Italian GP - Round 5 - MotoGP
Mugello - Sunday June 5th 2005 - Race

Alex Barros seventh in hard-fought Italian Grand Prix

Alex Barros finished the Italian Grand Prix in seventh place in front of some
ninety thousand  fans, after a weekend in which the only thing missing was a
good position on  the starting grid. The Camel Honda rider made a great
fightback, but was unable to catch up the front group who had escaped from the
front row. He showed once more that he has the pace of the leaders, and above
all that he was unaffected by the injuries he suffered in the crash two weeks
back, and that he had no problems in completing the race. Troy Bayliss, after
some difficulties in practice, was unable to show his true potential as he had
no real feeling for the bike on a track as technical and testing as the Tuscan
one is.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"We paid the price for a low grid position. Alex was unable to hunt down the
front group. His race pace was identical to them, but not superior enough to be
able to catch them up. I think that if he were able to have started from a
better spot, he could have fought for the podium. In any case, I think the
positive thing to take from today is that after two unlucky races, Alex has
shown he is competitive once again. Troy had the race we expected from him after
the difficulties he experienced in practice. In the first half of the race he
didn't have the best rhythm going, and now we will see if he can make the step
forward we are all hoping for in Barcelona."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda -  7th

"I didn't have the best start, well, not a 'super' one anyway, it wasn't too
bad. What I really missed was a good grid slot because with the race rhythm as
expected, in the 1'51s, I also kept that kind of pace. I'm happy about that but
I need to improve in qualifying because if I had have started further forward I
would have been fighting for the podium. Anyway, I'm happy that physically I'm
okay, after two days of pushing hard here, and that I'm ready for Barcelona".

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda -  13th

"A really, really difficult weekend. In the race I was unable to make any sort
of progress. I finished thirteenth, which isn't exactly a great position. I took
some points but what I really want now is a good result. We have another race
this coming Sunday, so we'll see what happens there."