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
.....Iot....."... fJl hj...... to criIdt 1M chanlPlttfle eorb In HIqJIIt')t Colin Edwards 15) battIecI with Alex Banos 14) and IaIer Toni Elias and eventually finished seventh. MOrOCIP MeIandrl charpd off the Ine at-! of GIIIenwI, Hayden. Edwards and Elias, with Rossi slow away and stuck behind Tamada. By the end of the lap he was ahead of the japaMse rider, but 2.2 seconds off the lead. and more than a second behind Elias. or course he closed that up within one more lap, but by then the front three - Melandri. G1bemau and Hayden had taken more than a second out of Edwards and Elias. with Barros dropping away behind Rossi. Rossi had the same gap next time around. and by then he was up to fourth, and he rapidly closed up on Hayden on the following lap. But the leaders still had a gap, with Gibernau snatching the lead at the start of the climb toward the very fast corner, and charging off impressively. That didn't last, however. He led for two laps, then left his braking too late for an uphill corner early in the lap, running wide and across the curb as Melandri, Hayden and Rossi piled past. He was fourth the next time around, almost six seconds adrift, and with Edwards, Elias, Barros and the recovering Checa (I Ith on lap one) close behind. He would leave them behind fairly soon, but he was too far from the leaders to do anything more. Up front, the leaders were still close on lap seven, and next time around Rossi pushed past into second into the last tight corners, losing a little ground on Melandri as he did so, with the Honda man gaining a one-second gap. The expected scenario did not develop. Rather than Rossi closing up on his younger rival, the gap stayed the same for three laps, and then started to stretch - by three-tenths on lap I I, two-and-a-half next time around, another tenth the next... and so on. On lap 16, Melandri's lead was two seconds, and on lap 20 it was three. With just two laps left, the game was effectively over. Hayden had stuck with Rossi, close but never threatening, until there were four laps to go, and then he started to lose touch. They crossed the line with Melandri standing on one foot, his other leg cocked up behind him and the bike on its back wheel. Hayden was well out of touch of Rossi. The apprentice's first victory had been very convincing, all weekend long. Behind Gibernau, Checa had made short work of Edwards. Elias and Barros, passing all three in one muddle in the last corners, with Edwards dropping to the back of the gang. Elias stayed close to the Ducati while Barros and Edwards lost touch rapidly while busy with each other, the American back ahead of the Brazilian on lap 10. Three laps later, Elias ran off the track, 22 NOVEMBER 2, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS