Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128346
;Briefly... Continued from page 33 Loris Capirossi is reportedly trying to get out of his Ducati contract, w hich he re - signed earlier in the year, in favor of a possi- ble Pons Honda ride (to replace Biaggi?). Carlos Checa is not expected to be reta ined by Yamaha, and team manager Davide Brivio confi rmed that "we are trying to help him find an alternative." Toni Elias is a possible candidate to move up from 250s to MotoGp, possibly to take the place of Checa, because of his relationshipwith sponsors Fortuna. British Superb ike racer James Haydon returned for a second successive GP for Barros (4) leads Rossi (46) , Biaggi (3) and Checa (hidden) early in the MotoGP. Colin Edwards slid his way to an 11th-place finish . Rep sol Aprilia secu red second by inches after a long and fierce battle with Fortuna Honda's Toni Elias. "I did everything I could - it was a d ifficult day because the track con ditions have not been constant," said Ped rosa. "Now we go to Austral ia, and I hope to do better there than last year." Last year, Pedrosa had already won the 125cc title , but he crashed in practice, severely breaking both ankles. Porto complained afterward of front tire problems spoiling his braking; Elias, inches behind, narrowly failed in his aim of passing him on the last comer after they'd been back and forth all race long. Australian ride r Anthony West, starting from the second row of the grid, was fifth on the first lap when he cras hed heavily after hitting the fallen bike of Roberto Rolfo, compounding his disap po intmen t after seizing o n the last lap of the Qatar GP. With a gashed left eye brow and a fracture to his left wrist, West is a doubtful starter for his home GP ne xt w ee kend, but he said, "I'm going to give it a go anyway." Earlier, Andrea Dovizioso became the first World Champion of 2004 with a co nvincing pe rformance in the I25cc GP on his Ho nda - made all the eas ier w he n his last poss ible rival Hector Barbera cras hed out of the lead on only the second lap. The race was won by KTM's Casey Stoner, his first w in of the season and his second in the class, after a string of nonfinishes due to mechanical problems. "I've had some good races and a lot of bad luck recently: ' Stoner said. "It's good to be back. I had no bike problems. It was a bit slower towards the end , but I think that's because the race was so hard on tires ." But the day belonged to Dovizioso, wh o led on ly lap tw o, then shadowed Sto ner all t he wa y to the flag, to finish less than threehundredths of a sec ond behind. "Wh at an emotional day - it won't sink in www.cyc lenews.com Prot on Team KR in Malaysia, receiving the call after he had already flown home from his 12th-place MotoGP debut in Qatar. And it was decided that Haydon will race again in Australia next wee kend. Team regular Kurtis Roberts had been expected back for this race, recovered from surge to his ry left wrist followinga qualifying crash at the Czech Republic GP in August, but his wrist proved unequal to the task when he removed a brace on the preced ing Monday. Haydon, who was a somewhat crash-prone Soocc-c1ass privateer eight years ago, made a good impression on the team on his return to Q atar, with insiders praising his mature, independent and inte lligent approac h to his first-ever MotoGP ride. Plus, he went faster every time he went out , w ithout crashing. and came very clo se to matching the lap times of his experienced teammate Nobu Aoki. He did the same in qualifying in Malaysia. He also delighted the beleaguered team with comments such as, "The KR VS is a beautiful piece of kit. It's the fastest bike I've ever ridden." Haydon hopes the replacement ride may lead to a permanent slot, though he is sought after. "MotoGP is every rider's ambit ion: ' he said, adding, "I'm starting to enjoy it more now that the team has the bike more to my liking - it's not 100 percent my bike yet, but at first the front end and I weren't speaking the same language. Now I fee l I can race the bike, rather than just ride it." Team Robe rts is fighti ng to reta in Proton sponsorship for next year, when the team hopes to retu rn using the KTM V-four engine that it has already tested once and will test again after V alencia. "We' re talking to a lot of peo ple about next year, including Proton : ' team principal KennyRoberts said. "Personally, I'd think it a great shame if we can put together a good package for next year and they're not stillwith us. They have spent a lot of money with us to get to this point." One year after memorab ly describing hisV-five engi e as "a boat anchor," n Roberts again had choice comments about the unsuccessful motor, which this year has dropped power compared with last yearis. "The bikes are runningokay, and I'm happy because it's one day closer to putting them into the muse um . II Garry McCoy made a GP retu rn in Malaysia on the Aprilia, bringingwith him a refreshing ready-to-rumble "real racer " Conf;nued on page 37 CYCLE NEWS • oaOBER 20, 2004 35