Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

- - - - - -I MOTOGP Round 7 Ju ly 4 , 2004 ~ § urpri§E!, §urpri§E!, §urpri§E! The Nelson Piquet circuit outside Rio is bumpy and quirky. The name at the top of the list at the end of qualifying proved it - Kenny Roberts Jr. on the Suzuki. His previous best qualifying position this year was seventh at Assen; his last pole position was at Valencia in his championship year of 2000. Roberts and histeam were understandably jubilantat this milestone on the long road back to success, but under no illusions that a single fast lapwould translate into a possible race win, when he was almost 10 mph down on top speed on the fastest Honda. All the same, his time was six-tenths faster than ValentinoRossI's pole last year, and a massive3.4 seconds better than his qualifying time last year. It was also Bridgestone's first pole posinon, at a track that suits its tires. Last year, Makota Tamada qualified second. Even Roberts was surprised to be there. "To be honest, after I did that lap , I thought to myself - this is bullshit, because I'm riding way too hard to be in my usual eighth or 10th place," he said. "Then I discovered I was on pole." But he was under no illusions. "Bridgestone are starting to make some headway after problems at recent races, and Suzukialso," he said. "It' ll be good to run with people like Max [Biaggi) up at the front . They'll pass me on the straight, but at least they won't hold me up in the comers, like lower down the field." It was Biaggi alongside him, less than two -tenths slower and much happier after moving up from seventh on day one. "We worked hard and resolved the Situation," Biaggi said. "Now we have to think about the race - it's very long, and there is a lot of heat from the asphalt. After 10 laps, the tires are spinningso much. The guy who can save his tires will have the best chance ." Alongside him,Nicky Hayden claimed a second front row in succession . "It' s quite important to be up front," Hayden said. "There are so many good riders , so I hope when the GP takes off I can be in the middle of them . I've had a couple of front rows this season and not taken advantage of then - it's real hard when you have to try and work your way forward ." Mostlythis is a one-line circuit, very slippery when you move off the stripe laiddown throughout practice on the seldom-used surface, but there were a couple of passing places, agreed Biaggi and Roberts. The front row was covered by less than two -tenths; Sete Gibernau led the second , just four-thousandths down after sett ing the pace on day one. One of onty two riders not to go faster on the sec ond day, he said: "I'm not worried. My race times are good , but at the end when we were putting the qualifying tire on , there was a problem , and I wasn't able to put a fast lap in." the first lap and w as behind Gibernau when the Honda rider lost the front at the last left-hander, sliding gracefully out of contention. Rossi's chance of taking a good po ints lead was there for the ta king, but Tamada was right behind him, and by the fourth lap already attacking. Barr os was ahead of Roberts on lap t hree; after two more laps Ro ssi pushed inside him too at the end o f the front straight, Tamada also by at t he end o f lap six. At this stage the top six had a gap of more than 1.5 seconds on the pack, led by Edwards, but with Capirossi right behind after charging through from 10th on lap one. By the time the Ducati got past the Honda soon afterward, the lead ers were even further ahead , though Roberts had now lost touch and would fall victim to the Ducati on lap nine, leaving 22 World Championship Road Race Series The problem was a rear brake pad shiftingwhile they changed the wheel , and they ran out of time before they set it to rights. Barros was alongside, very close on time and happier on day two , after a sillywalking-speed tumble on day one as he did a U-turn after taking to the escape road (the oval-track banking) at the end of the back straight. Barros was still suffering hand and shoulder pain after his fast crash at Assen. "We're in much better shape today, and I did many laps on the race tire at a good rhythm ," Barros said "The fast times are very close, and I am in the group ." That elusive first home win might yet be possible. Loris Caplrossi's Twin-Pulse Duke was alongside, sixth his best of the year as the factory team finally picks up the pace, saying he could have been better but for some time-wasting experiments with the narrower rear M ichelin. Last year's front -row starter Tarnada, another Bridgestone runner, led row three from Rossi and Nakano; Tarnada had been seco nd on day one and fastest on Saturday morning in free tra ining. "The race is in the morning, and we've worked hard to get the bike working at the lower temperatures. I'llneed a lightningstart, but I cannot be anything but confident," he said. This put Valentino Rossi almost seven-tenths down on pole after a weekend when his rivals were happyto see that the formidable momentum he has built up over the past three races appeared to be faltering. Racedaywould tell, of course, but he was dearty riding as hard as he could, top Yamaha as usual, but failing to get the bike to hook up. "The setup and the tires aren't working - the bike is moving around too much," said Rossi. "We stillhave some ammunition, but starting further back will make it difficult tomorrow. It's quite an interesting starting grid." Troy Baylissled row four after sufferingTwin-Pulse bike problems in the final session. Co lin Edwards was alongside, still complaining of problems turning the bike. He was impressively early on the throttle to turn the bike with wheelspin, but that spoiled his exit speed. "I'm a bit confused really," he said. Carlos Checa completed that row, another Yamaharider complaining about grip; fellow MI man Marco Melandri led the next row from Andy Hofmann's Kawasaki and Norick AIbe's Yamaha, still only 1.7 seconds off pole. Then came riders with problems : Ruben Xaus failing to find his recent form, John Hopkins at odds with settings with the new Suzuki engine he used for the first time , and Jeremy McWilliams, the better of the Aprilias, both strugglingwith wheelspin. Shayne Byrne was on the next row, behind a battling Neil Hodgson and ahead of Nobu Aoki on the better of the Protons . The last row saw Kurtis Roberts on the second Proton, then the slow WCMs of Bums and de Gea , all on Dunlops. "We need more horsepower and more grip ," said Proton team manager Chuck A1ksland. "Just two things to fix. Sounds simple." him to an ultimately losing struggle with old AMA adversary Edwards. Early on lap eight, Rossi grew weary of fending off Tamada, and he passed Barros quite easily, the Brazilian's pace also dropping as his front tire started to slide badly. The champion was just a second behind Biaggi and Hayden, glued together up front . As Tamada jo ined up behind Rossi again, he closed up to within half a second - only to run w ide at turn one at the start of lap 12, letting the yellow Camel Honda past him once and for all. Tamada almost instantly closed the gap to Hayden. Rossi was seven-tenths behind him at the start of lap I3, but he never got to the end of it. At the same corner as Gibemau he had a copycat crash as his front wheel washed away from under him . He picked up the bike to try to restart, but it was JULY 14,2004 • CYCLE NEWS too badly damaged. By then, Tamada had slipped under Hayden as well and was hounding Biaggi. There were I0 laps left, and there was no clear indication which of the leading three was strongest - until Hayden started to drop away a few tenths at a time. Tamada's key move came on the exit from the corner that had claimed Giberrnau and Rossi. He got a better exit than Biaggi and passed him on the short straight for a lead he would extend little by little over the remaining four laps . It was a very convincing win . By now the pursuit was stretching out. Capirossi had zapped Barros on lap 15 and moved easily away. Three laps earlier Edwards had gotten by Roberts and gradually shook him off. With eight laps to go , he was within four seconds of Barros and 40th Anniversary inching closer and closer. At the end , he was still just under a second adrift. Roberts occupied the big gap behind them, losing speed at the end but st ill safe from Abe , who had been fending off Nakano throughout. Checa closed on this pair with five laps left, but he cou ldn't sustain th e pace, losing touch again at the nag. There's been an almost race-long battle behind them between Hopkins and Hofmann, Bridgestone-shod both, Suzuki versus Kawasaki . Xaus had been ahead of them early on, but as Hofmann closed from behind, Hopkins found a way past to try to escape. That was on lap ten; five laps later Hofmann also passed the Ducati, which now dropped away slightly to get mixed up with Melandri, recovered from his early Checa collision (Melandri's fault) and off-track excursion . Hofmann found a way past Hopkins with nine laps left, but he couldn't get away. Hopkins saved his attack for the last lap - "his bike is similar to mine in performance and on the same tires, and I was determined to beat him ," Hopkins said . Instead they collided at the end of the straight, Hopkins coming off the worse. Behind Hofmann, Xaus had got back ahead of the troubled Melandri by the end. The next battle had been almost racelong - Hodgson battling to hold off McWilliams' Aprilia. With six laps to go, he 'd finally succumbed, complaining afterward of blurred vision and a numb arm (injured at le Mans) that meant he was seven seconds back at the end, and behind the re -joined Hopkins. Shane Byrne was 17th, never really a factor with a mysterious power loss for his Aprilia. Proton's Nobu Aoki had been chasing him hard for the first half of the race, before his rear Dunlop cried enough, and he nursed the bike home 18th , 12 seconds adrift. Teammate Kurtis Roberts had been following, but he had even worse tire problems, finishing the race irate. "l didn't co me here to finish last. I'd rather stay home," Roberts said . In fact he wasn't quite last: Chris Burns' WCM was, a lap behind the leaders. The upset was the best possib le thing for the championship. Rossi and Gibemau left as they had arrived, equal on 126 points. Biagg; now has 113; Edwards overtook Checa, 64 points to 62; Barros has 59. 250CC GRAND PRIX Pedrosa was away first, with Elias heading Poggiali and de Puniet. West made a great start from I Ith place and was fifth at the end of the first lap, in the thick of

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