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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128335
250CC G R A ND PR IX
Pedrosa said late r that he was testing
out the conditions in the early laps, but his
pace didn't suggest any caution. At first ,
Porto and Fonsi N ieto stayed w ith him as
they left the field behind, headed by faststarter Ale x Debon .
Nieto dropped away after three laps,
and after two more Porto was also more
than a second behind , real izing he had no
chance of catching a riva l who was not
only inc h- pe rfect through the fast se ctio ns
but who also acce lerated so much faster
out of the three slow corners at the end of
the lap , thanks to his diminutive size.
At the end of t he first la p, Toni Elias ran
into front- row starter H iroshi Aoyama at
the final hairpin, sending him flying . The
Japanese rider remounted to re-join near
the back.
Poggiali, ninth at the end of lap two,
crashed out at the end of the next la p on
the final hairpin. By now, Randy De Puniet
was ahead of the soon-to-tumble Debon
and closing on the fading Nieto. He got
ahead of him by lap seven, and the order
stayed that way to the end, another 20
tedious laps later.
Pole-sitter Alex De Angelis was never
quite on the pace, mixed up in a gang
including Elias and by now also N ieto, and
was still behind the Spanish r ider before
half-d istance , as Elias sudd enly slo w ed ,
pull ing into the p its a fe w laps la ter.
De An ge lis was a head of N ieto soon
afterward, a nd t h o ugh he closed to within less than I .S seconds of De Puniet a t
the end, t hat was as much because the
Frenchman slowed as it was the San
Marinan catc hing up significantly.
N ieto was 18 seconds ad rift at the finish; p rivateer Anthony West had been running steadfast throughout, getting ahead of
Franco Battainl in the early laps and closing
slowly on Nieto at the finish. He was still
two seconds away from trading blows with
his frequent rival as they crossed the line.
The race was pretty much processional all the way: Battaini was seventh, with
Matsudo three seconds behind h im , and
t hen ca me the remounted Aoyama, who
passed Sylvain Guintoli fo r n int h in the
closing la p s.
It was good day for Pedrosa's title
chances: He now has 18 0 points to D e
Pu n ie r's 146 , with Porto on 128, Nieto on
94, and De Angelis coming up on 93. eN
DON INGTON PARK CIRCUIT
DON INGTON PARK, ENGLAND
RESULTS: JU L 25, 2004 (ROUND
Y
91
HOTOG P QU ALIFYING : I. Valentino Rossi
( 102
8.720); 2. Sere G'bemau (1;29. 1>2); 3. loris eap;rossi
(1;29 209) ; 4. Troy Bayt", (1;29.2 14); 5. Co lin Edwmf'
(1;29.250 ); 6. Nicky Hayden ( 1;29.295); 7. eano. Chea
( 1:29.329); 8. Mu Biagi ( 1:29.502); 9. Alu Barros
( 102
9.80 1); 10. Ruben x.... ( 1;29.&40); I I. Shiny> Nakano
( 1;30.2 14); 12. Konny Robem J' . ( 1;30.239); 13. N.,;I
Hodron ( 1;30.297); 14. Ha kot o Tamada ( 1;30.37 1); 15.
John HopI< ( 1;30.44 2); 16. Noric k Abe (1;30.460); 17.
ins
Shane Byrne ( 1:30.S02); 18. Jeremy McWilliams ( I:30. 595);
19. MIche l Fabr izio ( 1:31. 222); 20. Ale x Hofmann
( 1:31;486): 2 1. Noboa tsu Aoki ( 1:3 1.049 1); 22. Kurtis
Robem ( I;32.222); 23. Chris 80"" ( I ;33.285).
MOTOGP: I . Valentino Rossi (Yam); 2. Colin Edwards
(Hon) ; 3. Sete Gibemau (Hon) ; 4. N icky Hayden (Hon ); 5.
Troy Bayt", (Due) ; 6. eano. Chea (Yam 7. Loris eap;"""
);
(Due) ; B. John HopI< (Su. ); 9. Alex Barros (Hon); 10. N.,;I
ins
Hodgson (Due ); I I. ""ben >