MOTOGP
Round 13
Seple",ber 25. 200S
World Championship Road Racing Series
~
Locateli (39); IS. (TIE) Anthony Wost (30)/MW1<.0 Giansanti (30).
11See QUALIFYING, I. Thomas l1lthi (2:14546); 2. Mattia
Pas;nj (2:14.837); 3. Gabo.- Talmocsi (2:14.903); 4. Hi'" KaJl;o
(2: 14.964); 5. Man:o SimonceIIi (2: 15.047); 6. Lukas Pesek (2,15.187);
7. Manuel f'oaiaIl (2:15.257); 8. Julian SImon (2:15.326); 9. Hecto.Faubel (2:15.343); 10. H,ke ell Meclio (2:15.349); II. Tomoyoshi
Koyama (2, I5.594); 12. Joan OINe (2, I5.635): 13. Fobrizio I..ai
(2:15.750); 14. Ale" Es_o (2:15.833); IS. Alex;' Hasbou
(2:15.864); 16. Rallaele de Rosa (2,16.231); 17. Enrique Jerez
(2: I6.2n); 18. Seflio Gadea (2:16."06); 19. Lorenzo Zanetti
(2,16.559); 20. IWaro _
.. (2:16.796); 21. Hanuel Hem>ndez
(2: 17.094); 22. Sandra Conese (2: 17.5 II); 23. PaI>Io N...o (2:17.670):
24. AndAa Iannone (2.I7.6n); 25. Dorio Quoeppetti (2:17.799); 26.
I",", lOth (2:17.876); 27. lOshih. . Kuzuhan (2,17.997); 28. )onli
Cann.no (2,18.159), 29. Dmd Ilonxhe (2:18.290); 30. H _ Pin-o
(2:18.621); 31. Mateo Tunez (2:18.679); 32. Vincent Bn.iIIard
(2:18.984); 33. KaTeI Ab<-aIwn (2:18.996); 34. Federico Sandi
(2:19.039): 35. Soscha Hommel (2:20.354); 36. Doni Ta.. I'ndi..
(2:21.017); 37. _
On Cheung (2:21.576).
125e< GRAND PRIX< I. Thomas Luthi (Han): 2. Hi'" Kallio
Pas;nj (Apr); 4. Hectoo" I'oubel (Apr); 5. Gabo.Talmacsi (KTH); 6. Julian Simon (Hon); 7. Fabrizio I..ai (Hon); 8. Hanuel
f'oaiaIi (G~); 9. Marco Simoncelli (Apr); 10. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Han);
II. Hike ell Meclio (Han); 12. Lukas Pesek (Ocr); 13. PaI>Io Nieto
(Ocr); 14. AJexj, Hasbou (Han); IS. AIeb< EsPMP'" (Hon); 16. Se.gio
(Kl11); 3. Hattia
Gadea (Apr); 17. Joan OINe (Apr); 18. And"", Iannone (Apr); 19.
En (Han);
27. Dmd Ilonxhe (Han); 28. jo.-di c..-chano (Apr); 29. _
On
Cheung (Hon); 30. Sascha Hommel (MaJ); 31. Doni Ta.. Pndita (Yam).
Tame:"3 min., 2.214 sec.
DIstance, 19 laps. 6S.35S miles
Avwap speed: 91.1 mph
Martin of victory: .C02 sec.
Fastest lap, Gabor Talmacsi. lap 3. 2: 14.839
115eIo Nieto (S8);
13. Se.gio Gadea (S7); 14. Joan CINe (4S); IS.1Waro Bautista (39).
of 16
UPCOMING ROUNDS
Round 14: Losail, Qatar, October 1
Round 15: Phillip Island, Australia, October 16
Lori§ Again
The tnod< _ in poor cooidllion, . . . . . . slower lap tan. than at winter tests. Then rain spoiled the second free practice. The final hour
finally saw times come clown at Ieut II:> last )'UI"" pole, set by Valentino
Rossi. Only one ~ - LorIa CaplroasI- was aetuaIly faster, and eYeI1
then only rtaht at the vetty end, &MnI him, 0ucaIi and 8rtcIJles1oo18 their
second sue: III in pole,
The tIr-. wwe crucial. WIth 20 mint-. II:> 10, the lOp fNe wwe all
on 8rtcIJles1oo18S, with Capiroal, Carlos Checa, ICeony Roberts Jr., John
Hopkins and Shinya Nakano ~ the IeIip forward made sinal the
_
break. N this point, Rossi _ down In eighth.
When Ihings lOt '-tic, only a handful of Michelin runners wwe able
II:> make the _
oflhelr quaIIflers, with Sete GibemaJ aettlnllI:> pole
ill the . . went down, Idl1 a couple of t8Ilths off Rossi'. 2004 time. But
Caplrossi was already out there and on a flier, goI"1 better than a Ienth
faster.
Many complalned of dirt or pertlaps just wear on the surface spoIlin&
times - Capirossl included.
"We've had II:> work harder than _ did at Motegt, because the track
isn't In such good condition," he said. "That's why we're slower than
when we tested here last winter. My qualifying run went really well, but
I also did a 10« of Iapa with race tires, and I think maybe they're _
better."
Glbemau's comments were convnon among the Michelin runners front-tire pi obIems.
"We're strugIlng," he said. ""'--on, lMlryIhin& was okay. Now
we're pusIting the front, and this track is all about Wrnin&."
Hopkins was aIonpIde, his second front rON in succession. It was all
about the tires, he said.
"The Ilridgestones are amazIng," HopkIns said. "It is like a dream
coml"l true. Sure Suzuki had some . - engI.... parts since Motegt, but
the bigest improven-.t cotnm from the tires: lots of ed&e grip. That
helps for my style with big lean qles. They are one of the reasons why
I have signed a new contract with Suzuki."
Nakano was another Ilridgestone user showi"l stron&IY and feeli"I
confident, usl"l the Iatest-spec motor, with better top-end power and
lM!fTeY ability.
"It has better lOp speed and more usable power, so I can open the
throtde eariIer," the Kawasaki rider said.
Roberts was alongside him, the reviYed but apparently jobless American disputing the lOp of the table with teammate Hopkins In the rniddIe
of the session.
"We're apIn pretty much sneaking up on where we .-dll:> be so
we can be consistent for the race," Roberts said. "I'm able to ride the
bike quite differently than before the new series of tires."
Hayden was alongside, pIckI"I up the pace and places at the end of
the two days.
"We're much better off today than yesterday," he said, "but my consistency in the afternoon In the heat is not where It should be. I'm lOing
to have to make a huge step tomorrow. I don't want to run round at the
back."
lWo rows, and still no Rossi! In fact, It was the fourth straight race he
was off the front rON. The champion-elect led the third, four places and
one rank higher than at Motegt. And he had a pithy comment about his
situation.
"We are In the shit - again," he said. "For me, It's wane than Motegt,
because I didn't expect It. But this Is one of my favorite tracks, and I am
slower than last )'UI"!"
Rossi also blamed a lack of front-end bite, but he pointed out that
Capirossl's pole was barely faster than his own last year.
"It is not as thou&h Ilridgestone have made a big step ahead," he
said. "We are In confusion."
Alongside. Checa _ within a second of pole. The brave Marco
MeIandri was just outside that marie - and It was remarkable he was rid1"1 at all.
Colin Edwards led the next, from Alex Barros and Max 8Iaai; Olivier jacque
~ Alex Hofmann) blamed his inexperieuce with
qualifyInc tIr-. for a reQtIvely lowly rON-fNe start. Shakey Byrne, out on
Troy BaylIss' Honda for the first time, was ~ and 18th, 4.7 seconds off pole, but he_learning fait.
<.,.
28
OCTOBER 5, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
