Gauloises Dutch TT
Assen, Holland
Saturday 25th June, 2005

ROSSI MAKES HISTORY AS GAULOISES YAMAHA CELEBRATE PODIUM DOUBLE

Valentino Rossi became the first Yamaha rider ever to win five consecutive
premier-class races after another authoritarian performance in the 75th
anniversary Gauloises Dutch TT, where he was joined on the podium by his
Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards. Rossi did not get the best of starts
from pole position but worked his way up from fifth after the first lap to take
the lead by the midway stage, taking over from Marco Melandri (Honda) on lap ten
and gradually opening out a crucial advantage.

Edwards followed his team-mate through the opening few laps to make up some
important positions from sixth on the grid, quickly settling into the excellent
race pace he had found during practice and finally getting the opportunity to
impose it on the front group. One lap after seeing Rossi take the lead, Edwards
passed Sete Gibernau (Honda) for third place and did everything he could to
catch Melandri for second, before deciding to settle for a podium finish.

As Melandri escaped from the American he also began to close the gap on his
Italian compatriot at the front, but a stunning final lap of 2'00.991 from Rossi
was the fastest of the race and sealed the win by 1.583 seconds.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 38'41.808)

"Today was another hard battle, as it has been every race this season. At the
start the grip was tricky because of the rain this morning and I lost some
places and had to overtake Loris and Nakano to arrive behind the three Hondas.
I knew I could go a bit faster and after I passed them all I made some good laps
and it became easier to ride on the limit, as there was less fuel. Melandri was
very strong today and he came back to fight until the end. I had to keep pushing
at 100% and really concentrate, especially on the last lap, when I made no
mistakes and the fastest lap of the race. It was incredible for everybody. My
bike worked perfectly again, so thank you to Yamaha and my team for all the
brilliant work they've done, and to Michelin because the tyres were really
good. We have a great atmosphere in our team and this makes it very easy to
relax and give 100% every time. It's a pleasure to try to win together. I can't
believe that I am the first Yamaha rider to win five races in a row, when you
look at the company I am in with Yamaha's former World Champions - Agostini,
Lawson, Roberts and Rainey, it's great."

COLIN EDWARDS (3rd; + 7.643)

"Of course it could still have been better, but it was a good race. We made a
breakthrough with the bike set-up this week and it just felt really good, better
than it's felt all season I think. I had a bad start, then I saw Valentino and
realised his wasn't great either! The first corner I passed a couple and then on
the back straight it was chaos with everyone trying to pass anywhere! I tried to
follow Valentino through the traffic, then I got stuck behind Gibernau for a bit
when he started to slow down. I got some time back when Marco made his big
mistake and I saw red and really pushed hard to catch him! With four laps to go
I was on the limit and lost the front really badly at turn two. When exactly the
same thing happened on the next lap I decided it was safer to take it easy, get
home on two wheels and make it onto the podium. I want to say a big thank you to
my team and my Crew Chief Daniele Romagnoli, they've worked hard to find the
right way forward and now I am going to Laguna in great shape." 

DAVIDE BRIVIO

"It was a very good day and once again both riders are on the podium with
Valentino taking victory. Every race is different and this time it was a great
fight with Melandri and with Colin also in the fighting group. It was very
exciting to watch such good racing. This also shows the big progress that Yamaha
has made and in this sense our engineers and team crew are really working very
well. I'm just very lucky to be a representative of such a fantastic team. It's
also very encouraging to be going to Laguna Seca in this situation, when we will
celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Yamaha."

RESULTS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  38'41.808
 2. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP      +1.583
 3. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team       +7.643
 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team           +10.128
 5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda Team        +14.795
 6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda Team             +21.575
 7. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                  +22.725
 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team       +26.477
 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team        +30.221
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team     +30.465
11. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda                 +43.802

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA)  170
 2. Marco Melandri (ITA)   107
 3. Max Biaggi (ITA)        87
 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA)     84
 5. Alex Barros (BRA)       74
 6. COLIN EDWARDS (USA)     73
 7. Nicky Hayden (USA)      60
 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA)   49
 9. Shinya Nakano (JAP)     48
10. Carlos Checa (SPA)      40