Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

MOTOGP Round 5 I Jun e 13. 2004 I~ World Championship Road Race Series Briefly..• Continued from page 23 "When they pulled into the pits, no problem was discovered , but we all respect their decision," Hiroshi Yamaha, Bridgestone's motorcycle racing manager, said. "We believed from the beginningof this weekend that our tires wouldn't have any durability problems, and this was confirmed in the race." Suzuki's John Hopkins and wild card rider Gregorio Lavilla both pulled in with engine problems. Fortuna Gauloises Yamaha's MarcD Melandri was planning to have an operation for arm pump soon after the Catalun13 race . "I did so many injections for Thursday," he said. "I had a lot of trouble with my arms this weekend, I think in many things. Today was quite okay. I will do the operation this Wednesday here in Barcelona." He hoped to be back in two weeks for the Dutch TT at Assen. "The doctor told me I can try. I think this is the best way for me now. Because is better to lose a little bit more race, but to be in good condition for the next race before summer break ." The promise of Nicky Hayden's front-row start went up in smoke with his clutch. He was nervous after a series of unsatisfying practice starts, and the unease was justified. By the time he got going, he'd been passed by much of the field. The first lap ended with him in 16th place. It would get worse. So it went for the American contingent in Spain. Only two of the Yanksfinished, and one of those required a tire change. The lone standout was Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Colin Edwards, who sacrificed grip for front-end feel, the compromise propelling him to his best MotoGP finish. Edwards doesn't have the kamikaze mentality needed for qualifyingtires . There's something antithetical about spending all your time sliding the tire. simulating race conditions. then going one lap on a tire stickier than gum in hair. "Whenever everybody gets a qualifier in, it's turn the brain off and hit it," he said, remarking on his middle-of-the-fourthrow starting spot . '}'.etually, I'm just too smart. I just need to drink a little more beer, killa few more brain cells, and then it wouldn't be a problem." Two more tenths of a second and he would have been on row two. Instead he was in the back and fightingover eighth, moving up through attrition. Troy Bayliss fell in front of him on the 22nd lap, and he went from eighth to fifth, passing Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi on the same lap. "I just went around the outside of Biaggi like I was at least four, five mph faster than him," Edwards said. "He just couldn't get out, of his own shadow." Carlos Checa was up ahead, but time ran out, and he had to settle for fifth. Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden came within about half a second of Edwards on laps 10 through 12 when Edwards was in ninth. Then the gap widened as Hayden slowed. Bad things happen in the back of the field, and not just with dodgy riding. Hayden took a rock to his radiator, and the water steamed out of it. Because of where the sensor is, it stopped measuring water temperature once it reaches a certain level. Besides, Hayden wasn't watching the temperature gauge. "It wasn't a huge problem, but eventually the bike started slowing down and lost all water and seized up," he said of the 17th lap exit. "I had a big moment and then just leaned it on the fence. That was it." The lament was that it was "probably the best I've felt in race conditions all year," he said. Roberts Jr. pitted for a rear tire change while running I Ith on the 19th lap. "I pulled in because I had a feeling that something was wrong, and it made me a little nervous," he said. Right where Hayden pulled off, Roberts said his GSV-R unloaded its suspension. "I hit something, and it unloaded everything," he said, wondering about the cause . "Was that me? Was it the tire?" It might have been water from Hayden's radiator. "We threw in another one, as you would." There was worry about the Bridgestone rears all weekend in wake of Shinya Nakano's crash in Mugello a week earlier. So when the rear snapped away, he played it safe. "I could run with them, but I was certainly hurting on overall grip, acceleration, and top speed," he said. When he re-joined the race, he was in front of Rossi and Gibernau, then fell in line. "It's much better riding up front with those two guys. You've got common and sense right in front of you." Roberts was 17th and out of the points. As was his teammate John Hopkins. He'd separated his thumb doing tankslappers on Friday and knew it could be a problem. So might be the tires, but the grip level went down and stabilized, and he was in it for the long haul. He fell in behind Kenny Jr. and Hayden on lap 13, four laps before Hayden's engine blew. He regrouped and was moving forward when his engine soured. "As I powered down the front straight, the bike went down to two cylinders, and I just pulled off, leaned the bike on the wall and walked back to the pits," he said. First out had been Proton KR's Kurtis Roberts. He exited from the back of the pack on lap six with clutch problems. "The lever was coming all the way back to the handlebar before it worked, so it got dangerous on the backshifts,' he said. 24 JUNE 23, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary Kenny Roberts has become an advocate of the spec tire rule, though some wonder if it's because he can't get or won't pay for the favored Michelins. "There lot of the teams here including Kawasaki, Suzuki, and us that are out of the ballgame, out of business," he said of the Bridgestone and Dunlop teams. "Eve ry year it's getting to be more and more money. Ifthe tire companies are going to dictate who's in business, it's time to re-evaluate." Roberts said the state of Dunlop's tire development was such that the team is "basicallyout of business until we can come up with a tire that's a lot better." Roberts believes the spec-tire franchise should be put out to competitive bidding. Ifthe tires aren't the equal of Michelin, they 'd at least be all the same , and might slow ou down the 215 mph MotoGP bikes. "Y could improve the show tomorrow by havingeverybody on the same tires." Aprilia racing boss Ian Witteveen said that the race team is in good financial shape for this year and plans are far along for next year. "We have at this point no difficult from an economic point of view," he said. "Th is year I don't see a problem." He said they 'd already ordered all the mate rial for next year. "If we need to build bikes for 2005, they need to be ready in November." The race team makes most of its money through the sale of race bikes and parts and doesn't rely on the company, which is suffering a financial downturn. But Witteveen said that there were a large number of inte rested buyers , all of whom are adamant that Aprilia continue strongly in racing. 'J'.II the compan ies and financial holdings are interested in racing, and to have more racing," he said. "Take away racing and the value of Aprilia is much lower." With the I25cc and 250cc classes penciled in through at least 2009, the future is certain. Witteveen expects more factory involvement in the two -stroke classes , with interest from Gilera and KTM,and more from Honda and Yamaha. Development continues on the RS-3 Cube ridden by Shakey Byrne and Jeremy McWilliams. There's a new engine with a different layout and more space for other parts. The performance parts on both engines are the same. The crankcase and gearbox position are different, as is the sprocket position . Bottom-end response should be improved. Witteveen said it was a very big step forward. The power was better, but not reflected in the lap times . The new engine is smaller and lighter, and there's a new chassis to match . "Now we have to readjust the chassis parts ." Marcellino lucchi started testing a month ago, but inclement weather has hampered progress. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said that talks were apace to revive the South African Grand Prix at Welkom. "It's going well," he said. "We think this will be decided before July 5." The race was wracked by financial problems this year, with the threat that it might be the final one . National and regional elections took place during the GP weekend, and the incoming government would have some say in the race's future . Dorna had to wait before beginning negotiations . Thought Ezpeleta said it would be the same date, in mid-July he said it would not be the first race, setting off , speculation that the season would begin at the safetyimproved Suzuka Circuit in Japan.

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