YRC News
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MotoGP : Disappointing day for Rossi in eventful Japanese Grand Prix
Round: 12 - Motegi MotoGP
Circuit: Twin Ring
Date: 18 September 2005
Crowd: 60000
Temp: 34ēC
Weather: Sunny
Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi suffered a rare fall in the Grand
Prix of Japan today, after making a sensational start from eleventh on the grid
and passing seven riders by the fourth lap. Seven laps later he suddenly came
together with Marco Melandri (Honda) as they pitched into the notorious turn ten
and collided into the gravel, leaving Max Biaggi (Honda) and Loris Capirossi
(Ducati) clear at the front. The race was eventually won by Capirossi, who
passed Biaggi six laps from the end and opened up a 1.4 second advantage to
claim his first win of the season.
Rossi's Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards rode a battling race and
eventually finished sixth, despite some front-end problems with his M1. He moved
up to third in the championship, sixteen points behind Biaggi. Biaggi is now the
only rider with a mathematical chance of denying Rossi his second MotoGP title
for Yamaha, with the reigning World Champion needing thirteen points from next
Sunday's race in Sepang, Malaysia, to clinch the title.
This weekend the YZR-M1 introduces updated graphics in the form of newly
designed 'speed bars' on the side of the fairing and other detailed changes.
Observant fans will notice that the new speed bar design is very similar to that
of the recently introduced and all-new YZF-R6.
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 5th
"I made a good start for once and it wasn't too bad to begin with. I got past
Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) but I lost the front going into turn seven and ran wide.
It was strange because, apart from my crash on Friday, the front has been very
stable this weekend but in the race I lost it in a few corners and it affected
my confidence. For the rest of the race it was survival for me. I got past Kenny
again but the conditions were hotter than they had been during practice and our
tyre and suspension combination suffered a little. It has been a struggle for
the past few races but I like the tracks we've got coming up so hopefully we can
sort it out and make some progress. At least we've moved up to third in the
championship, so that's one good thing we can take away from here!"
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), DNF
"We knew this would be a difficult race but the mechanics worked hard to improve
the bike this morning in the warm-up and it worked well over the first few laps.
I was able to pass a lot of people but I started to have a few problems with the
front tyre when I arrived behind the front three. I knew it would be a risk to
try and overtake and I expected Loris to pass Max in the final few laps. I knew
I could be World Champion with fourth place and so I decided to just wait and do
my race. Then Marco made a small mistake and suddenly I was behind him. It was
the first time I had followed him into turn ten and we took completely different
lines. He went to the outside of the track to cut across and get good
acceleration out of the corner but I went to the inside to run wider on the
exit. For the first 50m of braking we were at exactly the same speed so there
was no warning, but he was able to stop the bike much harder than me and I
couldn't avoid him. You can't see it very well on the television but I wasn't
even trying to pass him, it was just one of those things. I apologised to Marco
and he said 'it happens.' Now I am very concerned for him and I just hope he is
ok."
Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha team director
"Our first concern is for Marco Melandri. We are not sure of his injuries just
yet but we hope it is not serious and I wish him well on behalf of the whole
team. There was a protest against Valentino put forward by Honda on behalf of
all its MotoGP Teams, but Race Direction has judged this unfounded. As far as
the championship is concerned, it is a pity we couldn't finish it off here and
for Valentino it is a shame that his run of podiums has been interrupted. All we
can do is try to make up for it by taking the points back next time. Colin
finished sixth in a difficult race, but it was an important result for him as it
means that he remains in the top positions."
Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 9th
"We leave Motegi with some points and a good finish position overall. However I
feel this race weekend was worse than Brno where we've had a better race with a
lower classification. We have had a lot of problems with the set-up of the bike
this weekend, which we were unable to solve. We will try to go through them in
Malaysia and hope to improve there. A lot of riders crashed today and
fortunately I didn't, the points we've got today are important for us."
Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 10th
"I haven't rode fast today but still I finished tenth. When I saw the other
riders crash out of the race I thought that it was better not to push too much
and end up next to the track myself. Also when the temperature rose during the
race, things only got more complicated. In these kinds of circumstances it's
better not to take any risks and just go for the championship points. For the
remaining races I will try hard to improve my feeling with the bike and better
my results."
Race classification MotoGP
Round: 12 - Motegi MotoGP
Circuit: Twin Ring
Circuit Length: 4801m
Lap Record: 1' 47.968 (Loris Capirossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 46.363 (Loris Capirossi, 2005)
Race: 24 Laps
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 43'30.499
2 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +1.479
3 M. Tamada Honda JPN +16.227
4 C. Checa Ducati ESP +22.148
5 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +33.212
6 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +34.915
7 N. Hayden Honda USA +45.894
8 K. Roberts Suzuki USA +56.498
9 T. Elias Yamaha ESP +1'12.037
10 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP +1'34.927
11 F. Battaini Blata WCM ITA +1 lap(s)
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'47.968
Championship standings MotoGP
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 261
2 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 149
3 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 133
4 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 126
5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 121
6 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 117
7 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 115
8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 114
9 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 72
10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 69
11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 64
12 Troy Bayliss Honda AUS 54
13 Kenny Roberts Suzuki USA 49
14 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 46
15 Ruben Xaus Yamaha ESP 42
16 Toni Elias Yamaha ESP 38
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
Pos.Manufacturer Points
1 Yamaha 275
2 Honda 238
3 Ducati 127
4 Kawasaki 97
5 Suzuki 76
6 Blata WCM 10
7 Proton KR 1
8 Moriwaki 1
Team standings MotoGP
Pos.Team Points
1 Gauloises Yamaha Team 394
2 Repsol Honda Team 270
3 Team Movistar Honda MotoGP 241
4 Ducati Marlboro Team 189
5 Honda Camel 168
6 Kawasaki Racing Team 116
7 Team Suzuki MotoGP 95
8 Fortuna Yamaha Team 84
9 Konica Minolta Honda 76
10 D'Antin MotoGP 15
11 Blata WCM 10
12 Team Roberts KR 1
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