Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Distance: 27 laps, 74.57 miles Average speed: 108.76 mph Margin of victory: 1.007 sec. Fastest lap: Marco Melandri, lap .... 1:30.332. MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 15 of 17 rounds): I. Valentino Rossi (331/10 wins); 2. Nicky Hayden (170/1 win); 3. Marco Melandri (170); 4. Colin Edwards (162); 5. Max Biaggi (159): 6. Loris Capirossi (148/2 wins); 7. Sete Gibernau (137); 8. Alex Barros (129/1 win); 9. Carlos Checa (114); 10. Shlnya Nakano (87); II. Makete Tamada (76); 12. Kenny Roberts (63); 13. John Hopkins (59); 14. Toni Elias (S8); 15. Tmy 8ayl;" (54); 16. Ruben Xaus (49); 17. (TIE) Olivier Jacque (25)/Roberto Rolfo (25); 19. Alex Hofmann (22); 20. Jurgen van der Goorbergh (12). 250cc QUAliFYING: I. Casey Stoner (1:32.756); 2. Jorge Lorenzo (I :32.843); 3. Alex De Angelis (1:32.882); 4. Sebastian Porto (I :33.117); 5. Hector Barbera (I :33.624); 6. Daniel Pedrosa (I :33.691); 7. Andrea Dovizioso (1:33.733); 8. Hiroshi Aoyama (I:H.IH); 9. Randy De Puniet (I:H.HI); 10. Roberto Locatelli (1:34.715); II. Yuki Takahashi (I :H.739); 12. Steve Jenkner (I :34.998); 13. Alex Deban (1:35.028); 14. Sylvain Guintoli (1:35.087): 15. Taro Sekiguchi (I :35.104); 16. Simone Corsi (1:35.225); 17. Chaz. Davies (1:35.710); 18. Alex Ba/dolini (1:35.761); 19. Jakub Smn: (1:35.981); 20. Andrea Ballerini (1:36.107); 21. Dirk Heidolf (1:36.192); 22. Mirko Giansanti (1:36.318); 23. Martin Cardenas (I :36.547); 24. Arturo Tizon (I :36.631); 25. Arnaud Vincent (I :36.756); 26. Erwan Nigon ("37.463); 27. Mathieu Gines ("37.611). 250cc GRAND PRIX: I. Daniel Pedrosa (Hon); 2. Sebastian Porto (Apr); 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Han): 4. Heetor Barbera (Hon); 5. Andrea Dovirioso (Hon); 6. Hiroshi Aoyama (Hon); 7. Randy De Puniet (Apr); 8. Roberto Locatelli (Apr); 9. Alex Deban (Hon); 10. 5ytvain Guintoli (Apr); I I. Chaz Davies (Apr); 12. Dirk Heidolf (Hon); 13. Jakub Smrz (Hon); 14. Steve Jenkner (Apr); 15. Andrea Ballerini (Apr); 16. Simone Corsi (Apr); 17. Martin Cardenas (Apr); 18. Mirko Giansanti (Apr); 19. Arturo Tizon (Hon); 20. Mathteu Gines (Apr). Time: 39 min .. 18.195 sec. Distance: 25 laps, 69.05 miles Average speed: 10504 1 mph Margin of victory: .027 sec. Fastest lap: Sebastian Porto, lap 3. 1:33.503 2S0cc WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 14 of 16 rounds): I. Daniel Pedrosa (264/7 wins); 2. Casey Stoner (213/4 wins); 3. Andrea Dovizioso (171); 4. Hiroshi Ayoama (154/1 win); 5. Sebastian Porto (1~2/1 win); 6. Jorge Lorenzo (134); 7. Randy De Puniet (130/1 win); 8. Alex De Angelis (129); 9. Hector Barbera (99); 10. Sylvain Guintoli (75); I I. Yuki Takahashi (68); 12. Simone Corsi (59); 13. Alex Debon (58); 14. Roberto Locatelli (47); IS. Mirko Giansanti (34); 16. Anthony West (30); 17. Chaz Davies (26); 18. Alex BaJdolini (20); 19. And'ea Ballerinl (16); 20. Jakub SmlL (14). 125« QUALIFYING, I. Thomas Luthi (1,37.543); 2. Mania Pasini (1:37.704); 3. Gabor Talmacsi (1:37.704); 4. Marco Simoncelli (1:37.731); 5. Mika Kallio (1:37.906); 6. Tomoyoshi Koyama (1:37.930); 7. Mike Di Meglio (1:37.983); 8. Lukas Pesek (1:38.177); 9. Fabrizio L.ai (1:38.182); 10. Joan Olive (1:38.208): II. Julian Simon (1:38.239); 12. Angel Rodriguez. (1:380449); 13. Hector Faubel (1:38.649); 14. Raffaele De Rosa (1:38.7H); IS. Manuel Poggiali (I :38.968); 16. Sandra Conese (I :39.020); 17. Alexis Masbou (I :39.107); 18. Alvaro Bautista (I :39.107); 19. Aleix Espargara (I :39.249); 20. Nicolas Terol (1:39.368); 21. lmre Toth (1:39.578); 22. Sergio Gadea (I :39.61 0); 23. Lorenzo Zanetti (I :39.656); 24. Jordi Carchano (1:39.701); 25. Karel Abraham (1:40.082); 26. Toshihisa Kuzuhara (1:40.128); 27. Manuel Hernandez (I :40.272); 28. Gioele Pellino (t :40,4 12); 29. Federico Sandi (1:400418); 30. Mateo Tunez (1:40.678); 31. Michele Pirro (1:40.936); 32. Pablo Nieto (1:41.044); 33. David Bonache (I :41.172); H. Andrea Iannone (I :41.814); 35. Dario Diuseppetti (I :-42.145); 36. Blake Leigh-Smith (I :43.269): 37. Sascha Hommel (I :43.285); 38. Tom Hatton (I :43.320). 125cc GRAND PRIX: I. Thomas Luthi (Hon); 2. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Hon); 3. Marco Simoncelli (Apr); 4. Mattia Pasini (Apr); 5. Mika Kallio (KTM); 6. Hector Faubel (Ap,); 7. Gabo, Talmacsl (KTM); B. Angel Rodrigue, (Ap,); 9. Sergio Gadea (Apr); 10. Alexis Masbou (Hon); II. Raffaele De Rosa (Apr); 12. Fabrizio Lai (Hon); 13. Manuel Poggiali (Gil); 14. Mike Di Meglio (Hon): IS. Joan Olive (Apr); 16. Alvaro Bautista (Hon); 17. A1eix Espargaro (Hon): 18. Pablo Nieto (Der); 19. Sandro Cortese (Hon); 20. Lorenz.o zanetti (Apr); 21. Toshihisa Kuzuhara (Hon); 22. Manuel Hernandez (Apr); 23. Mateo Tunez (Apr); 14. Gioele Pellino (Mal); 25. Jordi Carchano (Apr); 26. Dario Giuseppetti (Apr). 27. David Bonache (Hon); 28. Blake Leigh·Smith (Hon). Time: 38 min...352 sec. Distance: 23 laps; 63.53 miles Average speed: IDO.29 mph Margin of victory: 2.663 sec. Fastest lap: Angel Rodriguez. lap 3, 1:38.054 125cc WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 14 of 16 rounds): I. Thomas Luthi (214/4 wins); 2. Mika Kallio (21213 wins); 3. GaborTalmacsi (165/3 wins); 4. Marco Simoncelli (156/1 win); 5. Mattia Pasini (147/1 win); 6. Fabrizio Lai (123); 7. Julian Simon (115/1 win); 8. Manuel Poggiali (102); 9. Hector Faubel (I DO); 10. Tomoyoshi Koyama (93); I I. Mike Di Meglio (79): 12. Sergio Gadea (68); 13. Pablo Nieto (58); 14. Joan Olive (51); 15. Alvaro Bautista (39); 16. A1eix Espargaro (31); 17. Lorenzo Zanetti (30); 18. Alexis Masbau (28); 19. Lukas Pesek (22); 20. Toshihisa Kuzuhara (17). UPCOMING ROUNDS: Round 16: Istonbul, Turkey, Oclober 23 Round 17: Valencia, Spoin, November 6 Briefly••• Continued from page 19 another race after the Spaniard won and Rossi crashed out of the controversial Qatar Grand Prix last year. "I heard this story and also from a lot of people, but is not true," he said, joking that he, indeed, did have a voodoo doll of the MoviStar Honda MotoGP rider. "Never said that for sure, 100 percent. I remember after Qatar, I say, 'Now I want to try to win the last three races and I win the last three races.' But after from this year, we start from zero. I never say Gibernau will never win for one year. I think is not just the speed, but to win you need a lot of calm and quiet; maybe in this minute, during this year, Gibernau hasn't this situation." Rossi said that he was surprised that Gibernau hadn't won for over a year. "For sure, Gibernau, if we speak about speed, he's very fast and he make a very good Grand Prix, good races. Always push, always very fast, but yes, I'm a little bit surprised, for sure." Rossi is entering a period in his career where every win moves him closer to a record. Coming to Australia, he was two wins short of Mick Doohan's premier-class total of 54 and needed to run the table of the final three races to set a record of 12 wins in a season. "In my mind, for sure I want try to make to beat Mick:' he said, adding that to tie Doohan's 12, he'd have to beat his personal record of II wins in a year, achieved in 1997,200 I and 2002. "For sure, if I'm able to win 12, is okay. The best now is Mick, the 12 races of Doohan. For sure is an extra motivation. For me, the bigger motivation is the taste to win a race and after, yes, for sure, if I win mare than 12, I'm happy." The records don't consume him, he admitted. "I think at the end are just numbers. But yes, for sure is important to beat a legend like Mick Doohan in Soo/MotoGP is a great idea. If I beat him, I am just second behind [Giacomo] Agostini, 50 is good." How to evaluate upcoming talent? Valentino Rossi had a succinct answer. "If you are fast but make a lot mistakes, is possible you improve. If you are not fast, you are f--ked." The line came in response to Rossi and Mick Doohan, who are both boosters of Casey Stoner - both believing he should get a shot at MotoGP. "So Stoner was always a good rider, from the first Grand Prix:' Rossi said. "So he come in 250 and he was already fast. This is the most important for the rider. I think Stoner will be one of the future, of MotoGP. I don't understand in half season, he slip a little bit and he lost. Maybe he think already the championship is finished with [Daniel] Pedrosa. Now is like a new rider. Maybe he understands that Pedrosa is not unbeatable and he fight for the championship. So is impressive. Is fast. And he's Australian; he's young. I think for the future is a good opportunity." Davide Brivio said that the third and fourth Yamaha spots were still open, and that Herve Poncharal's Tech 3 team was at the forefront of discussions. Brivio confirmed that neither Ruben Xaus nor Toni Elias were in Yamaha's plans. "Now MotoGP is becoming quite expensive, so it is becoming harder to secure the budget for a season. We have to wait and see what Herve can prepare." It was suggested that Rossi's crew chief, Jerry Burgess, might continue on with a young rider like Rossi. ':t>.lways Jerry say when I stop, he stop, but I don't trust him," Rossi said. "I think if he find a new talent with a young rider with good potential, like Stoner, maybe he's able to continue. The important thing for me is he stay with me until I finish. Ifhe go with Stoner, I'm happy." Five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan agrees that Stoner deserves a shot. "Yeah, definitely:' Doohan said. "He's had some good results. What I like about him again, I'm not being patriotic - is that he's a thinker. He rides a bike and he's qUick and he thinks things through. He's just not a cornerto-comer racer. And you know, as I've said before, I think it's good to keep people learning. He's proven he can win on a 125, he's proven he can win on a 250. I don't necessarily believe you need to win in that category to make it. Rossi is the only former 250 World Champion to do it in a long while. And at the end of the day, if you win MotoGP or the world motorcycling championship, they don't look back and go, 'Well, shit, how good was he in 25051' It's all about winning that title. So it would be good. And again, it'd be good if there were a few opportunities, not only for Casey, but for more people to come into the paddock, change a few people around who get the same results; doesn't matter which color leathers they've got on, their results are exactly the same." Fortuna Yamaha team owner Herve Pon· charal said he was 99.9 percent certain he'd lost his title sponsor. "So we are out, we are hungry:' he said. "We need to find the way to work next year. Because, as you know, MotoGP team is not cheap to run." Poncharal said he was talking to various companies, and one of the negotiations is very positive, but it's only verbal. "Although I have some quite positive contacts, nothing is done," he said. "The guy I'm talking with is wishing to have a two-rider team. And I'm wishing to have a two-rider team, and I will do anything I can to have a two-rider team." Poncharal said that Yamaha is committed to four bikes maximum. "Still, there could be maybe a two plus one, something like this," he said, with Rossi and Edwards on the factory team... or not. "So then there is only one. But who is going to get the fourth one, or is it going to be a twotwo, or is it going to be a two plus one, one? And this very much speaks to the issue." Chris Vermeulen had a lot to absorb in his MotoGP debut. "Everything is different. Seating position, handlebars, suspension, power characteristics, brakes, horsepower, tires, Spanish team - everything is different:' he said. Confidence in the front end is everything to a rider, and the Michelin gave a much different feeling than the Pirellis he's been racing in World Superbike. "The Pirelli front tire has much different characteristics. It's a lot softer and moves around a lot more. The Michelin is a lot harder to get feel from, but I feel when I get it, I'll be able to go a lot qUicker. I'm not riding it to its limit or pushing it that hard yet." Vermeulen improved a second per lap from Friday morning to the afternoon, and another second to Saturday morning's practice. He qualified 14th, having learned from others in his four hours on track. "Most of my time is lost on entry to the turns. It's just a confidence thing. I tried to follow [Carlos] Checa this morning but only stayed with him for about a lap. It was good to see because these guys know how to ride these things." Vermeulen said that his "braking markers are very different, especially into those hairpins, where it's a lot later. These brakes are incredible. The first lap out of the pits, you've got nothing until you've got heat into them, but once they start working, they are unreal." The power delivery of the RC21 IV was very different from the CBRlooRR. ':t>.nd I found in the straight, it just keeps going. The Superbike is probably much more aggressive in the lower gears, because we have the same horsepower all the way; there's no engine-management system. Where these things control the power and put it out in a better way, then in the straight it just keeps going. Fun to ride, I tell you." He added, "The power comes on earlier and you've got another 3000 rpm on what we use in Superbike." There was also the issue of engine management. "Where you get the power on is probably a similar place and how hard, this has got a lot more engine-management stuff. So you can open up the throttte, but there's a lot more electronics. Where the Superbike, some would say we don't have as much grip, either, and we've got a lot of power in any gear and it's more aggressive." One thing in Vermeulen's corner was track knowledge. "It's a big thing, actually:' the 23-year-old Australian said. "If I went to somewhere like Turkey, for example, didn't know the track, didn't know the bike, didn't know the tires, had nothing, it would be a lot harder. I do know I go out of pit lane and go that way. Know the corners, know the speed on a Superbike, even thought it's a little bit slower - the knowledge definitely helps, for sure." Vermeulen said he was "most likely doing Turkey. They've just given me hotel confirmation, so I'd imagine I'm going to Turkey. Valencia will be the same situation. Unless Troy [Bayliss] is fit to ride, then I'll be there. Nobody knows Turkey, and if I do the last three races, it works out good for me. I know this place; nobody knows Turkey, and I know Valencia." Vermeulen repeated a belief he stated frequently over the course of the weekend: that he doesn't want to go back to World Superbike. "I would like to come to this paddock," he said. "I think I've said that to Honda enough times now. It's difficult, there's only so many positions." But, he added, "If I don't get the chance to come here with the right team, that has the right eqUipment, with the right mechanics to be compeiitive, I'd like to stay in World Superbike with the Winston team and try to win that championship." CYCLE NEWS • OCTOBER 26, 2005 21

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