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/128402
Briefly... Continuea from poge 19 smooth. Maybe when it gets bumpier, it could be a bit different." Second-fastest qualifier Marco Melandri spoke of an adventure there when he tried to take it in sixth gear "I had a qualifying tire, and I came out of the comer before so fast I hit the rev-limiter in fifth - so I thought I would try sixth. I got into the corner okay, but coming out it was not so easy," he said, rather understating the case. He ran wide, right over the curbing, and within an inch of hitting the grass. "1 don't think I will try that again," he smiled. Paddock denizens were jaded in Turkey, after five races in six weekends, spanning numerous time zones and both hemispheres in the trail from Japan to Malaysia, Qatar, Australia and Turkey - and fIVe-time World Champion Valentino Rossi was prominent in the widespread complaints at this punishing schedule. "I think 17 races is too much, and fIVe races in six weeks is too much. The jet lag is too difficult, and I have spent a lot of time in airplanes," he said - though travelling first class may make it easier, of course. "We need to race after being judged as having jumped the start, then failing to see the signals calling him in for a stop-and-go. Earlier, Carrera Aprilia's Casey Stoner held off a determined new World Champion Dani Pedrosa to win his fifth race of the year by less than a tenth of a second. The Australian had led from start to finish, with Pedrosa hunting him down in the closing stages. Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Hiroshi Aoyama was third, relieved of the racelong pressure of Alex de Angelis when the San Marino rider slipped off in the final corners, remounting to finish seventh. "I knew it was Dani coming behind me, because his team was the only other holding out a pit board," Stoner said. "I knew if , went behind, there would be no chance to get back, because the left side of my tire was destroyed and I wasn't confident on the fast corners. I kept my head down, kept smooth, and braked as late as possible to keep him behind." Pedrosa blamed himself for leaving his attack until too late. '" made a mistake staying too long behind him, but my engine was not as strong as his, and also I couldn't open up as I wanted on the small part of the track," he said. Stoner's win prolongs the battle for the manufacturers' title, bringing Aprilia to within one point of Honda - 323-324. French Kopron Honda rider Mike di Meglio barged his way to his first victory in a thrilling 125cc GP - playing his part in keeping the championship battle alive until the last round, even though erstwhile points leader Mika Kallio crashed his KTM on the penultimate lap. The 17-year-old French rider said: "I knew from the start I had to be with the leading group, and from the first lap it was really good fun, and very difficult. But my bike was perfect today." Champion-elect Thomas Luthi finished fifth, at the back of the remnants of a fear- think about this for the calendar, and not to go back and forth in time zones." Asked if the mental effects of time displacement might be a safety issue, he agreed. "It is a possibility," he said. One wag told him he'd better not complain about 17 races, because the FI series (his rumored destination) has 19. Rossi laughed and said. "We try to fIX one problem at a time." The rider map had a few more salient points sketched in at Turkey, with some rumors confirmed, and others gaining so much strength that they hardly needed official confirmation. In the former category, it was confirmed that Shinya Nakano will stay with Kawasaki for 2006, with new teammate Randy de Puniet announced in Australia There is no official stamp on Sete Gibemau's switch to Ducati, but it is considered a done deal. He will join Loris Capirossi in the Marlboro squad. The same applies to the Camel Honda lineup - where Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss will both depart, and Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa will join. It represents a return for Biaggi, after one year in the official factory team. Barros is currentty without a ride; Baytiss will retum to World Superbikes, with the factory Ducati team. The second notable absentee from Istanbul Park was double 2005 winner Loris Capirossi. struggling to recover from internal injuries sustained at the same corner on the same day that Kenny Roberts Jr. was hurt. The Italian rider was nown home to Italy on Monday after the race, with a drain still in place on his injured right lung. He is currently in the hospital in Imola, under the care of Dr. Claudio Costa. Colin Edwards was the first MotoGP rider to crash at the impressive new Istanbul circuit, losing the front and sliding off without injury. But the otherwise tame fall was to have a fiery consequence in the Friday ahemoon session. "The crash was a strange one," the Texan said. "1 felt like I was actually going slower than the previous lap, then the front end just went away." The engine kept running until he ran back to the bike and hit the kill switch. In the afternoon, he paid the price, with a smoky blowup, the bike actually catching fire before he carne to a stop. It was something of a replay Continued on page 23 CYCLE NEWS • NOVEMBER 2, 2005 21