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/128635
(Abovel Earty leader Alex Barros (10) tries to make a break from the pack in his home GP. Norick Abe (6 ) and Garry McCoy (2 4) give chase. (Ri ght l ln the end, it w a s Italia n Val e nti no Rossi who preva iled. T he 500 cc c lass rookie won for a second time on the season as he attempts to fini sh second in t he t itle chase. young Italian sa id. "My first ra ce win was in the wet. S inc e the n I have had so me tr ouble with fro nt- whee l grip . bu t now my tea m ha ve mad e s om e c ha nge s and I have c ha nged my sty le a b it. and now it is work ing ve ry well. It's better to win in th e dr y - it means more than in the wet. " Wh ile last year 's winner Nor ick Abe a nd the Antena 3 Yamaha fended off a slow -starting Ma x Biaggi ( Ma r lb o ro Ya m a h a) fo r fo u rt h, Roberts eventuall y g ot ahead of his 2001 teammate S ete Gibernau and second Red Bull Yamaha rider Regis La coni. Meanwhile . both E m e rs o n Pons Honda's Loris Capirossi and Marlbo ro Yamaha's Carlos Checa crashe d o ut wh ile ahea d of Robe rts , th e latter rem ou nt ing to finish 15th . Title s in the s ma ller cla sses , how ever, are set to run to the e nd of the season , with two rounds remaining in J a pan a nd Australia . Both were clos er after the Rio GP than before it. In a thrilling 250cc G ran d Prix , rooki e Da ij iro Katoh and his Ax o Hon d a a ga in enjoyed th e advantage of a track unfamilia r to a ll to claim a th ird win of the year. But it was by the narrow es t of margins - .064 of a seco n d - ove r co u nt ry m a n T ohru Ukaw a (S he ll Adv a nc e Honda ), with Blu Aprilia 's Ma rc o Me landri right b ehind afte r a t h rilli ng ra c e-l on g . th ree- wa y battle of wild ly m ixed for tunes . T e n -s econd s b a c k , Ch e sterfield Yamaha ' s Sh in y a Naka no ca me through to fourth , with Anthony West a nd h is Sh ell Advanc e Honda fina lly defeating Ra lf Wa ldmann for fift h a little ways back . Po ints le a de r O livier J ac q ue , how ever, missed th e pa rty. Th e Chesterfield Ya m a ha rider was leading in th e early stages when he slipped o ff. He re m ounted and rode from the ba ck to get into th e po ints again , wh en he s lid off once more. Th e result gave a boost to Na ka no 's cha mp io nsh ip p o s itio n, closing up a ga in to withi n nine po ints of tea m m a te J a cqu e. Mix ed fo rtun e s in th e 125 c c GP s a w th e c ha m pio ns h ip get c loser aga in, as poin ts le ader a nd pole qual ifie r Roberto Locatelli slowed abrupt ly an d re tired from a fierce battle for the lead after one -third dis tance . His title riva l Youi ch i Ui was le a d ing o n the Derbi, bu t he cou ldn't ho ld off Mirko Gia nsa nt i an d Masao Azu m a - b oth on Be n e tton Playl ife Ho n d a s - o r Locate lli's teamm at e S imone S ann a . A t hrilli ng la st lap saw th e dice thrown aga in , as Sa nna fo rced th rough into the lea d , and Gia ns a nti fell in the last corner, handing a rostru m finish ba c k to Ui, allowi ng h im to close to wi thi n eig h t po ints of Loc a te lli. the re wa s a grea t c hee r fr om th e Brazilia n fans as he too k th e le ad th e next tim e a ro un d , hold ing on un til th e seventh la p. By then t h e orde r had shuffle d somewhat. Ca p iross i had c ras hed ou t of sevent h, wh ile Mc Coy and Ro s s i we re c om ing through from fifth a nd s e venth , respective ly, on lap one. In fact. McCo y counted him self luc ky to ha ve finished that first la p aft er forging thr ou gh fro m the fou rth row . "I was br aking and it started sliding e ve n m or e than usual. I thought I was g o ing down, and that I'd ta ke a few peopl e with m e ," McCo y s a id la t e r. Bu t h e was o n bl azin g fo rm , and y e t anoth e r sp e cta cular s lid e under bra king took h im und e r Barros at the last corner and into th e lead on la p e ight. 500cc GRAND PR IX Even Tadayuki O kada tho ug ht he had jumped the sta rt, as he leapt into the le ad from th e se cond row , but th e o ffi c ial s tho u ght o t h e rw ise a nd h e was a llowe d t o p roc e ed w it hout p en alty. He was still in fro nt a t the e nd of t he first la p . By then Barro s had displa c e d Ab e for second , and cue I e n e _ S • OCTOBER 18 . 2 0 0 0 7