold on to the Aprilia Cube, losing control on the first day into Turn One and taking a scary ride across the gravel trap and across the track, where the chicane cuts back toward the Dunlop Bridge. "I can't ride the bike like I want - I'm only at 80 percent. We dec ided it would be better to wait until Mugel10," said Byrne. Rim b rakes have appeared in GP racing for the first time , on the NC Yamaha 2S0s of Taro Sekiguchi and Max Sabbatani. The single units save a full kilogram of unsprung we ight, compared with a twin-disc setup. Importan t questions in racing, Num ber O ne: Who is your favorite paddock pin-up! A Spanish magazine for teenage girls, Mujer 2 1, polled its readers and came up with its top three hunks. The winner was British GP roo kie and World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson, with Nicky Hayden second and Rueben Xaus third . ';<'\t least l have one top-three finish this year," said Hodgson. Suzuki rider John Hopkins had a near miss on the first day of practice when his chain came off on a hot lap on the fastest comer on the track , the fonn idable Turn One. "I ran right across the gravel then back across the trac k," said a shaken Hopkins later. "It was a pretty wild triple-digit speed ride - more excitement than I care to have." As with Byrne 's incident, and a couple of serious near misses in the 12S class, it highlighted serious safety questions at the track. This is one of two or three places where a rider losing control stands a good chance of running across the circuit again, in the path of oncoming riders . Hodgson a nd Xau s are st ill running unbranded on the ir Team d'Antin year-old Ducatis, with sponsorship yet to be announced . The ir machines are liveried in orange, white and blue, the colors of Visa. and it is thought that the team is close to a deal with the Spanish branch of the intemational credit card company. Unt il the deal is finalized, howe ver, the bikes will carry no logos. There was an all-Spanish spat in the 2S0 class, between class rookie (and 125 champion) Dan; Pedrosa an d Fonsi Nieto. The pair clashed on the track in the first timed session, fortunately without either falling... but Pedrosa wagged his finger stemly at his older rival on the slow-down lap.Later Nieto visited the pit to apologize, triggering an episode of Ibe rian shouting and ann-waving. Pedrosa's team boss Albert o Puig was telling Nieto his fortu ne, to which five-time GP winne r Nieto's response was that Puig had raced for ten years and won only one GP.Pedrosa remained aloof and said later : "I passed Fonsi beca use I was on a quick lap, and he was riding slowly On the way out . of the comer I saw his wheel, and suddenly his bike up my inside. If he was on a fast lap, then maybe I could understand, but the only thing he has done is mess me about. It's not the first time this has happened - he did it to Eliasat Welkom and tw ice to West at Jerez. And now in a qualifyingsession . The re's no nee d for it." Team boss Alberto Puig added his comments. "Fonsi put himself and others in a dangerous situation. I get the impress ion he is feeling nervous ." Statistics can pro ve almost anything. It is common knowledge that the 250 clas s is at a low ebb at present, a far cry from the days when packs of te n or more riders would dispute the lead. But the class is admirably unpredictable, according to the records. Before the French GP. the last 12 250 races had seven different winners : Anthony West , Fonsi Nieto , Roberto Rolfo, Randy de Puniet , Toni Elias, Manuel Poggiali and Dani Pedrosa . The 12S stars are even more remarkable - in the teenagers' class, there had been a record 25 races without a back-to -back winner. The last three races have been won by riders 18 or under, while the oldest of the seven 2S0 winners is 2S-year-old Nieto. CYCLE NEWS • MAY 26, 2004 37

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