Gibernau beals Rossi
10 pUllile back inlo
his lille hopes
By HENNY RAy ABRAMS
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GooSE
ete Gibernau came back from the three-week summer break re laxed , rejuvenated and ready, and it
showed . The Telefonica MoviStar Honda with stood
the relentless pressure of Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha's
Valentino Rossi to win his first race in three months,
and third of the season, this time in the Gauloises Grand Rrixof
the Czech Republic before a crowd of 67,631 on an intermittently sunny day in Brno. For the five-strong American force ,
the weekend was the polar opposite, With crashes and
mechanical problems eliminating two of the group and a third
not making the start.
"If you see the race , you can tell that wE! were not here to try
to be second," Gibernau said after beating Rossi to the line by
3.41S seconds. "But sometimes you try and you cannot win. And
this time we could win, and this is because, like I say, we did a
great job, the bike was working good enough te be able to win."
Gibernau controlled the race from the start, jetting away and
headed across the line. During one eventful segment, he
Rossi swapped the lead six times in four comers, bur it was
always Gibemau at the line. Camel Honda's Max Biaggi and
Repsol Honda's Alex Barros we re close by, with Nicky Hayden
at the tail end .
First out was Barros with a crash out of second place on the
S
~~~~;~;;15~t~h~
of 22 laps.
"Whe n I took back second position. I ope~ the throttle,
not using any brake and tile front just goes," fie said.
