2005 MotoGP World Roadracing Championship, Round 4 of 18

Valentino Rossi wins innuagural Shanghai China MotoGP
Shanghai, China, April 29-May 1st- Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi made history once again today, becoming the first rider to take a MotoGP victory at Shanghai, with a stunning performance in torrentially wet conditions at the inaugural Grand Prix of China. Despite starting from sixth place on the grid Rossi took control of the race on the fifth lap, passing early leader Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) and opening up a clear gap over the chasing pack.

It was an advantage the reigning World Champion would never let slip, holding his concentration for the next 17 laps despite the attentions of surprise challenger Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki), riding in place of the injured Alex Hofmann. Jacque passed Sete Gibernau (Honda) for second place with seven laps to go and closed in on Rossi at the front, but was unable to seriously threaten the Italian's second victory from the opening three rounds of the championship.

With Marco Melandri (Honda) eventually passing Gibernau on the final lap to snatch third place, Rossi's advantage at the top of the World Championship now stands at 25 points over his Italian compatriot. A determined performance from his team-mate Colin Edwards, who rode from 13th on the grid to take the flag in eighth, means the Gauloises Yamaha Team now lead the teams' championship, with Yamaha also on top in the manufacturers' standings.

A very quick Nicky Hayden on the factory Repsol Honda RC211.

Nicky Haden Sets the Pace in Opening Practice
Friday: Nicky Hayden was the fastest man on the first ever day of MotoGP action at the Shanghai International Circuit in mixed weather conditions on Friday. With the riders taking the opportunity to learn the impressive circuit layout in the morning, a spell of light lunchtime rain left track conditions unpredictable in the afternoon and made it impossible for anybody to improve on Hayden’s fastest lap of 2’02.327.

“The track is okay, there are a couple of strange corners but overall I like it,” reflected Hayden at the end of the demanding first day. “I especially like the surface – the grip is really good and there is a lot of feeling. It was nice to be quickest this morning but this afternoon was pretty tough. We were in good shape with full wets but we had a few problems in the middle of the session when it started to dry.”

Whilst Marco Melandri was second fastest in the morning session, delayed by two and a half hours due to a minor mechanical problem with the medical helicopter, Sete Gibernau completed a Honda top three ahead of Carlos Checa on the Ducati and Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi. However, in the damp afternoon conditions it was the turn of Suzuki to top the time sheets with Kenny Roberts, who clocked the fastest time of the session on his last lap with an effort just over 12 seconds slower than Hayden’s dry time.

Alex Barros, winner of the second round of the season in similar conditions at Estoril in Portugal two weeks ago, again showed his expertise in the wet with the second fastest time behind Roberts. Gibernau, who crashed in the morning but escaped unhurt, was again third fastest in the afternoon ahead of Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, who made it four Hondas in the top five.

Whilst Rossi was sixth fastest in the afternoon ahead of Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards, the surprise of the session came from Franco Battaini, eleventh quickest riding the Blata WCM machine. Olivier Jacque was also impressive, the former 250cc World Champion lapping twelfth fastest on his return to MotoGP as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann at Kawasaki. FULL RESULTS

Beautiful Chinese umbrella girls really do come in handy as Colin Edwards will attest. Spectators pack the main grandstand of the new $400 million dollar ShanghaiGP facility, the 2nd most expensive racetrack in the world.

Roberts Jr and Team SUZUKI MotoGP fastest in 2nd wet practice session
Kenny Roberts Jr posted the quickest lap time at the end of a wet 2nd Practice Session at the Chinese Grand Prix today. A frustrating day for the MotoGP paddock saw a two and a half hour delay due to a mechanical problem with the medical helicopter and then a heavy thunderstorm soak the track. Roberts Jr used all his Grand Prix experience to the full and decided to take to the drying circuit with a cut-slick Bridgestone front tyre and a slick rear. The ex-World Champion used this tyre choice to maximum effect and recorded the fastest time in the closing seconds of Free Practice Two.

Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins had been eighth and ninth fastest respectively during Free Practice One which was run in dry but humid conditions. Roberts Jr (2'03.270) quickly adapted to the futuristic Shanghai circuit and topped the leader board on two separate occasions during the first session. Roberts Jr will be racing in his 150th Grand Prix this weekend and was pleased with the first day of testing. He said: "This track is really different to anywhere else I've ever ridden at - but in a good way. It has a great atmosphere and the whole place is just awesome.

"We had a good first session and spent time getting settings correct as we had no data to go on. The second session was wet so it was difficult to learn much from the bike settings - especially if the race is dry.
"We're still concentrating on making the bike more consistent for race distance in the dry. As far as being quickest in the second practice, that was down to my team and Suzuki having the right tyre at the end of the session. It shows we are trying hard, but that's always the same irrespective of position.
"We still have a long way to go but hopefully the bad luck I have suffered in the last couple of races will not re-surface."

John Hopkins (2'03.420) was also instantly on the pace aboard his Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bike. He was never out of the top 10 in the first session and used the conditions later on to test in readiness for Sunday's race, which could possibly be wet.

Hopkins commented: "The track is pretty cool and everything today was a learning process for me. I think I can go quite a bit quicker tomorrow if it stays dry, but we could have weather like we had this afternoon in the race so it was great to try all the different combinations.
"As Kenny showed at the end, it was drying quickly and that was great of him to try those tyres, as it helps me if that situation happens again."

The drying conditions in the afternoon allowed the majority of 250cc riders to improve on their morning times as they jostled for positions on the provisional starting grid, with the possibility of more rain tomorrow making for an interesting first qualifying session. Casey Stoner continued his recent form, following up victory at Estoril with a provisional pole position time some 0.2 seconds quicker than nearest challenger Andrea Dovizioso. Sebastián Porto, quickest in the morning session, and Dani Pedrosa complete the provisional front row for the quarter-litre class.

Fabrizio Lai took provisional pole position for the 125cc race in fully wet conditions, with light drizzle falling throughout the session. Whilst early championship leader Mika Kallio led the way in dry conditions in the morning, Honda rider Lai showed his prowess in the afternoon ahead of Kallio’s KTM team-mate Mika Kallio. The surprise of the session was rookie teenager Aleix Espargaró, who was third fastest, whilst his Spanish compatriot Julián Simón completes the provisional front row.

Gibernau sets first ever MotoGP pole in Shanghai
Saturday: Sete Gibernau took a historic pole position for Honda at the inaugural Taobao.com Grand Prix of China on Saturday afternoon. Despite tremendous pressure from factory rivals including Ducati’s Loris Capirossi and Suzuki youngster John Hopkins, Gibernau and his team-mate Marco Melandri posted a series of fast laps at the end of the qualifying session to seal the top two places on the starting grid.

“It’s good to see that we’re competitive at yet another track and particularly here, where we arrived without any previous data to work from,” reflected Gibernau at the end of the session. “I think it’s a difficult circuit but once again we’ve been at the maximum level. We’re doing a great job, which hasn’t been reflected in the race results yet, but I know that everything will be back to normal soon and we will be rewarded for our efforts.”

Whilst second place for Melandri represents his best ever qualifying position and continues an excellent start to his first season with Honda, third place for Capirossi was enough to secure his first front row start since last October. Meanwhile, Hopkins narrowly missed out on the front row after being held up on a fast lap at the very end of the session but secured Suzuki’s highest grid position of the year so far in fourth.

Hopkins is joined on the second row by Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi, who qualified over a second adrift of pole position for the first time since Donington Park in 2001 – a race he went on to win. Carlos Checa slid to seventh place and a third row start after leading the session in the early stages, the Ducati rider clocking his fastest time on only his seventh lap but failing to improve in twelve further attempts.

The surprise of the session was Yamaha rookie Toni Elías, who set the eighth fastest time in just his third MotoGP qualifying session. The Spanish youngster also starts on the third row, just ahead of Kenny Roberts on the Suzuki. Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano completed the top ten ahead of Alex Barros, who currently lies second in the championship after winning the last round in Portugal. Meanwhile Nakano’s team-mate Olivier Jacque enjoyed an impressive return to MotoGP riding as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann, qualifying in fifteenth place. Practice Results

Rossi congradulates Jacque Oliever for finishing in 2nd, just 2.5 seonds behind and Kawasaki's first modern motoGP podium placing.

Rossi takes historic win in first ever race at Shanghai
Race Day Sunday: Valentino Rossi became the first ever winner of a MotoGP event in China as he took an authoritative victory in torrentially wet conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday. Rossi took the lead from Kenny Roberts on the fifth lap after the Suzuki rider suffered from a mechanical problem, opening up a clear gap over the rest of the field and looking comfortable until a thrilling finale.

Surprisingly the man to challenge Rossi with a late charge was Olivier Jacque, returning to MotoGP as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann at Kawasaki to score his first podium in the class. With seven laps to go Jacque overcame Sete Gibernau in second place and closed in on the World Champion at the front, taking chunks out of the Italian’s lead with every lap but running out of time as Rossi took the flag by 1.7 seconds.

“I got off to a good start in the race and I was quite surprised to be at the front so quickly,” explained Rossi after the race. “There was a lot of water on the track so I had to keep my concentration at 100%. When I saw Olivier’s name on my pit board I didn’t understand who it was because they only put an ‘O’ on there. I thought “who is O?”. I thought perhaps it was a Chinese rider – then I realised it was OJ!. At the end of the race he was faster than me but I managed to keep out front and win the race.”

Gibernau’s disappointment at losing out on second place was compounded on the last lap when he conceded third to his team-mate Marco Melandri after apparently suffering with a mechanical problem. Melandri’s second podium of the season moves him up to second place in the championship, 25 points adrift of Rossi, whilst fourth place for Gibernau means he is now fifth overall behind Alex Barros and Max Biaggi, who finished eleventh and fifth respectively today.

Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh capped a day full of surprises as he clinched sixth place on his return to MotoGP as a replacement for the injured Makoto Tamada on the Honda. The Dutchman held off a late charge from John Hopkins, who previously ran off the track after leading the race on the opening lap, fighting back to take a creditable seventh. Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden and Rubén Xaus completed the top ten.

MotoGP 990cc Race Results

Casey Stoner took his second successive victory in the 250cc class after a close battle with Andrea Dovizioso. Stoner made a poor start from pole position but recovered to take the lead by the end of the opening lap and never looked back. Dovizioso stalked the Australian all the way to the line but was happy to settle for a second place finish that lifts him above Dani Pedrosa to the top of the championship standings. Stoner also moved ahead of Pedrosa to second place overall, with the defending World Champion dropping to third after taking sixth place today. Hiroshi Aoyama clinched his first podium of the season in third after Randy De Puniet retired with a technical problem, with Alex de Angelis and Sebastián Porto completing the top five.

Mattia Pasini clinched his first victory in a 125cc rain delayed for half an hour by standing water on the track surface. Pasini led for the majority of the race in a close battle with fellow Italian Fabrizio Lai, taking the flag by just 0.065 seconds after overtaking his compatriot in the final corner. Gabor Talmacsi took his first podium in third whilst eleventh place for his team-mate Mika Kallio was enough to maintain the championship lead by a single point from Lai.

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LA Calendar Bike Show Exclusive World Premiers July 16-17th!!
The first public appearance of the radical new Dreamcraft Studios DSC-002 Rapture with its 1-piece billet machined aluminum frame. A complete departue from their DCS-001 Sega which premiered with us last year, the Rapture's inspiration came from a 'war machines of the future' theme which the bike's agressive stance stunningly represnts.

Jim Gianatsis will be the first to photograph the newly completed Rapture for the FastDates.com Iron & Lace Calendar and website, and is Dreamcraft Studios official source for print publications needing editorial feature photography of the bike. Contact: Gianatis Design. More Bike Show Information.

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The only view anyone saw of him all weekend, every weekend, the untouchable Matt Mladin.

2005 AMA Superbike Championship, Round 3 of 11

AMA Superbike at California Speedway to Spies and Mladin
Fontana, CA, April 28-May 1st: Team Yoshimura Suzuki's Matt Mladin..... etc, etc, etc. (To be continued).

Suzuki Threesome and Bostrom on Provisional Pole
Friday: Team Yoshimra Suzuki riders Matt Mladin, Aaron Yates and Ben Spies attacked the infield parking lot course at California Speedway on Frday to secure the provisional front row for this weekend's AMA Superbike double header. Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin's Eric Bostrom placed his factory 999 Superbike on the front row as well with the 4th quickest time. His teammate Neil Hodgson was one spot behind him in fifth place despite feeling the effects of an illness. The quickest team Honda rider was Miguel Duhamel in 6th place on the American Honda home brewed CBR1000RR.

Bostrom began the day at the 2.3-mile California track by finishing second in the day's first practice session. The Californian backed that up with his fourth place effort in qualifying. His best lap time was 1:24.938. "I'm really happy to be on the provisional front row," Bostrom said afterward. "Jon (Cornwell) and Gary (Medley) made a change to the fork for the qualifying session that really worked. The front end was really nice. We haven't quite got the rear end sorted out, so I know we still have a little time to be made. Overall, things are going well and our times on race tires are competitive with the others. We're really looking forward to the race."

Hodgson was fifth in the first of two qualifying session on the weekend. An illness slowed the 2003 World Superbike champion's efforts on Friday but he still managed a quite respectable 1:25. 623. "I've got a bit of a virus or something," said Hodgson. "I got it from my little girl. The illness didn't last long with her, so I'm hopeful I'm better for tomorrow. I have no energy and it was hard to concentrate, and you have to be aggressive and have the strength at a track like this. When you feel bad, you want to sit on the sofa, not race a motorcycle professionally against some great riders."

Team owner Terry Gregoricka is hopeful Hodgson will return to the podium at California Speedway just like he had been at Daytona and Barber, and that Bostrom will join him.
"Both the riders were in the top 5 today, so that's a good start," said Gregoricka. "Neil was sick today and put in a strong effort despite that. It was good to see Eric on the provisional front row again and nice to see the hard work he and the team have put in pay off for us. We're happy, but we're far from satisfied. We want to be a little bit closer to the front. Our goal tomorrow is to get both riders on the front row and more podium finishes this weekend."

Tomorrow's action sees the second round of qualifying conclude before lunch and the 28-lap Superbike race begins at 3:50 local time.

Friday Qualifying Results: 1. Mladin (Suzuki) 1:24.184 2. Yates (Suzuki) 1:24.327 3. Spies (Suzuki) 1:24.715 4. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 1:29.938 5. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 1:25.623 6. DuHamel (Honda) 1:25.624

Spies and Mladin share Superbike race day wins for Yoshimura Suzuki
Superbike Round 1 Saturday: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin's Neil Hodgson came very close to his first ever AMA Superbike win on Saturday at California Speedway, finishing a close third after leading the race on the final lap. Hodgson, despite an oncoming bout with the flu, fought for the win before running his Ducati 999 wide in turn three on the final lap while being pressured by Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies. The 2003 World Champion regrouped to take third position, 2.977 seconds behind Spies and his team mate Aaron yates. Eric Bostrom showed his return to form and finished fifth on his 999 after leading the race in the early stages.

The day's early race leader had been Superbike Championship points leader Matt Mladin on the Yoshimura Suzuki, but after two flag restarts due to crashed riders on the track, the high powered GSXRs were suffering clutch problems from the strain of the additional starts. And despite a frantic clutch change to all 3 Yosh bikes on pit lane before the 3rd restart, Mladin would only get midway into the race before his bike lost its drive and had to be abandoned on the side of the track.

Neil Hodson, though, had been doing an incredible job despite being sick with the flu, and just past the half way point of the race had moved his Ducati 999F05 up and bashed both of Mladin's team mates Yates and Spies for 2nd place with a hoipeful chance of even reeling in Mladin. Then Mladin pulled off the track and the Ducati rider found himself in the lead of the race. The final 3 laps to the finsh saw Ben Spies reel back in on Hodgson and press him hard, but the former World Champ looked like he could hold Spies off as they started the white flag lap. But with his concentration affected by his flu, Neil overshot the tight turn-in to Turn 3 and before he could recover both Spies and Yates had blasted past to secure the top 2 positions on the podium ahead of Neil.

Ben Spies had recorded his first ever AMA Superbike Nation win, but he really wasn't too happy about it in victory circle, as he really wanted his first Superbike winon his own merits, not because team mate Mladin broke and Hodgson was sick and messed up. "This really isn't the way I wanted to win."

Hodgson, who still maintains second in the series standings after four races and has been on the podium for three of them, explained what happened on the last lap after the exciting but chaotic race. "Honestly, I went through the chicane at the start of the last lap a gear too high. I couldn't do anything about it but it catapulted me into the next turn. I braked where I had been for every lap, but I was going maybe five miles an hour faster and I couldn't get it stopped. The tires were shot at that stage, on the last lap of a hard race. You just try to drift it into the corner … I was just a passenger and the race was over. I couldn't believe what happened and I was devastated. That's racing and I've done it before and I'll probably do it again one day. We've all done it, we all push hard and it's not easy."

While Hodsgon was disappointed in missing an opportunity to share a victory with the Ducati faithful, his effort in the 28-lap race stopped twice for red flags is to be commended. "I was actually sick in my helmet about race distance," said Hodgson. "Yesterday I felt like death. Today I felt a hundred times better but I don't feel good. I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep and feel better tomorrow."

For the team, the long-term goal of the AMA championship remains in sight, even if an opportunity for a win eluded them today. "It was very exciting at the end. Neil was doing a tremendous job of riding his heart out. He tried to do his best to keep the other riders behind him, he just went in a little too hot and missed the turn," said team manager Tom Bodenbach. "We've had faith we could do it, but maybe this is a little proof."

Eric Bostrom took the lead at the start and diced with the frontrunners. "All weekend long, we've gone quicker with less effort but in the race I didn't have quite the speed everyone else had. We had a great start in the first part of the race before the red flags. I went into the lead for a little while. I just wish we could maintain that speed. We'll definitely try something tomorrow to get some more grip."

Superbike Round 2 Sunday: With Saturday's bike problems resolved and behind them, the dominate Yoshimura Suzuki team of Matt Mladin, Ben Spies and Aaron Yates pulled off their expected 1-2-3 punch aboard their GSXR1000Rs for Sunday's second Superbike race. Helping to make their win easier was their top challenger the day before, Neil Hodgson, had succomed even further to a severe bout of the flu and had to force himself to ride to help maintain his championship points. Ducati teammate Eric Bostrom finally put in his best ride of the season to finish 4th ahead of the ailing Neil. And really suprising, none of the team Honda riders were in contention with their home brewed CB1000RRs.

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin's Eric Bostrom and Neil Hodgson had an eventful Sunday at Fontana. Bostrom was fourth after fighting for a podium position and Hodgson finished fifth, a gutty ride for the Isle of Man resident. Neil spent most of the day in the track medical center before being cleared to race his Ducati 999 Superbike and he returned to the medical center immediately after the 28-lap event.

"That was the hardest race of my life," said Hodgson. "It was hard to concentrate. I was just trying to finish."
Hodgson had been sick all weekend, but Neil took a turn for the worse Saturday night. While he insisted he wanted to race to keep his championship hopes alive, it appeared doubtful he could make it. Still, the doctors agreed to clear him medically. Hodgson started the race, completed it, and was remarkably competitive.
Neil is now third in the championship, but gained ground to first place despite being ill all weekend. "It's all about the championship. It hasn't been the best weekend but the championship hasn't been a negative," he said.

Team engineer Luca Ferraccioli said Hodgson's performance was inspiring to the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin squad. "Neil had an unbelievable race. He fought very hard. He had the IVs before the race and the doctors told us he might not be able to finish. It was the best race he could possibly do. It was very important for him to finish for the championship. He's still very close to first position. What he did was very important and inspiring for the team. He's a tough rider."

Eric Bostrom was a fine fourth on the day, a solid result and his best yet in 2005. Bostrom, however, was less than satisfied because he wanted a podium finish. "I had a rough time with traffic," said Eric. "I think I could have been in a position to race them and in hindsight I wish I had done a better job keeping Spies and Yates behind me because I lost ground to them in traffic."

Bostrom and his crew continued to fine-tune the race version of the Ducati 999 for the American racetracks. "It's the fastest the bike has been this year," said Eric. "The front end was working well and we have more grip than yesterday. That was a big improvement. This is the best the bike has been yet under the brakes, which is promising. It seems like each weekend we're making progress."

"Eric had some bad luck with the backmarkers and would perhaps have had a shot at getting a podium spot if he had gotten a couple of breaks," said Ferraccioli. "He's improved and the fact that he's fighting for a podium spot is good."

The teams will race next at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California May 13-25.

Saturday Superbike Final 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 6. Jake Zemke (Honda) 7. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 8. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 9. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) 10. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki)

Sunday Superbike Final 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Jake Zemke (Honda) 7. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 8. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) 9. Clint McBain (Suzuki) 10. Larry Pegram (Honda)

Superbike Championship Standings 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 155 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 152 3. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 146 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 143 5. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 122 6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 118 7. Martin Craggill (Suzuki) 105 8. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 92 9. Lee Acree (Suzuki) 89 10. Eric Wood (Suzuki) 81