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/128628
(Axo Honda) at th e en d . Ro be rto Lo c ate lli ( Diesel Ap rilia) t o ok a clear wi n in the 125 r a ce , fe nd ing off a d eterm ined Youichi Ui ( De r bi) to close up t o wi t h in fiv e po ints of th e J apanese rider in the t itle b a ttl e . Defending c h a m p ion Emi lio Alzamora (Tel efo nic a MoviS tar Honda ) wa s third. 500ccRACE Biaggi led aw a y , but C ap iros s i took over o n the wa y down the hi ll, with Ros s i a nd Roberts close behind. . Abe ha d a bad sta rt, and sl id off soon afterwa rd trying to m ake up for it. Biaggi was back in front on the se cond lap , finding h is way un d er Capirossi to gain the clear track that is a lways a huge advantage for him . Th e m ost acc ura te of riders, he is far bette r when he has an empty track th an h e is a t bash ing fa iring s an d (Above) After looki ng like a title contender In pre-season testing, Max Blaggl has struggled all year, sometimes over-riding the bike, and sometimes j ust having bad luck. At Bmo, he put it all together, taking pole position, a nd then going on to take a dominating ~in. (Left) Valentino Rossi onl)' looked like a rookie in the earl)' pa rt of th e season. From midseason on he ha s looked li ke a ch a mpio n In th e making, putting himself on the ro st ru m in the last three ra ces. (Bel ow) Current W orld Champion Alex Crl vill e (1) co ntinues to struggle w ith his fa ctory Ho nda, a s hav e his t ea m mates Sete Gib e m a u (5) , and Tada )'u kl Okada (8). Gibemau en d e d up pa ssing t he champ f or sixth pl a ce, el bo ws irr ha nd -to -ha nd c o m bat. Ac c ord ingly , he o pened up a s econd on the first lap, more th an a second next time around , and just kept on pulli ng away , never threatened . Be hind him , Rossi moved to seco nd o n t he seco nd lap a nd t rie d to c hase h im . In vain , s ince h e only dama ged his own tires . .Capiross i a nd Roberts stayed with h im , Mc Coy a t th e back of the grou p , a nd won dering ho w to get some c le a r track on his ow n account. In fact , it d idn 't take too long . and Roberts gave h im a bit of hel p on the fou rth la p. "I left my braking la te at t h e end of th e back stra ight; Ros si a nd Capirossi di d t hei rs early," he exp lained . He was fo rc e d to s werve wide , and McCoy closed right up, a nd wa s pa st a cou ple of la ps later. Th e n h e pic ked o ff th e fadi n g C epiro s sl . t ry ing hard but unab le to fight hard with his injured hand , and soon also to fall victi m to Rob e rts , though he stayed close for the rest of the race . At th is p o in t , Rossi said late r , slidi ng t ire s o bliged hi m to stop push ing so ha rd. McC o y o utbraked him into tu rn one on the eighth lap. a nd soon eve n seemed to s ta rt pu lling away as the race passed hal f-distance. This wa s so mething of an illusion . however. and soo n Ross i attacked aga in, passi ng once only to be re buffed a couple of corners la ter , then fi na lly maki ng it stick on lap 17. Robe rts , c lo se behi nd, co u ld d o noth ing but wat ch. Later, m e chanics fo u n d particles of m etal shot in his cue I e n e _ S • A U G U ST 30, 2000 7