Czech Republic GP - Round 11 - MotoGP
Brno - Sunday 28th August 2005 - Race

Alex brushes podium with enthrallingly determined ride

Having put heart, courage and great determination into a fine ride at the Czech
Republic's Brno circuit, Alex Barros took his yellow RC211V Camel Honda within a
whisker of the podium today. Starting from the third row, the Brazilian made a
superb fightback, and fans witnessed several overtaking manoeuvres which saw him
force his way up into third place, determined to get involved in the battle for
first place. His aggressive racing put his tyres under severe stress, and by the
end of the race, grip was hard to come by, halting his forward progress.
Gibernau's retirement on the last lap, suddenly slowing in the final corners
before pulling up, prevented him making a final push for third place and the
podium. Ninth through the chequered flag, Troy Bayliss, who started from a
tricky thirteenth spot on the grid, worked hard to make up ground. Tomorrow, on
the same track, the Australian will be able to use an entire day's testing to
try and find some solutions which will help him to be more competitive.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"Alex had an exciting race after an indifferent start. He pushed so hard from
the first lap onwards in an already fast and combative race, and picked up
positions until he caught up with the race leaders. He was just tenths off first
place, but the effort put through the tyres to get into that position stopped
his progress. He showed however, that as well as being in fine form he is as
determined as ever, because closing down a gap whilst picking off your rivals,
shows that he was quicker than the leaders for long parts of the race. Troy
wasn't able to get a great start and he had to mount a comeback too. He took a
top ten finish, a decent result."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda - 4th

"I would like to say I'm happy to have done a great race, because it was a real
battle and very enjoyable, but I'm still not satisfied. As at Sachsenring, I had
to attack hard in the first part of the race and then both the front and rear
tyres didn't allow me to fight at the end. Then not only did I make it up
alongside Sete and Valentino, but I couldn't even finish third. In all honesty
the story's a bit different, because on the last lap I would have been able to
challenge for the podium, Sete stopped right in front of me, and I had to close
the throttle too. However that's the way it went, we need to think about the
next objective, Motegi, and try to make the most of tomorrow's test to improve
our staying power, because in everything else both the Michelins and the bike
are perfect."

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda - 9th

"Things pretty much went as I expected today. I honestly don't know what I have
to do to go as fast as the front group, because I'm not saving myself, both in
practice and the race I'm giving my all, just as my team do too. It felt like I
didn't have grip on the front and so staying ahead of Tamada, who I had a good
duel with, was a slight piece of satisfaction. Ninth is better than in the last
two races, but we're not here for that."