Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

MOTOGP Round 3 May I, 2005 ~ World Championship Road Race Series Briefly... Continued from page 39 all the issues and submitted our plans to the circuit. I believe all the works will be completed in time for the inspection." Misano may be rejoining the GP circus as the San Marino GP. Dorna chief Carmelo Ezpeleta visited the principality earlier this year, and Danis said: "I have already told the circuit owners what work they have to do to be acceptable as a MotoGP circuit." MOTOGP WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 17 rounds): I. Valentino Rossi (70n wins); 2. Marco Melandri (45); 3. Alex Barros (43/1 win); 4. Max Biaggi (36); 5. Sete Gibemau (33); 6. Colin Edwards (33); 7. Olivier Jacque (20); 8. Shinya Nakano (19); 9. Carlos Checa (17); 10. Nicky Hayden (16); II. Troy Bayliss (15); '2. Loris Capirossi (14); 13. Ruben Xaus (12); 14. John Hopkins (I I); 15. Jurgen van den Goorbergh (10). 250cc GRANO PRIX QUALIFYING: I. Casey Stoner (2:06.196); 2. Daniel Pedrosa (2:06.214); 3. Andrea Dovizioso (2:06.473); 4. Jorge Lorenzo (2:06.544); 5. Hiroshi Aoyama (2:06.615); 6. Hector Barbera (2:07,437); 7. Randy de Puniet (2:07.653); B. Sebastian Porto (2:07.665); 9. Simone Corsi (2:07.709); 10. Yuki Takahashi (2:07.889); II. Alex de Angelis (2:08.018); 12. Roberto Locatelli (2:09.057); 13. Chaz Davies (2:08.8-40); 14. Alex Debon (2:08.886); 15. Sylvain Guintoti (2:09.016); 16. Alex Baldolini (2:09.057); 17. Andrea Ballerini (2:09.166); 18. Dirk Heidolf (2:09.212); 19. Jakub Smrz (2:09,420): 20. Radomil Rous (2:09.579); 21. Mirko Giansanti (2:09.673); 22. Gabor Rizmayer (2:11.900); 23. Gregory Leblanc (2: 12.237); 24. Steve Jenkner (2: 12.743); 25. Frederic Watt (2: 13.260); 26. Shi Zhao Huang (2: 13.307); 27. Martin Cardenas (2:13.422): 28. Zi Xian He (2:14.434). lSOcc GRANO PRIX: I. Casey Stoner (Apr): 2. Andrea Dovizoiso (Hon); 3. Hiroshi Aoyama (Hon); 4. Alex de Angelis (Apr); 5. Sebastian POrtO (Apr): 6. Daniel Pedrosa (Hon); 7. Hector Barbera (Hon); 8. Simone Corsi (Apr); 9. Jorge Lorenzo (Hon); 10. Yuki Takahashi (Hon): II. Alex Debon (Hon); 12. Sylvain Guintoli (Apr); 13. Alex Baldolini (Apr); 14. Jakub Smrz (Han); 15. Dirk Heidolf (Hon); 16. Roberto Locatelli (Apr); 17. Frederik Watt (Yam); '8. Randy de Puniet (Apr); 19. Gabor Rizmayer (Yam); 20. Zi Xian He (Yam); 21. Shi Zhao Huang (Yam). Time: 48 min., 7.205 sec. Distance: 21 laps. 68.7S miles Average speed: 85.73 mph Margin of victory: .249 sec. 2S0cc GRAND PRIX WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 16 rounds): I. Andrea Dovizioso (53); 2. Cuey5tone.- (50/2 w;",); 3. Daniel Ped""" (4811 win); 4. Alex de AngeIis (40); 5. Sebastian Porto (38); 6. Hiroshi Aoyama (26); 7. Hect'" Ilart>era (25); 8. Jorge L..-enzo (23); 9. (TIE) Randy de Pun;.t (16YAlex Debon (16); II. (TIE) Yuk; Takahashi (IS)/Simone Corsi (15); 13. Sytvain Guintoli (12); 14. Roberto Locatelli (9); 15. Mirko Giansanti (8). 12Scc GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING: I. Mika Kallio (2: 13.535); 2. Marco Simoncelli (2: 13.631); 3. Gabor Talmacsi (2:14.293); 4. Thomas Luthi (2:14.341); 5. Julian Simon (2:14.530); 6. Fabrizio lai (2:14.773); 7. Lukas Pesek (2:' 4.954); 8. Tomoyoshl Koyama (2: 15.085); 9. Toshihisa Kuzuhara (2:15.995); 10. Hector Faubel (2:15.489); 11. Michele Pirro (2:15.607); 12. Mike Di Meglia (2:15.627); 13. AM,ro Bautista (2:15.995); 14. Pablo Nieto (2:16.179); 15. Mattia Pasini (2: 16.259): 16. A1eix Espargaro (2: 16.316); 17. Manuel Poggiali (2:16.376); t8. Sandra Cortese (2: 16,408): 19. Alexis Masbou (2: 16.433); 20. Manuel Hemandez (2: 16,450); 21. Andrea Iannone (2: 16.734); 22. Sergio Gadea (2: 17.079); 23. Julian Miralles (2: 17.357); 24. Angel Rodriguez (2:17.424); 25. Imre Toth (2:17.575): 26. Raffaele de Rosa (2: 17.650); 27. Joan Olive (2: 17.654); 28. Dario Giuseppetti (2: 18.000); 29. Karel Abraham (2: 18.156); 30. Nicolas Terol (2: 18.260); 31. Raymond Schouten (2:18.356); 32. Jordi Carchano (2:18.767): 33. Federico Sandi (2: 18.826); 34. Wai On Cheung (2:21.609); 35. Ho Wan Chow (2:22.649). 12Scc GRAND PRIX: I. Mattia Pasini (Apr); 2. Fabrizio Lai (Han); 3. Gabor Talmacsi (KTM); 4. Thomas Luthi (Han): 5. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Hon); 6. Marco Simoncelli (Hon); 7. A1eix Espargaro (Han); 8. Pablo Nieto (Der); 9. Lukas Pesek (Der); 10. Julian Simon (KTM); II. Miko Kallio (KTM); 12. Manuel Poggiali (Gil); 13. Michele Pirro (Mal); 14. Joan Olive (Apr); 15. Heaor Faubel (Apr); 16. Toshihisa Kuzullara (Hen); 17. Alvaro Bautista (Han); 18. Andrea Iannone (Apr); 19. Raymond Schouten (Hen); 20. Mike di Meglia (Hon); 21. Alexis Masbou (Hon); 22. Jordi Carchano (Apr): 23. Julian Miralles (Apr); 24. Wai On Cheung (Han); 25. Federico Sandi (Hon); 26. Nicolas Terol (Oer); 27. Karel Abraham (Apr); 28. Raffaele de Rosa (Apr); 29. Sergio Gadea (Apr); 30. Imre Toth (Apr); 31. Ho Wan Chow (Han). Time: 46 min., 30.273 sec. Distance: 19 laps, 62.210 miles Average speed: 80.26 mph Margin of victory: 0.065 sec. 12Scc GRAND PRIX WORLD C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 16 rounds): I. Mika Kallio (5011 win): 2. Fabrizio lai (49); 3. Mattia Pasini (4611 win): 4. Marco SimonceUi (41/1 win); 5. Hector Faubel (30); 6. Thomas Luthi (29): 7. Gabor Talmacsi (27); 8. Manuel PoggiaJi (25); 9. Tomoyoshi Koyama (21); 10. Julian Simon (20); I I. Pablo Nieto (16); 12. A1eix Espargaro (II); 13. (TIE) Joan Olive (IO)lMike di Meglio (10); 15. Alvaro Bautista (9). UPCOMING ROUNDS Round 4 . le Mons, Fronce, May 15 Round 5 . Mugello, Iioly, June 5 Sete Gibernau has turned his back on the riders' safety commission for this year, telling the FIM that he "prefers to concentrate on riding his motorcycle." Gibernau was one of four original riders' delegates - along with Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts and Nobu Aoki - elected at Welkom two years ago after the fatal injuries to Daijiro Kato. His withdrawal may be because of his falling out with Rossi, who remains a delegate along with Roberts. Aoki has left GP racing and has been replaced by Loris Capirossi. In the wake of the half-wet Portuguese GP, the wet-race regulations (which now allow riders to change bikes) remained a burning issue in China. At Estoril, leader Gibernau had paid the price. White flags had been shown to allow a bike change, but the rain was slow in developing and everybody continued. When it did fall on one corner, Gibernau was the first to arrive and crashed. "Everyone has to judge off the leader, and he will be the first to crash. That time, it was me who fell. If you are in a group, then the whole group will crash," Gibernau said. "Personally, I would prefer if they stopped the race, but in Portugal everybody would have restarted on slick tires anyway. If the same situation arises again, I will try not to lead." Asked if radio communication would have helped, he said: "I don't know. We get our balance from our ears, and even a small crackling can disturb you. It's not like a car, when you are not using your balance the same way. I would prefer maybe some system of lights on the bike." As for the current rule, he said: "We need to discuss it more." Rossi agreed with Gibernau that "it's impossible to find a perfect solution. But we need for the marshals to warn of a wet corner. Where Gibernau fell in Portugal it was very dangerous." Two former GP racers returned in China, if only temporarily. One was former 250cc World Champion Olivier Jacque. The Frenchman, jobless for a second year, was riding the Kawasaki in place of Alex Hofmann, who was injured in a pre-race parade at the previous round at Estoril. The French rider was a guest at the pre-race press conference, where he gestured across to Rossi, Biaggi and Barros, and said: "I have not raced for many months, and now I sit with the World Champion. I feel a bit like a piece of hair in the soup, as we say 40 MAY 11,2005 • CYCLE NEWS in France." Jacque, who rode a wildcard Moriwaki for a couple of outings last year, had tested last week at Estoril. "I found my eyes weren't used to the speed," he said (the same comment made by Kenny Roberts, when he took a brief outing some years after retiring on a 500cc GP machine). "But I'm very pleased to be back and on a neutral circuit, where nobody has any track knowledge or advantage," he said. Jacque qualified 15th, less than a second off his 10th-placed Kawasaki teammate (and former 250cc teammate), Shinya Nakano. The other returnee was Dutch star Jurgen van den Goorbergh, taking the injured Makoto Tamada's place on the Konika Minolta Honda. It was a last-minute arrangement for the Dutchman, who the weekend before had turned his back on his Ducati ride in World Supersport because the V-twin was so uncompetitive against the 600cc four-cylinder machines - especially on the control tires that are designed for the multicylinder bikes. "It was arranged very quickly, and luckily I managed to get my visa for China in half an hour," the pleased Monaco resident said. Leathers were hurriedly made up for him he rode for Arlen Ness two years ago, so they already had his measurements - and his helmet was painted in China. Van den Goorbergh qualified 19th, and said: "It was good fun - I have a big smile. I'd hoped we might have four dry hours. Instead, because of the conditions yesterday, I feel as if I've ridden the bike for just one day. I should have done this time yesterday afternoon. So I will carry on learning in the race, and I hope I can fight with some riders and not ride alone. Considering how I got here, I'm happy, but I need some more kilometers." The Dutchman proved his technique in a streaming, wet race-morning warmup, heading the timesheets until the last minute, when only Gibernau went faster. Van den Goorbergh has a contract for just one race with the Honda team, but the nature of Tamada's wrist injury sustained at Estoril is such that his tenure might easily be a great deal longer. The long drag-strip straightaway, entered from a first/second-gear corner combination, gave a clear picture of top speeds. And once again, the Ducatis took the honors. Carlos Checa was fastest after practice, with a best of 212 mph, with teammate Loris Capirossi clocking just under that. Then came a pack of Hondas Barros, Gibernau, Melandri, Biaggi, van den Goorbergh, Bayliss and Hayden ranged between 206.5 and 211.8 mph. Rossi was 13th at 205 mph, marginally slower than teammate Edwards but worryingly off the pace of the Dukes and top Hondas. Nakano's Kawasaki was next, the better of the two green bikes, at 202.4 mph. Roberts, on the faster Suzuki at 202.3 mph, was one place lower.

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