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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128394
Briefly...
P 9
it did happen, Kanazawa would be pleased.
"I do not know yet what configuration our
engine will be. I have ordered our engineers to study which layout will is best. But
personally, I have been very interested in
the Volkswagen W-eight engine. If I was still
an engine designer, I would like to try such
an engine. The assertion is probably mere
It
whimsy, or perhaps a massive red herring but it's intriguing nonetheless. The VW
engine combines a pair of narrow-angle, Vfour, monobloc engines on a single crankshaft for a very compact if complex unit.
Rossi's renowned crew chief Jerry
Burgess agrees with HRC's Kanazawa on
the progress made by Yamaha over the
winter. "When we started last year, we
were at say 75 percent of Honda's level,
and maybe B5 or 90 percent of their level
by the end of the season. With the improvements this year, I'd say we are now 5 percent better than Honda," he said.
Lorenzo and Stoner.
Lorenzo was pushing hard, passing de
Angelis at the start of lap five and Aoyama
at the end of it, and starting a long spell in
the lead, with Aoyama hanging on in second until lap nine.
Pedrosa had been sixth and steady,
which was close enough, with 1.5 seconds covering the pack. On the ninth lap,
he started his run, passing both Dovizioso
and Stoner, Aoyama next time round, and
de Angelis the next. Now he was second,
with nine laps to go. It was surely only a
matter of time before he would pounce
on leader Lorenzo.
But there was another passage to
come, as de Angelis pushed inside him at
tum one. Perhaps it wasn't so cut and dry.
Two laps later, however, he was back in
second. Lorenzo set fastest lap at that
point, only for Pedrosa to set one even
faster for a new record. Into the first corner, he moved firmly into a lead that he
would hold from there to the end, more
than a second clear as they crossed the line.
This increase in the pace had spread
the pursuit, with Stoner coming through
to third on lap 17 and de Angelis leaning
on him heavily all the way from there to
the flag. A little way back, Dovizioso and
Aoyama were engaged, the Japanese
rider nipping ahead on the last lap.
Sebastian Porto was next. His chances
were ruined on the first lap, when second MS Aprilia rider Simone Corsi had a
violent highside inches in front of him,
and he had to leave the track. The
Argentinean rider in his 150th GP start
rejoined in 13th position and was soon
picking up places. He had taken seventh
position from fast starter Sylvain Guintoli
by half distance but was too far behind to
do anything more.
His teammate Randy de Puniet had
tagged on behind, and by the finish,
Guintoli had lost another place to
Roberto Locatelli.
Another last-lap reversal dropped
Anthony West's KTM to 12th, with Czech
rider Jakub Smrz leading him over the line
by two-tenths. Another seven seconds
behind, Alex Debon and Honda teammate Radomil Rous led Steve Jenkner's
Aprilia over the line for the final points.
As well as Corsi, Yuki Takahashi and
Hector Barbera crashed out together on
the last lap. Four laps later, Chaz Davies
and Andrea Ballerini also crashed together, the latter remounting to finish 16th.
Pedrosa's points lead is now almost 60
points, 206 to Stoner's 147. Dovizioso
has 134, Porto 105 and de Angelis 100,
with Lorenzo closing, tied on 98 points
with Aoyama.
125CC RACE
There were already spots of rain as Luthi
led the pack into the first corner, but it
held off as he opened up a one-second
gap over the first three laps, with Kallio
heading a big pack in pursuit, Fabrizio Lai
dropping back and Pasini showing strongly. Simoncelli was blocked in the first corner, finishing lap one ninth and soon moving steadily forward.
Luthi's advantage didn't last, with Pasini
taking over from Kallio and closing up
gradually. But on the eighth lap it was
Kallio again at the first change of the lead,
with Pasini taking over one lap later.
By half distance, a group of fIVe was
well clear, with Lorenzo Zanetti and
Simoncelli making up the numbers, in a
typical 125cc race with positions changing
frequently, and Luthi back in front for four
more laps soon afterward.
Pasini took over again in an eventful
15th lap, with Luthi dropping from first to
fourth and Zanetti slOWing down and losing touch. It was still anybody's race, but
now the rain was having another try,
especially at the final comer at the top of
the hill. Pasini paid the price with two laps
left, sliding off from second place.
The conditions broke the group up,
the top two finishers saying afterward: "It
was just a matter of staying on." Luthi did
it the best, taking two more seconds out
of Kallio on the last lap, with 5imoncelli
right on his heels.
"If it hadn't been for the rain, I don't
think I would have made the rostrum," he
said.
Gadea dropped right back in a safe
fourth, Zanetti a long way back, then Lai
narrowly ahead of Honda teammate Mike
di Meglio and Gilera's Manuel Poggiali.
A disappointed Gabor Talmacsi was
close behind, blaming a reluctance of his
machine to rev, only narrowly ahead of
junior teammate Julian Simon.
Impressive KTM Red Bull junior
Michael Ranseder had been well up in the
top 10 when he crashed out, with 14 laps
left, taking Tomoyoshi Koyama and Alexis
Masbou with him.
The win gives Luthi an eight-point lead
over Kallio, 144 points to 136. Talrnacsi is
losing ground on 120, with Simonce1li on
I 17 and former points leader Pasini on 100,
CN
after three successive race crashes.
AUTOMOTODROM BRNO
BRNO, (ncH REPUBlIC
REsuLTS: AUGUST 28, 2005
(ROUND 11 Of 17)
HOTOGP QUAUFYING: I. Sere Gibemau
(1:57.5tH): 2. Nkl