Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Rossi said. "I know I gave more than 100 percent today, and we had a lot of problems this weekend. This morning I wasn't sure if I could fight for the podium. After the start, I stayed calm as some riders made some mistakes, and I was able wait for things to clear. Step by step and meter by meter, I moved through the pack, and I used every second of the race." He had finally passed Nicky Hayden for second, then got ahead of Capirossi for two laps at half-distance of the 21 laps round the 3,439-mile Sepang circuit. "When he [Capirossi] passed me back, I knew that he had been playing with me, like a cat with a mouse," Rossi said. "In the last seven laps, he changed gear, and I couldn't stay with him." Rossi and the other Michelin runners had all been suffering front-tire problems, unable to match preseason test times or even last year's times. Last-minute changes in warmup gave him a better feeling, and an almost perfect race did the rest. (Left) Seven World titles, seven dwarfs. And ane Snow White. Makes sense to Valentino Rossi, as the showman hammed it up after winning his seventh World Championship with a runner-up finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix. (Below) Race winner Loris Capirossi (65) got the jump on the MotoGP field ot the Sepang Circuit, leading Nicky Hayden (69), Carlas Chfta (7), Sete Glbemau (15) and Marco Mel. . (33) inlO tum one for the ........ All this only broadened the grin on Capirossi's face, after two classic wins in a row. "Today was tougher than Motegi, but Bridgestone brought a great selection of tires, and we worked hard to understand which would be the best for the race," Capirossi said. In the lead, the former 125 and 2S0cc World Champion had tried to control the pace. "Then my pit board told me Valentino was coming," he said. He saw Rossi come by, then chose his moment to pounce. "I did some great laps in the end," Capirossi said. "I've been racing GPs for 16 years now, but my potential is still strong, and I want more wins!" Given Checa's pace late in the race, it might have been a Ducati one-two. But the Spanish rider qualified on only the third row and was then slowed in a firstcorner melee, finishing lap one in eighth. "That totally changed my race," Checa said. "It wasn't easy to come back, but I set my pace and saw the leaders losing time as they battled together." After a spirited battle with Hayden, he closed right up to Rossi at the end, but he had no chance to attack. "ObViously, he's ridden before," he quipped later. Hayden had been an active member of a close battle up front from the start, after losing a chip off his Repsol Honda's tire in the same first-turn shambles, triggering troublesome chatter. He even challenged for the lead and learned some good lessons, he said later. But again, he lost pace at the end, finishing seven seconds adrift. "The bike came a long way this weekend," Hayden said. "My guys did a great job. I tried my hardest and tried to hold onto the podium, but it wasn't to be." He was still significantly the best of the rest of the Michelin runners. MoviStar Honda's Sete Gibernau had another disastrous race, shattering the hopes of second-row starter Shinya Nakano, on Bridgestones on the improved Kawasaki. At the end of lap two, the Spaniard tried to take third place off the green bike by diving inside into the final hairpin, only to lose the front and skittle his rival. Gibernau's teammate Marco Melandri was fifth - a heroic ride, with some 3S stitches in his right foot after he was injured at Motegi a week before. "It was really difficult, though it got easier when the fuel load lightened," he said. "I just tried to save my position." A good start had earned him that place, while the sixth-placed Max Biaggi had to come through from the fourth row of the grid, finishing the first lap ninth. He then had to fight his way through a strong midfield battle involVing both Suzukis, also benefiting from the Bridgestone effect. Biaggi had dragged them all up to within one second of Melandri at the finish, fol- lowed in very short order by Kenny Roberts Jr., Alex Barros, John Hopkins and Colin Edwards. Roberts praised the machine's consistency on the latest tires, saying: "If we get something enginewise to accelerate and run with the other guys, we'll be right there. The biggest thing is the traction control is working much, much better." Hopkins had a sorrier tale, his frontrow start ruined when he braked too early for turn one, then got slowed still further by the scrummage there. He finished the first lap 12th and fought his way back, but he complained that getting stuck behind Hondas and Ducatis meant he wasn't able to use his corner speed, and his lap times suffered. Outside the top 10, the rest were mostly spaced out at wide intervals Fortuna Yamaha's Toni Elias, Konica Minolta Honda's Makoto Tamada, d'Antin Ducati's Roberto Rolfo, Camel Honda's Shane Byrne, Fortuna Yamaha's Rueben Xaus and Blata WCM's Franco Battaini. Only Byrne and Xaus were close, with Honda first-timer Byrne holding the Spaniard at bay by two-tenths. The sensation of the 2S0cc GP came on lap one, when champion designate Dani Pedrosa had his first race crash since the second round at Jerez last year. This left flag-to-flag winner Casey Stoner the chance to all but halve the defending champion's points lead. The Australian controlled a somewhat processional race, after Andrea Dovizioso was another of four to crash out on the first lap. Only Alex de Angelis was able to give chase, and he finished three seconds behind. Sebastian Porto was third, winner of a dice with teammate Randy de Puniet and pole-starter Hiroshi Aoyama. "It was a perfect race and weekend altogether," said Stoner, after his third win of the season gave him a fighting chance of claWing back the championship over the next four races, the points deficit now less than 40. Thomas Luthi overcame his fresh injuries and a persistent challenge from KTM's Mikka Kallio to take an almost start-to-finish third I25cc win of the year, the Elit Honda rider stretching his narrow eight-point title lead in the process. "I'm glad the race is over," he said. As well as having injured his ankles after being run over at Motegi, he had also injured his shoulder. Mattia Pasini came through to third, fending off Hector Faubel and the other two KTMs of Gabor Talmacsi and Julian Simon. MOTOGP It was sultry and overcast as the main race got under way, but the threat of tropical showers remained only a threat. Capirossi's big red Duke won the drag race into the first corner, from Melandri and Nakano. Just behind, Gibernau and Hayden collided midcorner, shuffling CYCLE NEWS • OCTOBER 5,2005 23