Posted by Administrator on 05-30-2005 at 04:05 pm
Round 5: Mugello, Italy
Track length: 5245 m
Opened: 1974
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′ 49.553 (Sete Gibernau, 2004)
MotoGP lap record: 1′ 51.133 (Sete Gibernau, 2004)
Last year MotoGP winner: Valentino Rossi
Circuit tel: +39 055 8499111
Circuit web site: http://www.mugellocircuit.it
2004 MotoGP race summary
Valentino Rossi held his nerve and maintained his race-long aggression to outpace his rivals not once but twice at Mugello during the 2004 Italian Grand Prix. In doing so he seized his second win since joining Yamaha, in outstanding style. The initial race was stopped with five laps remaining after rain interfered. Ultimately a six-lap restart would determine the final classification of the race, with the first section now nullified under the 2004 rules.
Rossi, who’d led Sete Gibernau’s Honda on the last of the laps in the first running, repeated the trick in seemingly impossible damp conditions while on slicks. The 25-year-old (at the time) from Tavullia won by 0.361 seconds in the restart. With treacherous conditions to deal with Rossi was last in a six-rider group at one stage, before asserting his class and quality to outrun Gibernau and third placed Max Biaggi (Honda) in what proved to be a sprint race run on a knife-edge.
If the second running was a minor classic, the opener was conducted on a no less grand scale. Rossi drew roars from the crowd as he took the advantage from the start, leading into the first corner with his great Italian rival Biaggi in second place. A huge 300kmh crash on the main straight for Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) saw debris littering the track surface; the Japanese rider escaped serious injury by a whisker, although the race continued until the rains descended on lap 17.
2005 MotoGP Set-up report YZR-M1
Located in the beautiful Tuscan hills, Mugello boasts a sequence of undulating medium to high-speed corners combined with a straight where even the former 500 two-strokes were capable of producing an outright top speed of 315kmh. The four strokes are now comfortably pushing beyond the 240kmh barrier.
Although picturesque, the Italian circuit has a reputation as a very demanding venue on chassis set-up and engine performance. In fact Mugello is a circuit that requires the best from every aspect of a race motorcycle. The main aim for each team will be to find a balanced geometry that will provide the rider with the ability to change direction quickly through the high-speed switchbacks, and especially through the tricky right-hander at the end of the main straight. This corner, to some extent, is the key to a fast time around Mugello as it influences the next sequence of turns dramatically. Make a mistake in this area and the lap-time will pay the price through the next series of turns.
Yamaha’s chassis technicians will also need to provide a front-end which will offer the rider the feedback while braking into the numerous downhill Mugello turns. This is especially the case onto the front straight as it influences corner exit speed and eventual top speed.
The set-up involves lowering the front of the M1 to improve front-end feel and lighten the handling response through the chicanes. Mugello doesn’t require a front-end to be dialed in as firm, regarding fork springs, as some circuits, but still the braking needs aren’t quite as extreme – especially at the end of the mai9n straight. There is no major issue concerning bumps entering the turns, as at some circuits of similar age, resulting in a more linear medium-damping characteristic, a must to aid feel.
Where bumps are an issue will be on the exit of the turns. To ensure Yamaha riders will be able to find the necessary drive a medium to high rear spring-rate will be used, along with progressive rear suspension linkage rates. It will also be necessary to prevent squatting as riders wind the power on in the well-banked, high G-force corners.
Posted by Administrator on 05-26-2005 at 08:05 am
Valentino Rossi’s Honda and Yamaha career compared After winning the premier-class title for the third time riding Honda machinery, Valentino Rossi moved across to ride for the Yamaha factory at the start of last year and has now competed in 20 races on the Yamaha. .
It is clear that Rossi’s performance since joining Yamaha have been superior in terms of percentage of wins, pole positions and average points scored per start. Only in terms of percentage of podium finishes have the results on the Yamaha been inferior to those achieved on the Honda. Rossi has also set several new records for Yamaha, milestones that the other premier-class riders will have to work hard to surpass.
The list below compares his performances on the Honda to those achieved on a Yamaha. - He has finished on the podium for the last seven races, which is the longest run of podium finishes by a Yamaha rider in the premier-class since Wayne Rainey, who had nine consecutive top three finishes between the end of the 1992 and start of the 1993 season.
- In the first race of the year at Jerez, Rossi became the first Yamaha rider since Eddie Lawson in 1986 to take four consecutive victories in the premier-class.
- This victory was also the first in the premier-class at Jerez for Yamaha since 1988.
- Last year Rossi scored nine victories, which is the highest number of wins ever achieved by a Yamaha rider in the premier-class in a single season.
- Rossi’s total of 304 points last year set the record for the highest ever score to be achieved by a Yamaha rider in a single season.
- Rossi’s victory last year in Italy was the first in the premier-class for a Yamaha rider at Mugello since Wayne Rainey back in 1991.
Starts: 64 with Honda, 20 with Yamaha
Wins: 33 with Honda, 12 with Yamaha
% wins: 51,6% with Honda, 60% with Yamaha
Podium finishes: 54 with Honda, 15 with Yamaha
% podium finishes: 84,4% with Honda, 75% with Yamaha
Poles: 20 with Honda, 7 with Yamaha
% pole: 31,2% with Honda, 35% with Yamaha
Points per start: 19,46 with Honda, 19,95% with Yamaha
Posted by Administrator on 05-15-2005 at 02:05 pm
Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship with a victory from pole position at the French Grand Prix this afternoon. The Italian World Champion recorded the fastest ever motorcycle lap of Le Mans in qualifying yesterday and followed it up with a new lap record on the very last lap of the today’s 28-lap race. He was joined on the podium by team-mate Colin Edwards who took an excellent third place from the second spot on the grid.
With Rossi making a poor start, Edwards charged to the front and led the way for the first 20 laps. Meanwhile, Rossi made his way through the pack from sixth place and joined the American ahead of the field, making his first attempt to pass on lap 18 as Sete Gibernau (Honda) closed in from third place. The Italian’s attempted manoeuvre failed as he ran wide on the exit of the corner, allowing Edwards to recover the lead and Gibernau to steal through for second. However, three laps later the World Champion was back on the charge, passing Gibernau and then Edwards on consecutive laps and this time hanging on to the lead.
With Gibernau passing Edwards in the same corner as Rossi, the pair went head-to-head for the final eight laps and set a scorching pace. The breathtaking battle went all the way to the final lap, when Rossi set a sensational new circuit record to secure victory by 0.382 seconds from the Spaniard. His championship tally now stands at 95 points from a possible 100 giving him a 37 point advantage over Marco Melandri (Honda) whilst Edwards now moves up to sixth overall. The result also extended Yamaha’s lead in the constructors’ and teams’ World Championships. The next round of the season takes place at Mugello in Italy in three weeks’ time.
VALENTINO ROSSI – (1st – 44’12.223) New lap record 1’33.678 (lap 28)
“At the start of the race we were lucky that it didn’t rain and we were able to put on a fantastic show. It was a difficult and long but great race, although I made my life more complicated by messing up the start. But I made positions up lap by lap with some good overtaking moves and eventually caught Colin. I stayed behind him for a while because his rhythm was good and nobody was catching up, but then Gibernau arrived very fast from behind so I decided to try and overtake and push to the maximum. Every lap I was better and better and I set the fastest time of the race on the final lap, so that shows the excellent progress we have made with the setting of the bike. I took pole position, the fastest lap of the race and the victory and Colin was also on the podium, so it has been a perfect weekend for us. The bike was very precise and I was able to get the power down well so this looks good for the coming races. We continue our work here tomorrow. I’m not sure what I have to test but I’m very happy to stay if we can make even more progress. I’m looking forward to Mugello and hope to see lots of Italian fans there.”
COLIN EDWARDS (3rd 44’17.934 +5.711)
"I desperately wanted to win that race but the other guys were just too fast today! Basically we took a gamble on the race tyre because with the limited dry track time in practice we only had five laps on it and didn’t know if it would work towards the end of the race. I got a good start, got into my rhythm of mid-34s and knew that should be enough to keep me at the front. If you’d have said to me you have to get into the 33s I’d have told you there was no way I could do those times! But then Valentino and Sete came through and their pace was incredible. The tyre got really hot and I had of couple of moments, so I just decided to make sure of third place. It’s an overdue reward for the phenomenal job the team have been doing and now we have a firm base to go from for the rest of the season.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR
“It was a fantastic day for us – almost perfect! Valentino took the victory and extended his lead in the championship, which is good to be able to take to Mugello in the next round. It was a very important podium for Colin – I have always believed that he was capable of this kind of performance. Today was a result of the hard work put in by the team over the winter and the first three rounds of the season. Now we want to see both riders on the podium as much as possible!”
Posted by Administrator on 05-15-2005 at 09:05 am
Full MotoGP race results from the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, round four of the 2005 world championship.
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Yamaha 44min 12.223 secs
2. Sete Gibernau SPA Team Movistar Honda 44min 12.605 secs
3. Colin Edwards USA Gauloises Yamaha 44min 17.934 secs
4. Marco Melandri ITA Team Movistar Honda 44min 19.499 secs
5. Max Biaggi ITA Repsol Honda 44min 19.926 secs
6. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda 44min 33.933 secs
7. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 44min 36.887 secs
8. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 44min 48.163 secs
9. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Yamaha 44min 50.285 secs
10. Troy Bayliss AUS Camel Honda 45min 4.83 secs
11. Olivier Jacque FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 45min 5.525 secs
12. Ruben Xaus SPA Fortuna Yamaha 45min 12.565 secs
13. Kenny Roberts USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 45min 12.737 secs
14. Jurgen van den Goorbergh NED Konica Minolta Honda 45min 30.216 secs
15. Roberto Rolfo ITA D’Antin Ducati Pramac 45min 44.456 secs
16. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 44min 50.726 secs
17. Franco Battaini ITA Blata WCM 45min 22.642 secs
DNF:
Alex Barros BRA Camel Honda 19min 10.033 secs
James Ellison GBR Blata WCM 3min 26.375 secs
Shane Byrne GBR Team Roberts KTM lap 1
Carlos Checa ITA Ducati Marlboro lap 1
Posted by Administrator on 05-14-2005 at 10:05 am
Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards took the front two positions on the starting grid for the French Grand Prix in a grandstand finale to today’s qualifying session. After a wet morning practice the thick clouds were broken by bright sunshine that warmed the Le Mans circuit in the afternoon, giving the riders a crucial opportunity to work on their race set-up for tomorrow’s fourth round of the MotoGP World Championship. It was the most intense practice session of the season so far as the teams worked frantically in the pit boxes and the riders pushed harder and harder towards a dramatic climax.
After setting the fastest time in the only other dry practice so far this weekend, which took place in cool conditions yesterday morning, it was no surprise when Edwards surged to the top of the time sheets with eight minutes remaining. Having used a softer compound Michelin tyre for that lap, Edwards then moved on to his qualifying tyres and posted two more scorching times, only to be denied pole position by his irrepressible team-mate with a pair of stunning laps of his own. Rossi’s first effort proved decisive as he stopped the clock at 1’33.226, some 0.199 seconds inside the pole position record, before setting a second lap within a tenth of that time.
VALENTINO ROSSI – (1’33.226, 29 laps)
“This track wasn’t so good for me last year so this pole position is very important. We suffered a little bit in the practice but we did a great job in the hour we had this afternoon. The weather was good, the track surface was good and we were able to take advantage of every available second, working a lot on the tyres and the suspension. The race configuration is not bad. I put in a qualifying tyre and I wasn’t at 100% on the first lap, but the second lap was perfect and the grip was excellent. I’m really happy for Yamaha because Colin is second today. He is a fast rider and his performance shows the potential of the YZR-M1. I think we can both have a good race tomorrow.”
COLIN EDWARDS (1’33.449, 28 laps)
"At last our hard work in the preseason and over the first three races is paying off! We pulled the bikes off the truck on Friday morning and basically they worked straight away. One of them had a simple base set-up and we dialled a few things into the other one that we thought would work here, and they turned out to be perfect. My race pace was really good and Michelin had the idea of putting a slightly softer tyre on before switching to the qualifiers, which really helped. The whole team have worked tremendously hard so far this season so this is a welcome boost. The first corner should be a bit gnarly but I’m feeling confident and, as I said yesterday, I’m ready to race whatever the weather.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR
“The team did a great job today, especially the riders. It is only Saturday but we’re very happy to have the top two places on the grid. We’ve worked hard for the race and it seems both riders can keep a good pace and use all of the potential of the bike. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow but my dream is for the same result!”
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