MOTOGP
Round 6
June 12, 2005
~
By HENNY RAy ABRAMS
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE
1entino Rossi disappointed
the home crowd of 106,000
Spaniards on a brilliant sunlit
afternoon at the Montmelo
Circuit. The Italian won the
Catalunya Grand Prix, his fifth win in six
tries, again outdueling perennial runnerup Sete Gibernau. So dominant has Rossi
been that third-place finisher Marco
Melandri quipped, "I don't want to think
about the championship, because I think
the battle for the championship will be
between Valentino and Rossi, for sure."
The pattern was familiar. Gibernau led;
Rossi stalked, then pounced. This time
the end came for Gibernau on the 23rd of
2S laps, and it took a race record lap for
Rossi to make the pass. From then on, no
one doubted the outcome.
"Emotional and incredible," Rossi said.
"We were going very fast right to the end.
The bike worked really well, and we
were 40 seconds faster than last year's
race. I like this track; it's fast and open,
and I'm always very happy to race here."
V
16 JUNE 22,2005 • CYCLE NEWS
World Championship Road Race Series
