Press Release
(2005 FIM Road Racing World Championship)
YRC News
MotoGP : Rossi makes history as Gauloises Yamaha celebrate podium double

Round: 7 - Assen TT
Circuit: Assen
Date: 25 June 2005
Crowd: 90731
Temp: 24ēC
Weather: Dry

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 eased away 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.

The Fortuna Yamaha riders both completed the race with performances that got
stronger and stronger, typifying their display over the whole weekend. Ruben
Xaus, who did not get a good start, finished in 12th place and with the bodywork
on his YZR-M1 badly damaged after being hit by a stone that had been thrown up
by the bike of the Japanese rider Makoto Tamada (Honda) who was in front of him.
Xaus posted his best lap three laps from the end and his rhythm got stronger as
the race progressed. On the last lap he produced a fine finish and even managed
to edge past Hopkins just a few metres from the line.

The same incident with Tamada also had an impact on the other Fortuna Yamaha
rider, David Checa, who has replaced the injured Toni Elias for the third
consecutive race. The Spaniard was hit on his right arm by the debris just five
laps in and it caused severe bruising that impeded him throughout the race.
Checa managed to finish the race in 15th position and produced arguable his best
display in the three races.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 1st

"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, its great."

Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 3rd

"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 its 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, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director

"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."

Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 12th

"I made a mistake at the start and I did not feel comfortable for the first few
laps, I did not have the right feeling. When Tamada passed me, it took me a
while to get back in front of him because I had been struggling for a while.
Then I battled with Bayliss, Roberts and Hopkins and improved my rhythm and the
bike began to get lighter by the halfway point. I have to learn to improve my
rhythm in the first five laps of the race because in the last few races it's
only been on the last few laps that I felt like I could challenge for the top
eight. I have to improve a lot in that respect."

David Checa (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 15th

"I felt very comfortable at the beginning. I was able to get away quite well and
even got in front of Tamada and Ruben. But when Tamada went back past me he
threw up a stone at me in the chicane that unsettled me a lot. I kept going as
best I could, but it hurt a lot and over the final laps I was not able to
accelerate and brake as normal which meant I had to be cautious. Anyway, I am
happy because I believe I rode a good race. It's a shame my time with the team
has come to an end."

Race classification MotoGP

Round: 7 - Assen TT
Circuit: Assen
Circuit Length: 5997m
Lap Record: 2' 0.991 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 58.936 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)

Race: 20 Laps

Pos. Rider         Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   V. Rossi      Yamaha        ITA  38'41.808
 2   M. Melandri   Honda         ITA     +1.583
 3   C. Edwards    Yamaha        USA     +7.643
 4   N. Hayden     Honda         USA    +10.128
 5   S. Gibernau   Honda         ESP    +14.795
 6   M. Biaggi     Honda         ITA    +21.575
 7   A. Barros     Honda         BRA    +22.725
 8   S. Nakano     Kawasaki      JPN    +26.477
 9   C. Checa      Ducati        ESP    +30.221
10   L. Capirossi  Ducati        ITA    +30.465
11   T. Bayliss    Honda         AUS    +43.802
12   R. Xaus       Yamaha        ESP    +49.864
13   J. Hopkins    Suzuki        USA    +50.830
14   M. Tamada     Honda         JPN    +53.370
15   D. Checa      Yamaha        ESP    +54.965

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider         Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time
 1   V. Rossi      Yamaha        ITA   2' 0.991

Championship standings MotoGP

Pos. Rider            Manufacturer  Nat. Points
 1   Valentino Rossi  Yamaha        ITA   170
 2   Marco Melandri   Honda         ITA   107
 3   Max Biaggi       Honda         ITA    87
 4   Sete Gibernau    Honda         ESP    84
 5   Alex Barros      Honda         BRA    74
 6   Colin Edwards    Yamaha        USA    73
 7   Nicky Hayden     Honda         USA    60
 8   Loris Capirossi  Ducati        ITA    49
 9   Shinya Nakano    Kawasaki      JPN    48
10   Carlos Checa     Ducati        ESP    40
11   Troy Bayliss     Honda         AUS    37
12   Ruben Xaus       Yamaha        ESP    28
13   Olivier Jacque   Kawasaki      FRA    25
14   John Hopkins     Suzuki        USA    19
15   Makato Tamada    Honda         JPN    18
16   Toni Elias       Yamaha        ESP    15
21   David Checa      Yamaha        ESP     4

Manufacturers standings MotoGP

Pos. Manufacturer Points
 1   Yamaha        170
 2   Honda         141
 3   Kawasaki       68
 4   Ducati         58
 5   Suzuki         27
 6   Blata WCM       4
 7   Moriwaki        1

Team standings MotoGP

Pos. Team Points  
 1   Gauloises Yamaha Team       243
 2   Team Movistar Honda MotoGP  191
 3   Repsol Honda Team           147
 4   Honda Camel                 111
 5   Ducati Marlboro Team         89
 6   Kawasaki Racing Team         82
 7   Fortuna Yamaha Team          47
 8   Konica Minolta Honda         30
 9   Team Suzuki MotoGP           28
10   D'Antin MotoGP                7
11   Blata WCM                     4
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