Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

ex Barros was perfect. Every session, wet or dry, practice, qualifying or warmup, the Brazilian rider as peerless. His mastery of the Estoril circuit was complete and most evident in the race when he sped on slick tires through treacherous conditions to win the Portuguese Grand Prix, the first race ever run under the new wet/dry race regulations. "It's a special prize for me," the Brazilian said. "I make a strike this weekend. I'm really, really happy." A small bit of history was made on the eighth of 28 laps when race direction ordered the white flags. For the first time in Grand Prix racing, riders could pit to swap to different, more rain-friendly machines. With a light rain falling on parts of the course, and others nearly dry, the A decision was an easy one. "I don't think in any moment to pit in," Barros said, the rationale being that even the speediest pit stop would take 40 to 50 seconds. "If it rained more hard maybe some- 20 one stop to change the bike," Valentino Rossi said. "But anyway, to ride with the slick in this condition, in our sport is impossible to find a perfect regulation for this condition." Instead of pitting, Barros stayed on the track, pressuring leader Sete Gibernau, the Spaniard who'd miraculously recovered from shoulder problems. The day before the race he'd had said the pain was overwhelming. "Three, four laps for me to do today was possible, but after five laps I could not handle so good," Gibernau said after qualifying second on Saturday. By Sunday, he was well enough to dominate more than half of the race. But tipping into the first-turn right-hander on the 17th lap, Gibernau lost the front and skittled into the gravel trap. ''After I saw that I try to keep a good pace," Barros said. "I go a little bit slower on the track again. But the track is really tricky because the first two corners I can say is very wet, but after is dry in the last part." Except for a brief moment of excite- APRIL 27, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS ment when the rear tire spun up on the final lap, Barros rode flawlessly to his first win since Malaysia in 2002. Rossi was never happier with second. The World Champion had been out of sorts since the start of practice and was never a factor in the race. "This weekend for us was hard from Friday," he said. "We were not at 100 percent. We need to improve." Second was good enough to increase his points lead, now over Barros, to seven points, 45-38, after two of 16 rounds. Rossi's race was spent with Repsol Honda's Max Biaggi in pursuit until the final laps when Biaggi slowed for the certain 16 points. "There is nothing to gain and all to lose," Biaggi sensibly noted. Fourth place changed hands twice on the final lap. Telef6nica MoviStar Honda's Marco Melandri held the spot until Marlboro Ducati's Carlos Checa came charging by on the brakes. But he was overzealous and missed the corner, with Melandri able to retake the spot. Gauloises Yamaha's Colin Edwards had been nearly two seconds in front of Melandri when he crashed in turn one on the 24th lap. "Everywhere else on the track was okay and you could get the bike fully leaned over, but turn one was just like ice," the Texan said. Edwards remounted, losing only two spots, and finished sixth. Another American was seventh. Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden deplored the conditions and worried about crashing out of the first two races of the season. "I mean after starting the season with no points [after crashing in Jerez], it was nice today to get a few points, get a finish, and after crashing yesterday," Hayden said of his Saturday spill. Shinya Nakano put the lone Kawasaki into eighth, slowed by the rain and a lack of power. Marlboro Ducati's Loris Capirossi rode with a broken ankle to finish ninth. The Italian had broken the ankle the previous week in Jerez. Spaniard Ruben Xaus took 10th on the

• Cover