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/128377
hamplonshlp Road RaCE SEriES en Olivier Jacque arrived in China for his first race since a couple of wildcard rides last year, he described his presence at the preevent conference table with the likes of Valentino Rossi and Estoril winner Alex Barros in humble terms. "I feel like a hair in the soup, as we say in France," he said. Three days later, standing on the podium, he recalled his words: "Today, I feel like a fish in water," he beamed. The 2000 250cc World Champion didn't win a sodden and dramatic first Chinese GP, as the victory went to Gauloises Yamaha's Valentino Rossi. But Jacque was equally the hero of the day, moving through from I Ith on the first lap until he not only displaced Telef6nica MoviStar Honda's Sete Gibernau from second place but closed to within 1.7 seconds of Rossi in the final laps. Second was not only Jacque's best-ever finish in the premier class, but it was also a best ever for Kawasaki, as well as proof that Bridgestone's reputation for lagging behind Michelin in wet tires no longer holds true. And he was only riding as a substitute, for injured Fuchs Kawasaki team regular Alex Hofmann. Magnificent as his performance was, it could not eclipse Rossi's second win on the 3-race-old season, in front of a sparse crowd of 25,000 at a circuit with seating for some 75,000 more. The new Shanghai circuit - a magnificent facility, though with a track spoiled by too many ultra-slow corners - laid on a difficult weekend, a sort of Chinese water torture, where rain threatened and frequently fell during practice, then settled in with a vengeance on race day. The first race of the day, the 125cc event, had to be delayed by 30 minutes because of flooding on the track, while the pace car spun off before the start of the main race, spreading mud across the circuit. Rossi had qualified only sixth but started strongly as the field bunched into the first looping corner. By the end of the lap, he was second, behind only Suzuki's Kenny Roberts Jr., and the pair was soon pulling away from the clouds of spray in which the pursuers were exchanging blows. Roberts was riding fantastically, like a champion once again, but it was not to last. He slowed suddenly on the fifth of 22 laps of the 3.27-mile circuit, and cruised to the pits, the Suzuki suffering an undisclosed breakage in the engine. Bitterly disappointed, he left the track directly. "We easily let a first or second place slip today," he said. His team later described an engine failure they had never encountered before - thought to be a piston or other cylinder failure. This left Rossi alone, and he kept it that way, skittering through the puddles. Jacque was closing impressively in the final laps, but the reigning champion had it under control. "For sure, I didn't expect to win today," said Rossi, who had suffered Side-grip problems throughout practice in the dry. "But in the wet this morning, I found a good rhythm, and we made some more changes before the race, and my bike was really good. "I was having fun, though when Olivier started to catch me, alii saw on my pit board was '0' [the team had no nameplate prepared for Jacque], and I didn't know Kenny Roberts Jr. (101 led ti_ Rossi (461 earty in the race until mechanical problems thwarted the .. effort. Rossi - . on to 36 MAY 11,2005 • CYCLE NEWS ~.