Sete
Gibernau (15) pressured Valentino (46) all the way to the last corner
at the Sachsenring
German
MotoGP of Sachsenring, Round 9
Gibernau
Steals win from Rossi
in Last Turn, Last lap Thriller in Germany
Track temperature:
43 degrees, Humidity: 30%, Ambient temperature: 31 degrees, bright
sunshine
Raceday Sunday July 27th: Sensational Sete Gibernau
(Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) scored his fourth win of the
season at a sun-kissed Sachsenring in eastern Germany in front of
an appreciative 92,000 crowd. Reigning World Champion Valentino
Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) had to settle for second after making
a critical error on the final turn which Gibernau pounced on for
his victory. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was third. Conditions were ultra-tough
around this twisting, physically demanding circuit with ambient
temperatures exceeding 30 degrees and track temperature reaching
40 degrees.
Max Biaggi
(Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) looked to be the dominant force here
this weekend after setting a pole time for the second successive
race. He also set the fastest lap of the race before crashing out
while chasing down the leading duo of Gibernau and Rossi.
Biaggi wasted
his pole position with a dreadful start that sunk him to tenth on
the first lap. Rossi howled into turn one ahead of the Ducati duo
of Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss with Gibernau in close pursuit.
Marco Melandri (Yamaha) made good early running, going as high as
second momentarily after a robust double overtaking move that disposed
of Gibernau and Capirossi. But he couldn’t make it stick.
By lap five
Rossi had pulled out a 2.5 second advantage over Gibernau who was
now in a solid second place with Bayliss third. Biaggi was moving
up the field with serious intent and by lap ten he was ready to
put Bayliss behind him and work on the leaders. But Bayliss had
other ideas and made it hard work for the Roman.
Biaggi and Bayliss swapped places three times on lap 11 as their
private battle raged and a lap later the faster Max had finally
put the determined Australian behind him. But on lap 14 Max lost
the front of his RC211V at turn ten and with it his chance of a
win, or at least a hefty points haul.
It was now
down to Gibernau to take the challenge to Rossi and the Spaniard
was more than up to it. At the halfway stage of the 30-lap race
he had cut the deficit to 0.7 seconds and on lap 21 he made his
move on the champ into the tight turn one at the end of the start/finish
straight.
Rossi followed
closely, seemingly getting the measure of his rival before making
a decisive play for the lead at his leisure – but there was
nothing at all leisurely about the way he had to ride to keep Gibernau
within striking distance. Rossi left it until the last lap before
he struck.
On the rapid
downhill right approach to the penultimate turn, Rossi fired his
RC211V around the outside of Gibernau and was then on the inside
of the lefthand turn that followed – and ahead. There was
only the final righthand corner to go and Rossi looked poised for
victory. But he overcooked his entry, and with his machine out of
shape, Gibernau seized his chance and squared off the turn to shoot
his bike up the inside of the floundering Rossi and broach the line
six hundredths of a second ahead of the Italian.
“That
was hard race,” said a delighted Gibernau. “Both mentally
and physically. I had no plan for the last lap because when you
have a plan and it doesn’t work, you’re in trouble.
I used a bit of dirt-track experience in the last turn – if
you want to pass someone on the way out – do the work on the
way in.”
Rossi was honest
about his error. “I made a big mistake,” he said. “I
try to go away at the start but it was impossible. So I stay with
Sete and wait for the last lap. I don’t know why I went so
tight into the final turn because it’s difficult to pass there.
But I went in too tight, lost the front and had to wait too long
before I could get on the throttle.”
The Ducati
MotoGP Team made a breathtaking debut at the awkward Sachsenring
circuit today, riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi finishing
third and fourth in a sweltering, crash-strewn race. The results
strengthen the pair’s World Championship positions: Capirossi
is fourth despite a fiery crash in morning warmup that destroyed
his primary bike, and Bayliss is fifth as the MotoGP circus heads
into its brief summer break before next month’s Czech GP.
“I’m
too happy!” beamed Ducati MotoGP Team technical director Corrado
Cecchinelli. “To score a podium result at a track which we’ve
never been to before and which everyone said would be bad for our
bike is fantastic. I hope all our ‘bad’ tracks will
be this good in the future! Troy rode a fantastic race. He had a
great battle with Max (Biaggi) which pushed Max into a mistake.
Loris was incredible. He was bruised everywhere after this morning’s
crash and had to use his second bike. On paper there’s no
difference between his two machines but maybe there’s a tiny
difference and a slight psychological issue in racing your second
bike. Also, he wasn’t in great physical shape for the race.”
Ducati MotoGP
Team rider Troy Bayliss today scored a brilliant third-place finish
in his first-ever race at the Sachsenring. The Aussie, riding with
a shaved head, made a stunning start from the second row to muscle
his way into third place. He protected that position from Max Biaggi
with typical aggression, repassing the attacking Italian three times
before Biaggi made the pass stick on lap 13, only to fall the very
next lap. That left the Aussie in a safe third place, which he maintained
to the chequered flag.
“It’s
my first time here and my second MotoGP podium, so I’m very
happy,” said a sweat-drenched Bayliss. “It’s been
a very good weekend for us but it was a very difficult race around
here. After Max went by and crashed I just tried to stay close to
Sete (Gibernau) for as long as possible. I knew Max’s pace
was really fast, so there wasn’t much I could do about him,
then he crashed because he was pushing very hard. The last third
of the race I was losing the back into turns off the throttle, so
I just did my own thing and brought the bike home. I’m really
happy for everyone in the team.”
Loris Capirossi
finished a brave fourth place in Germany today, a remarkable result
after a high-speed tumble in morning warm-up after which his Ducati
MotoGP Team Desmosedici caught fire. The bike was badly damaged
in the blaze, forcing the Italian to switch to his second machine
for this afternoon’s race. Undaunted, Capirossi rode superbly,
battling long and hard with a bunch of rivals, eventually defeating
Nicky Hayden for fourth place.
“I had
to ride a defensive race because my second bike was a tiny bit different
from the machine I crashed in warm-up,” said Capirossi who
hurt his neck and suffered all-over bruising in the 200kmh crash.
“I was quite bashed about in the accident. I’d say I
was only feeling 80 per cent before the race. So, all things considered,
I’m satisfied with the result. These points are very important
for the championship. I’m very happy for Troy and I feel sorry
for Marco (Melandri, who crashed late in the race while racing with
Capirossi) – he was riding really fast.”
 |
Nicky
Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) rode a great race to fifth in
his rookie year, just allowing Loris Capirossi to steal fourth
from him, and the American was understandably delighted. “That
was fun,” he said. “I really needed that race
and I’ll take fifth. I was fourth at one point but on
the last lap on the last couple of corners I rode a little
too conservatively and Capirossi just snuck by. Hats off to
my guys. They worked real hard for me all year.”
Things
improved a little for Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V)
who was sixth. “The result is a bit below my expectations,”
he said. “But not too bad. I had a bit of trouble in
the early laps with my tyre spinning up and that was due to
not quite getting the set-up right. But I’m improving
step-by-step.”
Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) managed 13th. “I
could never make a real attack,” he said. “It’s
been like that all weekend – a bit demoralising. We
tired a new front fork that gave me a bit more grip, but not
quite enough to make a fierce attack. I’m looking forward
to Brno now and the time we spent testing tyres there should
give me an advantage.”
Rossi
still leads the overall points standings with 187 to Gibernau’s
158 with Biaggi in third with 130. |
Honda
final wins in 250cc with Roberto Folfo
Roberto Rolfo
(Fortuna Honda RS250RW) won his first ever Grand Prix in fine style
when he beat Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) into second place with Randy
de Puniet (Aprilia) finishing third. The Italian Honda rider came
so close to winning here last year when the race was stopped because
of rain just as he’d taken the lead (the race order from the
previous lap counting as the result).
Rolfo headed
the pack into the first turn at the lights and led from Sebastian
Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) in the early laps
with Fonsi Nieto in close pursuit. But de Puniet was making ground
and by lap 6 the Frenchman was up to second place and sizing up
Rolfo for a pass.
He made it on lap 14 and Rolfo stayed close enough to harry the
Aprilia rider for the next three laps before backmarker traffic
began to take its toll on the leading group, Porto suffering enough
to lose touch with the leaders. By this stage Nieto had dropped
back after running off track but the Spaniard charged back into
contention for the lead by the closing stages.
Rolfo then muscled
his way back into the lead on lap 24 and held it to the finish despite
a huge slide three laps from the finish. “That was really
hard,” said the delighted Italian. “Everyone raced really
hard right from the beginning and the fast rhythm made me concentrate
to the absolute maximum to avoid any errors. I knew I would be fighting
for the win and this victory is the best feeling.”
Porto was understandably
less happy with fourth. “The front tyre was completely destroyed
by the end of the race,” said the Argentine. “Yesterday
we did a whole lot of laps on the same tyre and it was fine. There
was nothing I could do even though I was going well.”
The World Championship
points standings now show Manuel Poggiali, who crashed out of the
race, leading with 129 points, Nieto second on 126 and Rolfo third
on 122.
Perugini
and Aprilia back on top in 125cc
The 27-lap 125
race saw Stefano Perugini (Aprilia) win from pole position. The
Italian survived frantic last lap assaults from Casey Stoner (Aprilia)
and Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) who finished second and third respectively.
Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) finished
fourth to collect valuable World Championship points.
The race was
run in searing heat and the leading riders all suffered accelerated
tyre wear in the conditions. The four-rider breakaway that disputed
the podium positions in the closing laps did their utmost to gain
advantages as the final lap began, but they eventually finished
in the order in which they began the last lap.
“Towards
the end of the race the engine started sounding different,”
said Danny. “I didn’t know what it was so I just kept
going, but with three laps to go I lost speed and just had to settle
for fourth. I did what I needed to do in terms of the championship.”
Andrea Dovisioso
(Team Scot Honda RS125R) finished seventh after losing touch with
the leading group at the halfway stage, Simone Corsi (Team Scot
Honda RS125R) was ninth, Mika Kallio (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R)
was tenth and Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) crashed
out in the closing stages.
The World Championship
points table now shows Pedrosa ahead on 137 points with Perugini
on 117. Lucio Cecchinello (Aprilia) has 105 and Dovisioso is in
close touch with 102.
MotoGP
Race Classification MotoGP : (30 laps = 110.13 km)
Pos/Rider /Nat /Team /Motorcycle /Time/KM/H
1/Sete GIBERNAU /SPA /Telefónica Movistar Honda /HONDA/42'41.180/154.798
2/Valentino ROSSI /ITA /Repsol Honda /HONDA/42'41.240/154.795
3/Troy BAYLISS /AUS /Ducati Marlboro Team /DUCATI/42'54.387/154.004
4/Loris CAPIROSSI /ITA /Ducati Marlboro Team /DUCATI/42'57.701/153.806
5/Nicky HAYDEN /USA /Repsol Honda /HONDA/42'57.743/153.804
6/Tohru UKAWA /JPN /Camel Pramac Pons /HONDA/42'59.923/153.674
7/Shinya NAKANO /JPN /d'Antín Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/43'00.065/153.665
8/Carlos CHECA /SPA /Fortuna Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/43'07.345/153.233
9/Olivier JACQUE /FRA /Gauloises Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/43'09.461/153.108
10/Norick ABE /JPN /Fortuna Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/43'10.339/153.056
11/Nobuatsu AOKI /JPN /Proton Team KR /PROTON KR/43'10.496/153.047
12/Jeremy McWILLIAMS /GBR /Proton Team KR /PROTON KR/43'11.607/152.981
13/Makoto TAMADA /JPN /Pramac Honda /HONDA/43'30.760/151.859
14/Colin EDWARDS /USA /Alice Aprilia Racing /APRILIA/43'34.624/151.634
15/Kenny ROBERTS /USA /Suzuki Grand Prix Team /SUZUKI/43'38.692/151.399
Fastest Lap: Max BIAGGI 1'24.630 156.157 Km/h Lap 8
World Championship Positions:
1 ROSSI 187, 2 GIBERNAU 158, 3 BIAGGI 130, 4 CAPIROSSI 97, 5 BAYLISS
80,
6 UKAWA 66, 7 CHECA 65, 8 NAKANO 63, 9 BARROS 62, 10 HAYDEN 57,
11 JACQUE 50, 12 EDWARDS 42, 13 TAMADA 40, 14 HAGA 30, 15 ABE 24.
250cc
Race Classification 250cc: (29 laps = 106.459 km)
Pos/Rider /Nat /Team /Motorcycle /Time/KM/H
1/Roberto ROLFO /ITA /Fortuna Honda /HONDA/42'06.199/151.711
2/Fonsi NIETO /SPA /Team Repsol Telefonica Movistar /APRILIA/42'06.349/151.702
3/Randy De Punet /FRA /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/42'06.486/151.693
4/Sebastian PORTO /ARG /Telefonica Movistar jnr Team /HONDA/42'11.504/151.393
5/Franco BATTAINI /ITA /Campetella Racing /APRILIA/42'19.296/150.928
6/Anthony WEST /AUS /Team Zoppini Abruzzo /APRILIA/42'24.488/150.620
7/Toni ELIAS /SPA /Team Repsol Telefonica Movistar /APRILIA/42'27.080/150.467
8/Manuel POGGIALI /RSM /MS Aprilia Team /APRILIA/42'27.126/150.464
9/Alex DEBON /SPA /Troll Honda BQR /HONDA/42'51.370/149.045
10/Alex BALDOLINI /ITA /Matteoni Racing /APRILIA/42'54.900/148.841
Fastest Lap: Fonsi NIETO 1'26.469 152.836 Km/h Lap 16
World Championship Positions:
1 POGGIALI 129, 2 NIETO 126, 3 ROLFO 122, 4 ELIAS 106, 5 DE PUNIET
105, 6 WEST 104, 7 BATTAINI 98, 8 PORTO 87, 9 MATSUDO 60, 10 GUINTOLI
58, 11 DEBON 47, 12 OLIVE 27, 13 AOYAMA 20, 14 BALDOLINI 19, 15
GEMMEL 18.
125cc:
Race Classification 125cc (27 laps = 99.117 km)
Pos/Rider /Nat /Team /Motorcycle /Time/KM/H
1/Stefano PERUGINI /ITA /Abruzzo Racing Team /APRILIA/40'11.124/147.989
2/Casey STONER /AUS /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/40'11.336/147.976
3/Alex De ANGELIS /RSM /Globet.com Racing /APRILIA/40'11.499/147.966
4/Daniel PEDROSA /SPA /Telefonica Movistar jnr Team /HONDA/40'11.898/147.942
5/Pablo NIETO /SPA /Master-MXOnda-Aspar Team /APRILIA/40'17.001/147.629
6/Gabor TALMACSI /HUN /Exalt Cycle Red Devil /APRILIA/40'22.915/147.269
7/Andrea DOVIZIOSO /ITA /Team Scot /HONDA/40'23.194/147.252
8/Lucio CECCHINELLO /ITA /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/40'23.336/147.243
9/Simone CORSI /ITA /Team Scot /HONDA/40'23.769/147.217
10/Mika KALLIO /FIN /Ajo Motorsports /HONDA/40'27.493/146.991
Fastest Lap : Pablo NIETO 1'28.490 149.345 Km/h Lap 7
World Championship Positions:
1 PEDROSA 137, 2 PERUGINI 117, 3 CECCHINELLO 105, 4 DOVIZIOSO 102,
5 JENKNER 98, 6 DE ANGELIS 92, 7 NIETO 88, 8 BARBERA 67, 9 UI 64,
10 STONER 60, 11 GIANSANTI 51, 12 LUTHI 48, 13 KALLIO 46, 14 BORSOI
36, 15 TALMACSI 33.
 |
Matt
Mladin's speed, constinancy and good luck make him the sure
bet for clinching his 3rd AMA Superbike title this season riding
the bigger Suzuki GSXR1000. |
AMA
Superbike Championship, Round 9
Mladin
Doubles Down at Mid-Ohio
Ohio,
July 27, 2003: Looking set to clinch his 3rd AMA Superbike
title, Mat Mladin scooped up his ninth Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike
victory of 2003 this afternoon at Mid-Ohio, putting the finishing
touches on his third double of the season. Unlike yesterday's contest
in which the Yoshimura Suzuki ace was pushed until the final lap,
he crossed the line with a 6.668-second margin of victory even after
easing up in the final few laps.
The massive
Ohio crowd was treated to a repeat of yesterday's stellar battle
for the first half of the race, however. Kurtis Roberts took the
holeshot and diced with Mladin spectacularly, but was unable to
maintain the Aussie's pace for the entire distance. The title leader
took advantage of a superior drive heading onto the front straight
to slip up the inside of the Erion Honda rider in Turn 1 on lap
13 of 26. At that point Mladin eased out a gap on the charger, slowly
building up an insurmountable lead. Mladin now has 23 career AMA
Superbike victories, just three short of the all-time record. He
could overtake current leader Miguel DuHamel yet this year with
a perfect finish to the season.
"I wanted
to see what Kurtis was up to," he said of his early race with
Roberts. "I didn't get a very good start, but I got up behind
Kurtis before long and wanted to see what he was doing. I went by
him and stepped up the pace a little bit and we pulled a bit more
of a gap on everybody. I let Kurtis back by because I couldn't get
away from him. But when I let him back by he dropped straight back
into the low-to-mid eights... I figured I'd better pass him and
pick it a little bit. That's what we did and when we did, it put
Kurtis in a little bit of trouble."
Mladin now
has a 33-point championship advantage with four races remaining.
"That's good. Should be a lot more though."
Team Erion
Hond's Kurtis Roberts suffered another weekend of back luck - he
was forced out with mechanical problems with less than two laps
remaining while running a clear second. It has been a bitterly disappointing
weekend for the Erion pilot -- he easily had the form to take a
pair of top twos, but came away with a great deal less.
And like Saturday,
Jason Pridmore was the primary beneficiary of Roberts' misfortune.
The Attack Suzuki rider scored his second runner-up finish in as
many days, an amazing accomplishment for the factory-supported rider
and his team. Pridmore used the same strategy today that worked
so well on Saturday: stick with Mladin and Roberts as long as possible
and be pulled away from the rest of the field in the process.
American Honda's Ben Bostrom beat second Yosh rider Aaron Yates
to the line by .132-seconds to claim the final spot on the box.
The Georgian pressured for several laps leading up to the finish
but could never make a pass stick on the former World Superbike
star.
"It's
not the way I'd prefer to get third -- I'd like to be up there racing
with Mat and Kurtis," Bostrom admitted. "Those guys did
a great job both days. I'm just going to try to do better at the
next one."
Saturday podium
finisher Miguel DuHamel crashed out on the opening lap while running
a close second to Roberts. The Canadian lost the rear in Turn 15,
and his RC51 spit him off heading onto the start/finish straight.
Jordan Szoke came out on top of a tight, race-long scrap for fifth
with Ducati Austin's Italian recent import, Giovanni Bussei.
The Chevy Trucks
U.S. Superbike team now has a month off before heading to Virginia
International Raceway for Rounds 15 and 16 August 29-31.
Saturday
Superbike:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
3. Miguel Duhamel (Suzuki)
4. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
5. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
6. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati)
7. Kurtis Roberts (Honda)
8. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
9. Geoff May (Suzuki)
10. Mike Ciccotto (Suzuki)
|
Sunday
Superbike:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
3. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
5. Jordan Szoke (Suzuki)
6. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati)
7. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
8. Geoff May (Suzuki)
9. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki)
10. Mike Ciccotto (Suzuki) |
Superbike
Championship:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 431
2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 398
3. Ben Bostrom (Honda) 376
4. Eric Bostrom (Kawasaki) 350
5. Kurtis Roberts (Honda) 340
6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 332
7. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 315
8. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki) 299
9. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki) 221
10. Jordan Szoke (Suzuki) 212 |
