Grand Prix of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
Saturday 1st October 2005

ROSSI'S TENTH VICTORY SECURES TEAM TITLE FOR GAULOISES YAMAHA

Just six days after lifting the MotoGP title with Valentino Rossi in Malaysia,
the Gauloises Yamaha Team were celebrating again today as Valentino Rossi's
record-breaking tenth victory of the season secured the Teams' World
Championship at the Qatar Grand Prix. Rossi became the first Yamaha rider ever
to take his win total for a single season into double figures after an
exhilarating last-lap battle with Marco Melandri (Honda), whilst his team-mate
Colin Edwards boosted the team's points tally to unbeatable status with a
determined ride to fourth place.

Rossi's 79th victory of his career came after 22 dramatic laps of the Losail
International Circuit, with Loris Capirossi (Ducati) taking an early lead from
pole position before Sete Gibernau (Honda) took over. The Spaniard had built up
a solid advantage by the halfway stage but he was eventually reeled in by the
chasing pack and made a critical error with five laps remaining, running into
the gravel when trying to repel an attack from Melandri. With Nicky Hayden
(Honda) in close attendance, Rossi closed in on Melandri and the two Italians
went head to head in a gripping finale, Rossi taking the lead with three laps
remaining and holding off one last attempt from Melandri just two corners from
the end to secure victory. With the riders' and teams' titles now in the bag,
Yamaha needs to be just 50 points clear after Phillip Island to clinch the
Manufactures' Championship.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1st - 43'33.759)

"What a race! For me that was the best of the season, it was so much fun. I had
bad memories from this circuit from last year so I really wanted to win and
after practice yesterday I knew it was not impossible. I had two great rivals
and all three of us showed that we were in very good shape until the end. We
gave more than 100% and had a fantastic battle from the beginning to the end. I
have to thank Yamaha and my whole team because my bike was very fast over the
final few laps, which it needed to be because Marco Melandri was very strong and
we had a great battle. He tried to pass me on the last lap but I was able to
hold on and win - my tenth of the season. I am very, very happy."

COLIN EDWARDS (4th; + 14.737)

"I felt we had the pace yesterday but we were looking for a little bit more rear
grip to take that extra step and went with a different tyre this morning. It was
the same as the other guys were using but my bike was set up around the tyre we
had yesterday and I couldn't turn the thing. It was pushing the front a lot in
the corners and I kept having to run it straight. We need to figure out why that
was and take the lesson to Phillip Island in a couple of weeks. I'm disappointed
for my team today because I was confident I could be up there fighting for the
win and in the end it just didn't happen. On the up-side, my points today
contributed to the teams' championship, so that's a good thing to take away from
here."

DAVIDE BRIVIO - GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

"Today we saw a fantastic race, scored another victory and won another title so
of course we are delighted. Valentino clearly wanted to win the race after what
happened last year and he came out on top of another incredible battle, so
congratulations to him. Colin finished in fourth place, which is not what he had
hoped for, but he scored some important points and closed the gap to second in
the championship so we are happy for him. The team have worked extremely well
since Thursday, finding the right set-up for both bikes early in the weekend and
then just fine-tuning for the race. We've won the Teams' Championship today and
both riders have contributed to this, so congratulations to everybody.  Both
Valentino and Colin like Phillip Island so now we all looking forward to going
to Australia in two weeks."

RESULTS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  43'33.759
 2. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP      +1.670
 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team            +5.536
 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha           +14.737
 5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP      +20.431
 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team        +31.432
 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team       +32.983
 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Yamaha Team           +39.888
 9. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                  +41.792
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team     +44.252

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA)  306
 2. Max Biaggi (ITA)       159
 3. Marco Melandri (ITA)   157
 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA)    152
 5. Nicky Hayden (USA)     150
 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA)  148
 7. Alex Barros (BRA)      129
 8. Sete Gibernau (SPA)    126
 9. Carlos Checa (SPA)      98
10. Shinya Nakano (JPN)     78