- Round: 10 - Brno Grand Prix
- Circuit: Brno
- Circuit Length: 5403
- Lap Record: 1' 59.302 (Alex Barros, 2004)
- Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 59.302 (Alex Barros, 2004)
Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi finished a fighting second in today's Czech Republic Grand Prix after a determined 22-lap race. The Italian had a close battle on his YZR-M1 machine with championship Honda rivals Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi, ultimately holding on to finish in second - 3.514 seconds behind Gibernau. Rossi's team-mate Carlos Checa also had a tough fight throughout the race to a final sixth place.
Meanwhile Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 riders Norick Abe and Marco Melandri finished in eighth and ninth places respectively - the latter lucky to escape from a high speed tank-slapper in the opening lap. The duo started from mid-grid and fought their way through the pack to fire their Yamaha YZR M-1s to top ten finishes.
After an unfortunate start Rossi slotted into fourth place at the end of lap one, with Checa just inside the top ten riders. After a slight scare at the end of the first lap as his wheel touched the trackside grass causing a serious wobble, Rossi went on to pass Honda riders Alex Barros and Max Biaggi into second position. Meanwhile team-mate Checa entered a fight to stay in the top ten as Makoto Tamada (Honda) and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) closed in.
With Barros out of the picture, having crashed out after 14 laps, Rossi made a beeline for the lead. The Yamaha rider managed to pass Gibernau on lap 17, and then the two swapped places no less than six times as Biaggi crept up close behind the duelling pair into third. Finally it was not to be Rossi's day, as a worn rear tyre meant he was unable to make another steady pass on Gibernau. Checa won his final personal duel by holding off Colin Edwards' Honda, passing him to finish sixth.
Norick was dicing with his team-mate towards the closing stages of the race and the experienced Japanese rider used every ounce of skill to get the better of Marco at the line. It's his second top ten finish so far this season and he feels he is now getting close to recapturing his best form.
Marco fully expected to finish higher despite his injured right hand, but he never fully got to grips with his machine set-up as changeable weather during the weekend conspired to deprive him of precious dry time. But as ever he gave everything in the race and has shown what a force he will be at Estoril, Portugal in two weeks time.
Rossi's second place leaves him with a 17-point cushion over Gibernau - 184 to 167. Biaggi sits third on 158 with Edwards on 104 in fourth. Checa is currently seventh, but just four points shy of fifth place in the order.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha)
"We tried! The race was at a top level, the rhythm was very good and it was a great fight. I tried to follow Sete and understand a good point to overtake. With five or six laps to go I made my attack. But we had lost grip with the rear tyre and I had lost a little bit too much time. In the earlier part of the race the bike was good under acceleration but not later, and then it also became difficult under braking. When our bike loses rear grip it becomes very difficult to stop. In the end Sete was too strong and had a better rhythm than mine. It was impossible to beat him. Anyway I'm quite happy, we've worked well but we need to get our bike to 100% for the whole race next time. Now we have two days of testing where we will look at solving that."
Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha)
"The conditions were the same for me as everyone else but we had some limitations because of the lack of set-up time. I started quite well in the big group at the front, and the lap time was good but then the rear grip dropped down and I got involved with Edwards. His bike was a little bit faster than mine so that made it difficult to pass him on the brakes, as I was not close to him on the corner entry. One time I tried and ran a little bit out but I was able to pass him eventually, as he had a problem that slowed him down. We need to keep working but I was pleased that the lap time was good at the beginning."
Davide Brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team director
"All in all a good result. I think that we had a good race and a good fight to the very end for the win with Valentino. We are still leading the championship and so we are still going forward. We are testing after this race for two days, starting tomorrow, with a new fairing and some electronics. For Carlos his result is not so bad, considering that both riders had a very short time in the dry to set up the bikes. Normally this year we have needed as much time as possible because Valentino has not so much experience on this bike."
Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3)
"I made a mess of the start and the first two laps were really hard. Then by mid-race I could feel I was losing a bit of rear grip because of the higher temperatures this afternoon. Then it felt a bit better at the end of the race and I could pass Marco, so I'm happy about that. Tyre choice was always going to be tricky because we only got one dry session, and I had to concentrate so hard all race to keep the slides under control."
Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3)
"I'm very disappointed. In the only dry session we had I could only manage a few laps and even though we tried to makes some progress this morning the bike was never really right. I nearly fell on lap one and through the whole race I could never get on the gas early enough and I even had to be really gentle on the throttle on the straights. I thought I could go much better than this. The hand wasn't a big problem, but the lack of set-up time was."
Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 team director
"That was a tough race and it must have been very difficult for Marco. He struggled towards the end and his lap times came down. Norick is improving all the time and it's great to have two bikes in the points. It's not a fantastic result, but after the Sachsenring and Donington we have to be happy with this."
Race Result: 22 Laps
- 1, S. Gibernau Honda (ESP) - 44' 3.480
- 2, V. Rossi Yamaha (ITA) - +3.514
- 3, M. Biaggi Honda (ITA) - +4.330
- 4, M. Tamada Honda (JPN) - +16.257
- 5, L. Capirossi Ducati (ITA) - +17.930
- 6, C. Checa Yamaha (ESP) - +21.181
- 7, C. Edwards Honda (USA) - +22.471
- 8, N. Abe Yamaha (JPN) - +31.079
- 9, M. Melandri Yamaha (ITA) - +31.158
- 10, K. Roberts Suzuki (USA) - +31.625
- 11, N. Hodgson Ducati (GBR) - +34.094
- 12, S. Nakano Kawasaki (JPN) - +54.124
- 13, A. Hofman Kawasaki (GER) - +54.288
- 14, J. McWilliams Aprilia (GBR) - +57.471
- 15, N. Aoki Proton KR (JPN) - +1' 18.515
Fastest Race Lap:
- 1, A. Barros Honda (BRA) - 1' 59.302
Championship standings
- 1, Valentino Rossi Yamaha (ITA) - 184
- 2, Sete Gibernau Honda (ESP) - 167
- 3, Max Biaggi Honda ITA) - 158
- 4, Colin Edwards Honda (USA) - 104
- 5, Alex Barros Honda (BRA) - 86
- 6, Nicky Hayden Honda (USA) - 83
- 7, Carlos Checa Yamaha (ESP) - 82
- 8, Loris Capirossi Ducati (ITA) - 75
- 9, Makato Tamada Honda (JPN) - 69
- 10, Marco Melandri Yamaha (ITA) - 64
- 11, Norick Abe Yamaha (JPN) - 49
- 12, Ruben Xaus Ducati (ESP) - 46
- 13, Shinya Nakano Kawasaki (JPN) - 41
- 14, Kenny Roberts Suzuki (USA) - 35
- 15, Troy Bayliss Ducati (AUS) - 34
Manufacturers standings
- 1, Honda - 225
- 2, Yamaha - 199
- 3, Ducati - 94
- 4, Suzuki - 48
- 5, Kawasaki - 46
- 6, Aprilia - 25
- 7, Proton - KR 8
- 7, Harris WCM - 8
- 8, Moriwaki - 2
This article and pictures were kindly provided by www.yamaha-racing.com
