Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Round 15 MOTOGP October 16, 2005 ~ "I had to run wide, and I couldn't finish the corners well," he said. Roby Rolfo scored three points on the d'Antin Pramac Ducati by finishing 13th. With a full fuel load, Rolfo couldn't close the corners. "Then the rear tire began to drop off," Rolfo said. James Ellison won the battle of the WCMs, over Franco Battaini, getting two points to Battaini's one. Kawasaki's Olivier Jacque pitted once to Nicky'§ Third Pole Colin Edwards needed just two words to describe the problems many riders were having in qualifying. "It's Michelin," he said. Then he needed more: ':.\11 the tires that we have here, the only thing they have in common with the tires we tested here [during the Australian summer, when times were consistently faster) is the aetuaI rubber. And that's l0oseiy. The constructions and stuIf they had to change around, just for heat. Some of the tires we had here in testing, yeah, they were great, it was awesome. But you could only do about 10 laps and the thing would blister, do whatever. They've had to change accordingly. That's the biggest reason everybody's struggling with grip." Most everybody. Including Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden, who shattered the lap record to earn his third pole of the season. "When it's like that, the bike's working, the bike has got grip, and the lap comes together, it's a lot oHun to ride the bike like that:' Hayden said after his lap of 1:29.337, a mark that was well underthe previous best lap of I:30.068. However, he cautioned: "Tomorrow's going to be really tough. I know a lot of guys are going fast here, a couple of guys really fast." Hayden's was a one-lap wonder. His race pace wasn't going to keep him near the front, and he knew it. "It's definitely spinning a lot and getting a little bit too much heat in the tires," he said. "We got a bit of work to do. We're not quite as fast as some guys consistently on the race tires." Valentino Rossi was second at a gap of .106 of a second. He might have taken the pole had he not run up on Reuben Xaus on a very fast lap. Quickest at all three intervals, he pitted rather than run out a wasted lap. "I was confident for the pole position, and I try, I try very much, but Nicky's faster, make a fantastic lap time, and I try:' he said. Rossi agreed that the difference from the summer test was tires. "For the rear, we need to go softer," Rossi said. "And especially on the right part of the tires, here we have, everybody have a lot of problems. Because is difficult to put the tire in temperature and keep the right temperature and keep I00 percent for the performance." Rossi was consistent as always, and he had company in the form of Marlboro Ducat;'s Carlos Checa. "Bridgestone seem like they are very fast here, and I think Loris [Capirossi) would have been very fast if he had not crashed:' Rossi 18 oaOBER 26, 2005 • World Championship Road Race Series CYCLE NEWS change a rear tire, returning to finish 16th. ':<\fter twice going straight at the hairpin," he said, "I came in and changed the rear tire and, after going back out, I was able to pass both Vermeulen and Hopkins, and the bike was fast and consistent." There were two nonstarters and two nonfinishers. Both Marlboro Ducati's Loris Capirossi and Suzuki's Kenny Roberts Jr. had short weekends. Both had unexplained first-turn crashes on Friday morning. Capirossi suffered internal bleeding in the lungs and flew back to Italy on Sunday. His crash was thought to be mechanical, but that wasn't confirmed. Roberts fractured his left wrist and returned to California on said of his fellow Italian, who fell in the first practice session. Then he said something not heard in some time: "Carlos [Checa) is very fast, I think with a faster rhythm than me, and for sure I am a little bit worried about him tomorrow!" First there was Sete Gibernau to deal with. Or not. Gibernau was of the same opinion as Hayden - that consistency was elusive. "Right now we're struggling too much, and whatever we do has to be before warmup," Gibernau said. Checa celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday with a long run of consistently fast laps that no one could match. Only Rossi came close. "Getting older and faster:' Checa said after becoming the first rider to lap under I:30 at Phillip Island, with 15 minutes left in qualifying. "I feel comfortable on the bike, and I'm very happy with the race tires we've got here, so I was able to do some fast runs." Next to Checa was Edwards. "I finally pulled my head out of my ass," he said after a lap of I :29.943. "We're just kind of really starting to understand a few things. I think now that it's this late in the year, it's about time we start putting two and two together, and we went a long way from yesterday. If you would've told me yesterday you'll do 29.9, I'd say, 'I wish.' It's not front row, but it's not the fifth row." Edwards saw Checa as being on pace, with only Rossi close, among the Michelin runners. "I don't see anybody holding a candle to his pace," he said. Repsol Honda's Max Biagg; was an unhappy sixth fastest. "We've had trouble getting weight on the front and traction at the back, but it definitely seems that things are coming better," Biagg; said. Fortuna Yamaha's Toni Elias led off row three after getting a tow from Rossi. Next to him were the Hondas of MoviStar MotoGP's Marco Melandri and Konica Minolta's Makoto Tamada. "We made a few modifications this afternoon to try and improve the performance of the bike, but we haven't had the results that we had hoped for," Melandri said. Tamada was battling a flu, but he was confident of his pace after tagging onto the back of Edwards for a few laps. Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano was joined on row four by Suzuki's John Hopkins and Camel Honda's Alex Barros. Hopkins was the lone Suzuki entrant after teammate Kenny Roberts Jr. broke his wrist in a Friday practice crash. "Fourth row is obviously not where we want to be," Hopkins said. Saturday. Bridgestone test rider Shinchi Itoh may stand in for Capirossi in Istanbul. Suzuki hadn't yet made a decision. Repsol Honda's Max Biaggi didn't complete a lap. The Italian crashed in the fourth turn while in the middle of a pack, fighting for positions. "One moment I was braking for the corner, the next moment the bike was on its side," he said. Camel Honda's Alex Barros lost the front end and crashed spectacularly five laps from the end. The Brazilian was sliding harmlessly along the grass when he caught the edge of the gravel trap and started tumbling Violently. "I was riding well, keeping my rhythm going without pushing too hard, but then I suddenly lost control of the front," he said. "It would have all been okay if I had just slid out and traveled along the ground, but when I hit the gravel trap, the sudden deceleration flipped me up into the air:' Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Dani Pedrosa drafted by Sebastien Porto on the run to the nag to clinch his second consecutive 2S0cc World Championship. The win was Honda's 600th in the World Championships, with both the 599th and 600th coming on this day. Earlier, Thomas Luthi won the 125cc race. "This is a great day for everyone, and to be the rider to give Honda its 600th win means the day could hardly be any better," Pedrosa said. Pedrosa's championship was made possible when title contender Casey Stoner highsided out of the lead in his home Grand Prix on the fourth of 2S laps. The title would go to the Spaniard, if he won, and he did, but not by much. The margin of victory was .027 of a second. "Now I'm World Champion 250 again, like last year, and I'm very happy," the diminutive Spaniard said. "I want to say thank you to my team, because they work very hard and they need this victory." Pedrosa took the occasion of his championship to respond to those who doubted his resolve while recovering from a shoulder injury. "I'm very happy to win this race because always it was difficult for me this

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