Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128397
(Far left) Loris Capiroal . . . . M8It Biaggi In IheIr dUel fw ¥Idory In .... .Japar-. Orand Prix at !he ..... Circuit. CapIntssI ended up winning ...... and Ducati's first win __ June (Left) Marco Melandri (33) gat lumP on the field at the start, IecidIng . . . . ouooa. (hidden), Capirossi (65), John lIapldnl (21 ), Carta. Checa (7) and the rest of the field. ankles and then smashed into the fallen motorcycle. Despite a spectacular airborne ejection, Gadea walked away. Red Bull KTM's Mika Kallio was awarded the win because he was leading when the race was stopped on the 15th of the original scheduled 21 laps. Luthi, who suffered a dislocated right shoulder and contusions of both ankles, was given second. Spain's Hector Faubel came in third on the Master Aspar Aprilia. Despite the spill, Luthi maintained his spot atop the points standings with 164, though his gap to race winner Kallio has been reduced from eight to three points. MOTOGP For the first time in three years, all the riders made it through the first turn. An omen of a safe race? Maybe not. The first out was wild card Naoki Matsudo, on the first lap. In florid pressrelease language, he explained: "Well, I am so unhappy with the result, but I am so happy to have had a chance to race the world's top motorsports racing." Next out were AJex Hofmann and Robbie Rolfo, on the third lap. Hofmann failed to squeeze between Rolfo and Tohru Ukawa. Ukawa made it through, Hofmann and Rolfo didn't. "I didn't realize what was happening and already was on the ground," the befuddled Rolfo said. Hofmann broke a bone in his left ankle. He was off to Munich on Monday, where the ankle was to be screwed back together. Frenchman Olivier Jacque will be back for Malaysia and Qatar, while Hofmann was hopeful of returning for Australia in a month. By the third lap, Rossi had moved from I Ith on the grid to fifth, and then into fourth a lap later. Melandri was leading from Capirossi and Biaggi. If the race ended in this order, Rossi would be the World Champion. The top three pulled a slight gap on Rossi, with Tamada shadowing; then there was a gap to Hopkins, Checa and Gibemau. Checa took Hopkins on the sixth lap. Biaggi overshot the hairpin right on the eighth lap and lost ground to Melandri and Capirossi, but he gained it right back and took second from Capirossi on the 10th lap. Capirossi countered too strongly and fell back to third, with Biaggi to second but soon to take the lead. The pass of Melandri came in the slow downhill right at the end of the back straight before the second tunnel. But the move was too forceful, and Melandri took back the lead on the exit. By now there were two more retirements, both mechanical. Camel Honda's Tohru Ukawa was out first, on lap five, with Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano following suit on lap nine. Nakano exited in a cloud of trailing smoke, oiling the track and nearly changing the outcome of the race. Biaggi took the lead for real on lap 12, with Capirossi passing Melandri for second. CYClE NEWS •