Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Once again a race ended in tears for Gibernau, who either ran out . of gas or had a fuel. delivery problem orl the last lap, depending on who y'ou talked tar . of the season. I feel very confident." Barros was satisfied with his ride, which saw him move steadily forward. "I had to attack very hard in the early laps, and both front and rear tires didn't allow me to fight to the end," Barros said. "Then in the last lap, Sete [Gibernau] stopped right in front of me, and I had to close the throttle, too." Hayden was just three-tenths down, after starting strongly, disputing third with Marco Melandri, then becoming embroiled and dropping back. "That was really tough," Hayden said. "I was right in there early on, but I found myself running in to some corners a litde hot, and I got a little ragged. I tried my hardest, but it didn't happen this weekend." Melandri had dropped back after his strong early laps, blaming a loss of rear traction that meant he punished his front tire. "From there, I just tried to finish the race," he said. He was three seconds clear of Colin Edwards' Gauloises Yamaha, who blamed a setting change after warmup and a warmer track than they'd expected for trouble that started after five laps. "We loaded the front a bit too much," Edwards said. "It was like Mugello - the bike was spinning, and I couldn't get any edge grip at the rear. I pushed on the pegs, stood up, leaned back... everything I could think of to make it stick." Checa's Marlboro Ducati dropped back from a strong start to a lonely eighth, blaming a bad tire choice for his failure to keep the pace. Behind him, Camel Honda's Troy Bayliss came to the front of a big battle, narrowly ahead of slow starter Konika Minolta Honda's Makoto Tamada, Suzuki's Kenny Roberts - recovering from illness that spoiled his final qualifying - another slow starter Fuchs Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano, Suzuki's John Hopkins and Fortuna Yamaha's Toni Elias. Hopkins was bitterly disappointed after a superb Camel Honda's Alex Barros was half a second adrift after a strong ride from eighth on lap one, with Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden just two-tenths behind. "I was not so confident before the race," said a jubilant Rossi, who celebrated his win by donning a waiter's suit and pouring victory champagne for his Yamaha crew. It was the marque's 140th premierclass victory, moving it past MV Agusta in the all-time table. Only Honda has more, with 194. "In the warmup, Gibernau had a really good rhythm, and I was not confident," Rossi said. "I understood the problem, more or less, and after a discussion with Jerry Burgess, we made another modification. In the race, my bike worked 100 percent. A lot of riders had a good rhythm, but Gib~r~au was the best. I tried to go at Loris Capirossi (65) put himseH in a fine position at the end of the race and inherited the end of the race, but it was not possi- secand with Gibemau's departure. Alex Barros (4) finished a strong fourth. ble. Then Sete had some problem on the last lap." start and finishing the first lap fifth, only to lose three places A jubilant Capirossi said: "I was satisfied with third position. I before they reached the first corner. made some mistakes early on, but my rhythm was good and I "Unfortunately, we are still suffering with a lack of acceleraovertook a lot of riders today. For sure, I have to thank Ducati tion, and we're having to ride it on the edge," Hopkins said. and Bridgestone for doing a great job today." The final point went to Fuchs Kawasaki's Alex Hofmann, a "I had a good race starting from the fourth row. Then, in the second adrift after running strongly in the early laps. first corner, somebody touched me, and I had a big slide and Suzuki wildcard Nobu Aoki was 12 seconds down, saying he'd almost crashed," Biaggi said. "Lap by lap, I tried very hard, then considered pitting in the early stages with an engine lacking topI saw I could pass [Carlos] Checa. Once I believed I could move forward then I could. end power. D'Antin Ducati's Roberto Rolfo, Ruben Xaus and the "Hayden and Barros were very difficult to pass," Blaggi added. Blata-WCMs of James Ellison and Franco Battaini trailed in "Then in the end I was handed a rostrum finish. My season so far behind. Jeremy McWilliams on the old Proton KR retired after six has been quite bad. I hope this is the start of a strong second half laps at the back. Brief'Y··· Honda's long-awaited, reworked RCll1 V was at Brno - but not for the race. It will be tested for the first time outside Japan on Monday and Tuesday with the hope that it will be ready to race for the next round at Motegi. The bike is "completely new," according to HRC president Suguru Kanazawa, although it's basically the same and not visually very different. "We have changed everything - the motor top end, the cylinders, the crankcases, the clutch, the gearbox. Also, the swingarm and the chassis are different," he said in an exclusive interview. But the firing intervals and the exhaust layout (and the bike's distinctive, gruff exhaust note) would remain the same. The aim had been to go further in the established creed, of centralizing mass. "We have reduced pitch, roll and yaw inertia," Kanazawa said. "It is not only a change of weight distribution but more concentration at the center of gravity." The design had begun "almost at the end of last year," he said. "We considered what direction to take." But the bike had been delayed "because we had some problems. Everything was new." There were just two bikes at Brno, to be tested by HRC's most experienced riders, Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau. Previous tests over the past month in Japan had been carried out by ex-GP winner Tohru Ukawa. The change came after a disappointing season with just two wins. "We are not satisfied," Kanazawa said. "Our staff have been trying hard but not enough to beat Rossi and Yamaha. We have to try harder." The problem had been a combination of bike and riders, he said. The weakness compared with the Yamaha was in corner entry, having to do with engine braking control. 'Y\t Le Mans, , stood by the first corner and noticed that the sound of the Yamaha and also the lean angle was very smooth. Now, three months later, I see that the Yamaha seems better again." It was, he believed, a matter of both electronics and chassis. He admitted that HRC was disappointed with the performance of their factory riders, especially Biaggi and Gibernau, "because of the results. Nicky Hayden is coming better, and his riding style is smoother," he said. But Hayden had not been supplied with new parts during the seasonP"because maybe it would confuse him. That is why we stay with the same parts." No decision had been made on HRC's rider lineup for next year, said Kanazawa. "Personally, I hope Pedrosa will be with the factory team with Hayden, but it is not yet decided." As for Blaggi and Gibernau, "I can't say. Both have much experience, and we need some experienced rider, but at this moment, I have not decided which to take," he said. Next year there would be a maximum of seven Hondas on the grid. "We want to reduce that number," he said. Informed that Dorna is proposing to support satellite teams for the other factories, he said: '" don't know any details of this, but ifthey do that, we are happy." Will Honda's new 800cc machine have an eight-cylinder engine? Seems unlikely, but if Continued on page 29 CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 7,2005 27 "

• Cover