MotoGP Brno: Rossi and Yamaha again

Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi became the first rider in the history of the MotoGP World Championship to score nine wins for five consecutive seasons, as he clinched victory in the eleventh round of the 2005 campaign at Brno yesterday. Rossi’s record-breaking ride featured an intense battle with Sete Gibernau (Honda) that again came down to a dramatic finale, with Rossi making his definitive pass at the end of the penultimate lap. Gibernau tried to fight back but as Rossi edged clear through the final series of sweeping corners, the Spaniard’s slim hope of a victorious response disappeared completely as he suffered a “fuel starvation” problem and was forced to retire.

Exactly what the fuel starvation was caused by has not been disclosed – many people believe the Honda may have completely run out of petrol, perhaps due to being short-filled, and perhaps because its fuel consumption has increased as Honda technicians search for more power to overcome Yamaha’s secret weapon – the one-of-a-kind throttle controller (aka Valentino Rossi).

While Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Honda) made the most of Gibernau’s misfortune to complete the podium, Gibernau is facing yet another searching few months as he battles in the “fly-away” rounds – the non-European grouping of five races (Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Australia and Turkey) where he was traditionally performed poorly. It is to be hoped that Gibernau can mentally withstand the misfortune that seems to have dogged him all year as Qatar will be the anniversary of his last win – where the infamous grid-cleaning protest led to Gibernau and Rossi’s“falling out.” Rossi has since won every GP but two (won by Checa and Hayden respectively) and can seal the championship title in the next round at Motegi by finishing in the top two. He leads the title by an amazing 132 points with six races (maximum 150 points available) left in the season.

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Capirossi stormed home in the race to eventually inherit second-place, his best result of the year so far. The hard-charging Italian was electrifying in the final stages of the race, closing to within 1.8 seconds of Rossi at the flag. Capirossi is believed to have been on the verge of leaving Ducati in order to have his chance at a world title in the premier class – having already won a 125 and 250 title, the diminutive Italian would immediately step into the all-time-great class should he be able to accomplish the task. Perhaps it’s the growing possibility that his friend Valentino Rossi will move to Formula 1, perhaps it’s the increased competitiveness of the Desmosedici Ducati – whatever it is, there’s every chance Capirossi will stay with Ducati for one more year.

Honda meanwhile must be ruing the day it let Rossi out the door – six riders are now locked in the bettle to be Rossi’s bridesmaid and five of them are on Honda’s payroll, with the fading star of Max Biaggi having now moved into second place in the title with 129 points courtesy of his third at Brno. Melandri’s fourth saw him drop to third in the case with 126 points ahead of Rossi’s Gauloises Yamaha YZR-M1 team-mate Colin Edwards on 123 points, Gibernau on 115, Barros on 114, and Hayden on 112. Capirossi sits a further 20 points behind with 92 points and Kawasaki’s Shinja Nakano heads a gaggle of riders in ninth spot with 69 points.

Of the entire list of riders mentioned above, only two are younger than Rossi and could argue their career was still in front of them – Hayden and Melandri. Melandri has lost his early season form which suggested he might become a contender for the win by season’s end, and Hayden now looks the person most likely to inherit the crown should Rossi decide to do something else. Perhaps 250 champion-elect Danny Pedrosa could be added to the list, though it will be a year or two before Pedrosa could be expected to be ready to tackle the Rossi juggernaut.

Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republiky Race Classification: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 43’56.539: 2. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +1.837: 3. Max Biaggi (Honda) +3.444: 4. Alex Barros (Honda) +4.148: 5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +4.363: 6. Marco Melandri (Honda) +11.150: 7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +13.532: 8. Carlos Checa (Ducati) +19.331: 9. Troy Bayliss (Honda) +27.125: 10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) +27.248

World Championship Classification: 1. Rossi 261: 2. Biaggi 129: 3. Melandri 126: 4. Edwards 123: 5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 115: 6. Barros 114: 7. Hayden 112: 8. Capirossi 92: 9. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) 69: 10. Checa 59

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 1st: “That was one of the hardest races of the season. After the warm-up I saw Sete’s time and I wasn’t sure that I could beat him in the race. I had confidence in the bike but I knew I was a bit slower than him. I spoke with Jeremy Burgess to ask for some modifications to be made to the bike in order to make a better compromise for the whole race and, like always, he and the rest of the team worked at 100% to improve the situation. There were a lot of fast riders out there but Gibernau was my hardest opponent so I tried to push him and put the pressure on from the start. It was a great fight with a lot of overtaking. In the middle of the race I decided to try to go and make a gap, but Sete came back. At the end I did three or four good laps, made the pass on Sete and then did a perfect final lap. Unfortunately Sete had a problem, which was bad luck for him because he deserved to be on the podium. Anyway this is a good win for me and now I just need one more for the title, but it is not over yet.”

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