Catalunya Grand Prix
Barcelona, Spain
Sunday 12th June

ROSSI EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH CATALUNYA VICTORY

Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi re-ignited his love affair with the
Spanish public today as he stormed to a fifth win from the opening six rounds of
the 2005 MotoGP World Championship in front of a record crowd of 105,698 at the
Catalunya Grand Prix. After losing places in a combative opening to the race,
the reigning World Champion stormed through the field to go head to head with
home favourite and pole setter Sete Gibernau (Honda) in another nail-biting
finish. Just as he had done with Max Biaggi at Mugello last weekend and Gibernau
himself two weeks previously at Le Mans, Rossi timed his victory charge to
perfection, passing the Spaniard with three laps remaining and setting a stunning
time of 1'43.195, almost 1.5 seconds inside the previous circuit record, to open
up a decisive advantage over the final two laps.

Whilst Marco Melandri won a dramatic battle to the line for the final podium
finish ahead of Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden (all Honda), Rossi's Gauloises
Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards could only manage seventh place behind Biaggi
(Honda). Despite showing podium pace through the weekend practice sessions, the
American took a gamble with his tyre choice that backfired in the race as he
struggled for rear grip at the demanding Spanish circuit. Despite today's result
Edwards remains sixth in the MotoGP World Championship, which is now led by
Rossi with an advantage of 58 points over Melandri.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1st - 43'16.487)

"The first lap was a hard fight with a lot of riders coming crazy, everybody
wanted to be at the front and it was so much fun. Gibernau set a fast pace and I
tried 100% to follow him. I had some problems on the right side of the tyre
early in the race but Sete started to slide too. At the end it was difficult but
the bike was so good into the corners and great fun to ride. To do the fastest
lap three laps from the end at a track like this is amazing - my last lap was
around two seconds faster than the last lap last year and it shows the fantastic
job Michelin have done with tyre endurance. I was a little worried before this
weekend about the reaction from the crowd but I was so happy with the reception
I got. It shows that motorcycle fans are the best kind and especially here in
Spain, where it is always a pleasure to ride. The advantage in the championship
is allowing the team to work in a relaxed way and we are having a lot of fun,
which is an extra motivation in itself."

COLIN EDWARDS - (7th - +18.762)

"We made a mistake by testing the race tyre yesterday morning when the
temperatures were much cooler than they were this afternoon. We thought we were
being sly by choosing a tyre only one other rider had but it didn't work out. I
had no rear grip at full lean in the second half of the race, so I had to stand
the bike up through the corners and ran wide all the time. It's a shame because
we had a great front tyre but I couldn't push it. Not the best finish but we've
learnt a lot of things that we will now take to Assen."

DAVIDE BRIVIO - TEAM DIRECTOR

"The whole race was run at a full second inside lap record pace, which is
incredible. It shows the great job done by our engineers and the wonderful
partnership we have with Michelin. I am so pleased to hear Valentino say he is
enjoying riding the bike - that is a great compliment to everybody in the team.
It is a pity Colin could not confirm his excellent progress in the race but we
know he is on the right tracks and I'm looking forward to seeing him at Assen, a
circuit he likes and knows well."

RESULTS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  43'16.487
 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP       +1.094
 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP      +7.810
 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                   +8.204
 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team            +8.273
 6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda Team             +12.051
 7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team      +18.762
 8. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda                 +42.631
 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team       +46.638
10. Ruben Xaus (SPA) Fortuna Yamaha Team           +46.692

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA)  145
 2. Marco Melandri (ITA)    87
 3. Max Biaggi (ITA)        77
 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA)     73
 5. Alex Barros (BRA)       65
 6. COLIN EDWARDS (USA)     57
 7. Nicky Hayden (USA)      47
 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA)   43
 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN)     40
10. Carlos Checa (SPA)      33