Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

hampionship Road Race Series i1y passed the fading Melandri on lap nine, was also ahead of Hayden and pulling him, with Capirossi back up toward the front. The gap to the leaders seesawed between seven-tenths and about 1.5 seconds, with Capirossi passing Hayden on the run out of the stadium on the 17th lap and then taking third at the first esses two laps later. All attention, however, was on the battle up front. From laps I2 to 17 it was Gibernau's turn to shadow Rossi, and if this had a familiar feel, it was freshened up when the Spanish Honda rider firmly passed Rossi at the bottom of the hill to lead once again for three more laps. Soon, however, his engine was cutting out momentarily as the fuel supply dwinEarlier, defending champion Telef6nica MoviStar Honda's Dani Pedrosa took a trademark 250cc win, his sixth of the season, after biding his time at the back of a six-strong leading group. By half-distance, he was remorselessly moving forward, displacing pole-starter and longtime leader Fortuna Honda's Jorge Lorenzo with the fastest lap of the race with four laps to go, stretching his advantage to more than a second by the finish. Australian Carrera Aprilia rider Casey Stoner was almost three seconds behind in third, narrowly ahead of MS Aprilia's Alex de Angelis. "With the drizzle, I had a flashback to last year, when I finished third because I slowed in the rain, and I was worried about the track conditions," Pedrosa said. "In the end, we won another great race in difficult conditions." "In the end, he was just too much faster, so I have to be happy with second," Lorenzo said. Stoner had expected better. "I thought we had a better race in us this weekend, but I was kept pretty busy holding de Angelis back, and they got away from me," Stoner said. Swiss teenager Elit Honda's Thomas Luthi claimed his second win of the year and extended his points lead in a 125cc race disrupted in the closing laps by spots of rain - making it 49 races in the class without a back-to-back winner. Fastest in conditions that saw earlier leader Mattia Pasini crash out with two laps to go, Luthi won by three seconds after the leading group broke up on the slippery track. Red Bull KTM's Mika Kallio was second, passing Marco Simoncelli in the final chicane. Sergio Gadea dropped back another four seconds in the final two laps for fourth. 28 MOTOGP RACe The weather had cleared and the sun was trying to break through as Gibemau got the jump into the first comer, only for Rossi to push past very dose as they exited the stadium section halfway down the hill. "I knew how fast Sete had been in the morning, and I didn't want him to get away," Rossi said. Melandri was third as they finished the first lap, then Hayden and Hopkins, the latter about to be zapped by Checa, Capirossi and Barros before they had reached the end of the front straight. Edwards and Hofmann were behind, then Biaggi and BayliSS. The field stayed close for the next three laps, with Gibernau retaking the lead on the third. Shortly after, Hayden passed Melandri, the pair embarking on a couple of laps of to and fro, with Capirossi and Checa close behind. On the fourth lap, the top eight were still covered by just over 2.5 seconds, with Barros and Edwards at the back of the group, Hopkins dropping back and heading the next gang from Biaggi Hofmann and Roberts on the move. Within a couple more laps, the two leaders had opened up a gap, with Hayden once again heading the pursuit from Melandri, Capirossi hard up behind, then Checa dropping back and about to lose his place to the charging Barros. Then a little slip by Rossi meant he lost almost a second on lap eight, giving the pursuit a brief glimpse of some hope. It was only temporary, though. In one more lap, Rossi was back on Gibernau's back wheel and soon starting to push hard. The next change of lead came on lap 12, when Rossi dived underneath Gibernau into the last corner, but still they didn't get away. By now, Barros, who eas- SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS too on lap 17. Almost at once, he was on the group of four, headed by Barros from Capirossi and Hayden. He passed the American with two laps left, then took Barros on the last lap. A rostrum at last - his third of the year and the first since the Italian Gp, six races ago. The other big battle of the race was for 10th (or ninth, after Gibernau had gone). At the midpoint, Hopkins was still holding the spot, closely pursued by Roberts and Hofmann, with Bayliss and Nakano a little way back, then slow-off-the-line Tamada finally ahead of class rookie Elias. Soon afterward, Bayliss started to move through, displacing Hopkins with four laps to go. Tamada had also picked through behind him, and over the final laps the going got tough and Hopkins dropped back. They finished in the order of Bayliss, Tamada, Roberts, Nakano, Hopkins and Elias, covered by 1.2 seconds, with died away to nothing. He was still in front as they ran into the chicane for the second-last time, but Rossi was ahead as they came out of it, and he put his head down to charge to the flag. Gibernau was still close as they reached the bottom of the hill. Then he slowed suddenly and moved out wide. His race was run. Thus Rossi gained another win unchallenged. Capirossi took second place (for the first time since Australia in 2003), with Biaggi taking the third rostrum spot. Biaggi? Where had he come from? His progress had been increasingly impressive as he picked his way through. By half distance, he was up to eighth, having just disposed of the slowing Checa the lap before. His next target was Edwards, and he passed him on lap 14 and rapidly closed the gap to Melandri, sizing him up for a couple more laps then getting him Hofmann just over a second back. Rossi's continuing run of wins gives him 261 points. Biaggi moved to second on 129, overtaking Melandri (126), Edwards (123) and Gibernau (I 15). Barros has 114 and Hayden I 12 in a close battle for the runner-up position. 250CC RACe The track was mainly dry but still a little slippery as the race took off, with rain spotting here and there. Pedrosa and Lorenzo were fast away, but Hiroshi Aoyama seized the lead by the end of the first lap and hung onto it for the next three, saying later: "Nobody wanted to take risks because of the rain, so Ithought I would try and go." Andrea Dovizioso was next, then Lorenzo and de Angelis, but there was some shuffling to be done. By the fourth lap, de Angelis was second, ahead of

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