YRC News
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MotoGP : Rossi extends championship lead with Catalunya victory
Round: 6 - Catalunya MotoGP
Circuit: Catalunya
Date: 12 June 2005
Crowd: 105600
Temp: 32ēC
Weather: Sunny
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
local favourite and pole setter Sete Gibernau (Honda) in another nail-biting
finish. Just as he had done with Max Biaggi (Honda) 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 (Honda) won a dramatic battle to the line for the final
podium finish ahead of Alex Barros (Honda) and Nicky Hayden (Honda), Rossi's
Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards could only manage seventh place behind
Biaggi. 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.
For the Spanish Fortuna Yamaha Team pair of Ruben Xaus and David Checa it was
positive day in front of a home crowd. Xaus scored his third top ten result and
Checa, who replaced the injured Toni Elias, scored in the points in only his
second MotoGP ride.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 1st
"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 (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 7th
"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, Gauloises Yamaha 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."
Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 10th
"I'm really happy with today's result because I scored some good points and I'm
showing consistency. It's also good for the team, because the start of the
season was more difficult than we initially expected it would be, so this is
great for motivation for them and for me. I believe that now we are starting to
understand each other - the bike and I - and I'm looking forward to the next
race, especially as I quite like Assen. I want to say thank you to Yamaha,
Fortuna and the team for all the support, and I hope I can now continue to
produce top ten performances."
David Checa (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 13th
"I couldn't have asked for more, especially when you consider that I only had
one day on the bike at this track. I scored in the points and for that I would
like to say than you to the team for giving me this opportunity."
Race classification MotoGP
Round: 6 - Catalunya MotoGP
Circuit: Catalunya
Circuit Length: 4727m
Lap Record: 1' 43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Race: 25 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 43'16.487
2 S. Gibernau Honda ESP +1.094
3 M. Melandri Honda ITA +7.810
4 A. Barros Honda BRA +8.204
5 N. Hayden Honda USA +8.273
6 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +12.051
7 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +18.762
8 T. Bayliss Honda AUS +42.631
9 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +46.638
10 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP +46.692
11 C. Checa Ducati ESP +1' 0.357
12 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +1' 3.864
13 D. Checa Yamaha ESP +1' 3.985
14 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA +1'10.258
15 K. Roberts Suzuki USA +1'23.731
16 S. Byrne Proton KR GBR +1'34.624
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'43.195
Championship standings MotoGP
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 145
2 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 87
3 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 77
4 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 73
5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 65
6 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 57
7 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 47
8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 43
9 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 40
10 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 33
11 Troy Bayliss Honda AUS 32
12 Olivier Jacque Kawasaki FRA 25
13 Ruben Xaus Yamaha ESP 24
14 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 16
15 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 16
16 Toni Elias Yamaha ESP 15
22 David Checa Yamaha ESP 3
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Yamaha 145
2 Honda 121
3 Kawasaki 60
4 Ducati 51
5 Suzuki 24
6 Blata WCM 4
7 Moriwaki 1
Team standings MotoGP
Pos. Team Points
1 Gauloises Yamaha Team 202
2 Team Movistar Honda MotoGP 160
3 Repsol Honda Team 124
4 Honda Camel 97
5 Ducati Marlboro Team 76
6 Kawasaki Racing Team 74
7 Fortuna Yamaha Team 42
8 Konica Minolta Honda 28
9 Team Suzuki MotoGP 25
10 D'Antin MotoGP 7
11 Blata WCM 4
12 Moriwaki Racing 1
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