MOTOGP
Round 9
July 24. 2005
~
World Championship Road Race Series
VALENTINO ROSSI
PROVES THAT
HE'S THE MASTER,
NO MATTER THE
CONDITIONS
By MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE
uestion: Can Valentino Rossi walk on
water? Answer: He doesn't need to,
because he can ride through it on his
motorcycle so much faster than anybody
else.
The "Doctor" crossed the line for his seventh victory in the British GP so far ahead of the his erstwhile
companions that he had time to stand on the pegs and
give an impromptu violin recital as he passed the checkered flag.
It was almost enough of an achievement for the others just to survive. In foul, streaming British summer
conditions, the rain absolutely pouring down, 10 of the
21 starters had fallen, most of them long before half distance. Another, two-lap leader John Hopkins, had
remounted, pitted for repairs, and rejoined. He was
last, but I Ith was only one place lower than his best so
far this year.
There were other heroes for the 7S,OOO-plus crowd
who braved the sodden gloom. Kenny Roberts Jr. finished second on the Suzuki, his best result and first rostrum finish since the Brazilian GP in 2002. Roberts had
been with longtime leader Alex Barros and the
Gauloises Yamaha teammates Rossi and Colin Edwards
all race long. On the last lap, he bamboozled Barros to
lead him over the line. By then, Edwards had lost touch.
All of them reported a number of slides and nearmisses, including Rossi, who was out of the saddle several times in the race.
The difference was that when Rossi attacked, with
Q
18
AUGUST 3,2005 • CYCLE NEWS
