Posted by Administrator on 08-28-2005 at 04:08 pm
Full MotoGP race results from the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, round eleven of the 2005 world championship.
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Gauloises Yamaha Team 43min 56.539 secs
2. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 43min 58.376 secs
3. Max Biaggi ITA Repsol Honda Team 43min 59.983 secs
4. Alex Barros BRA Camel Honda 44min 0.687 secs
5. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 44min 0.902 secs
6. Marco Melandri ITA Team Movistar Honda 44min 7.689 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Gauloises Yamaha Team 44min 10.071 secs
8. Carlos Checa ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 44min 15.87 secs
9. Troy Bayliss AUS Camel Honda 44min 23.664 secs
10. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 44min 23.787 secs
11. Kenny Roberts USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 44min 24.233 secs
12. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 44min 24.342 secs
13. John Hopkins USA Team Suzuki MotoGP 44min 24.817 secs
14. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Yamaha Team 44min 25.11 secs
15. Alex Hofmann GER Kawasaki Racing Team 44min 26.307 secs
16. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Team Suzuki MotoGP 44min 38.317 secs
17. Roberto Rolfo ITA D’Antin Ducati Pramac 44min 54.339 secs
18. Ruben Xaus SPA Fortuna Yamaha Team 45min 4.621 secs
19. James Ellison GBR Blata WCM 45min 38.708 secs
20. Franco Battaini ITA Blata WCM 45min 51.323 secs
DNF:
Sete Gibernau SPA Team Movistar Honda 41min 57.46 secs
Jeremy McWilliams GBR Team Roberts 14min 45.932 secs
Posted by Administrator on 08-28-2005 at 11:08 am
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 today. 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 technical problem and was forced to retire.
Whilst Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Max Biaggi (Honda) made the most of Gibernau’s misfortune to complete the podium, Rossi’s Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was promoted one place to seventh after a tough race that again saw the American struggle to find sufficient rear grip for his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. Despite his disappointment, Edwards remains in the thick of the battle for second place in the championship, trailing Biaggi by six points with six rounds still remaining. Rossi, meanwhile, can seal the championship title in the next round at Motegi by finishing in the top two.
VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 43’56.539)
“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.”
COLIN EDWARDS (7th; + 13.532)
“I started alright but after five laps we were in trouble. We changed the setting of the bike a little after the warm-up but the track was much warmer than we expected for the race and we loaded up the front a bit too much. It was a repeat of the race at Mugello – the bike was spinning and I couldn’t get any edge grip on the rear. I pushed on the pegs, stood up, leaned back…everything I could think of to make it stick! The positive side is that we still got some points and we’ve got a two-day test coming up where we can work on some of these problems and hopefully find the solution we need. We haven’t tested since Le Mans so it will be nice to have a chance to rack up plenty of hours on the track without the pressure of a Grand Prix, as we get ready for a tough finish to the season.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“I have to congratulate and thank the whole team, particularly Valentino’s engineers because they followed his requests to modify the bike precisely and gave him the package he needed to take victory today. He made the bike work and put on a great show for the fans with Sete Gibernau, who deserved to be on the podium. Valentino has a good advantage in the championship now and we will go to Motegi looking for the same result. Unfortunately Colin couldn’t do any better than seventh place today but the fight for second place is still very close and he is still in contention having collected nine points today. We will look for some solutions with him during the test and look forward to going to Japan in three weeks’ time.”
Posted by Administrator on 08-27-2005 at 05:08 pm
The eleventh round of the MotoGP World Championship looks set to be one of the most exciting yet after a dramatically close qualifying session at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic this afternoon. Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start from the second and third rows of the grid respectively with less than two seconds covering the top sixteen riders.
Rossi qualified fourth fastest after launching a late pole attack that saw him dip almost a full second inside his own previous pole record from 2003 with a best lap of 1’57.875. The Italian’s effort was just 0.371 seconds short of the eventual pole time set by Sete Gibernau (Honda) but it wasn’t quite enough to dislodge Nicky Hayden (Honda) or Loris Capirossi (Ducati) from the front row. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards made another encouraging start to the day as he lapped third fastest in the morning free practice but the American again struggled to convert his good race pace to a top qualifying time as he lapped ninth fastest.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 4th - 1′57.875
“Today we have done a good job with the set-up of the bike, especially on race tyres, and I am quite happy with the pace. I thought a 1’57.8 would be enough for the front row but Loris Capirossi put in a very fast lap at the end and I am fourth. Gibernau and Hayden are also strong and I think tomorrow will be a very close race because it is so difficult to escape here - it could be like Mugello earlier in the season. I hope so because I won that race! I have great rivals and the men on the front row tomorrow are strong, but I never, never give up until the finish. The championship is definitely not over yet and my only thought now is to try and win the race tomorrow.”
Davide Brivio – Gauloises Yamaha team director
“Valentino has a good pace for tomorrow but he is not alone in that aspect and it looks like it’s going to be a very hard race. I think several riders are going to be in the middle of it and I expect it will be a good battle. Even so, I don’t think it will be just about the guys at the front of the grid because there are riders further back who can join in and make it close – hopefully Colin will be one of them. He still has some problems to solve but I have confidence they can be ironed out. Neither rider is starting from the front but that is not a problem because they will still fight a great battle for the best possible finish!”
Posted by Administrator on 08-26-2005 at 05:08 pm
Valentino Rossi showed that he has lost none of his sharpness over the summer break as he clocked the fastest time on the first day of action at the Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske republiky today. Rossi’s time of 1’59.278 on the very final lap of this afternoon’s second free practice at Brno ousted Loris Capirossi from the top of the time sheets by just 0.088 seconds and spoiled an otherwise perfect day for the Ducati rider, who had set the quickest time during the morning session as Rossi suffered his second crash in as many meetings.
“Today was a strange day because we all came back from the holidays and it felt like everybody was still in the beach rhythm!“ said Rossi, who holds the pole record at this circuit with a time of 1’58.769 set two years ago. “The crash this morning was not the perfect way to start. Troy was pushing hard but he suddenly decided to come in to the pit and braked in the middle of the last corner. I was lucky because my front brake made contact and I went down at 149km/h but I am not hurt. Tomorrow we need to work on the suspension to find more grip but so far I am quite happy.”
Last year’s winner Sete Gibernau was third fastest today as he begins his quest to record his first victory of the season. The Spaniard also has one eye on second place in the championship as he currently lies in third place, just one point behind his Honda team-mate Marco Melandri. The Italian youngster, who has won three times at this track in the smaller Grand Prix classes, was fourth fastest today ahead of Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts and Ducati’s Carlos Checa. Nicky Hayden was seventh fastest whilst Colin Edwards was the only rider that failed to improve from the morning to the afternoon session as he slipped to eighth. Alex Barros, the lap record holder, completes the theoretical front three rows in ninth place ahead of tomorrow’s definitive qualifying session.
Veteran rider Jeremy McWilliams made an impressive return to MotoGP action with Proton Team KR today, lapping just 3.611 seconds slower than Rossi on the 2004 version machine he rode last season. The team have rolled out their V5 motor for the first time this year after Austrian engine suppliers KTM decided to end their involvement in the joint MotoGP project last week.
Daniel Pedrosa produced a late lap inside his own circuit record to snatch provisional pole position for the 250cc race from Jorge Lorenzo. The pair have been the subject of a speculative war of words in the Spanish press during the summer break but they did their talking on the track today with an entertaining battle for top spot. Lorenzo ended the session in second place after Pedrosa clocked 2’03.184 with his last of 17 laps. Hiroshi Aoyama and Casey Stoner, who trails Pedrosa by 50 points in the championship, complete the provisional front row.
Mika Kallio set the early pace in the 125cc class, clocking the fastest time in the morning free practice before clinching provisional pole position in the afternoon with a lap of 2’08.875. Kallio’s KTM team-mate Gabor Talmacsi was second fastest in both sessions as the factory aim to take their fourth consecutive victory in the series. Mattia Pasini and Sandro Cortese complete the provisional front row ahead of series leader Thomas Lüthi who was fifth fastest.
Posted by Administrator on 08-25-2005 at 05:08 am
Round 11: Czech Republic, Brno
Track length: 5403 m
Opened: 1987
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′58.769 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
MotoGP lap record: 1′59.302 (Alex Barros, 2004)
Last year MotoGP winner: Sete Gibernau
Circuit tel: +420 5 46216111
Circuit web site: http://www.automotodrombrno.cz
2004 Race Summary
Valentino Rossi started the Czech Republic Grand Prix somewhat disadvantaged after both qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday were wet. With no opportunity to test for an optimum race setting he started the dry 22-lap race having made an educated guess at his M1’s set-up. Nevertheless Rossi was in contention from the word go, slotting into fourth after the first lap. 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 at the flag. After a slight scare at the end of the first lap, when his wheel touched the trackside grass causing a serious wobble, Rossi went on to pass the Hondas of Biaggi and Alex Barros to move into second position. With Barros crashing out after 14 laps, Rossi took the lead on lap 17 from Gibernau, after which the two swapped places no less than six times as Biaggi closed in on the duelling pair. A worn rear tyre meant Rossi had to settle for second as he was unable to make a final pass on Gibernau.
Set-up report YZR-M1
Visually Brno appears challenging with many long radius medium-speed turns and medium-length straights which lends the Brno Automotodrom to being one of the easier circuits – technically speaking – on the 17 round MotoGP calendar. Combined with the wide, smooth, track surface, it’s a venue which also allows a variety of competitive racing lines and passing opportunities – and the majority of the time this takes place under brakes. The second part of the circuit is undulating, something which is not apparent form the TV images, while the corners themselves often feature a positive camber. The Brno tarmac also offers a great amount of grip, but without the reputation for tearing up tyres. All in all, a perfect venue to test the limits on everything a bike has to offer regarding handling.
Due its nature Brno is not overly demanding on any specific area of chassis set-up except on front end feel and the need to concentrate on the overall balance. The main target are good, stable turn in characteristics and a set-up that offers easy changes in direction; supported by a high level of feel from both the front and rear. Yamaha engineers will ensure that the weight bias is as neutral as possible to prevent the front Michelin overloading in the midpoint of the turn while also ensuring good drive off the sides of the rear tyre. This will build the rider’s confidence, therefore encouraging him to keep a high rolling speed – a key to making up time at this particular venue. And since the track surface is relatively smooth and the top speeds only just nudge 300kmh, straight-line stability can be sacrificed to some degree in order to support this.
The M1 will run a slightly lower centre of gravity in an effort to improve the rate of pitching and the bike’s ability to change direction quickly. It will also reduce the risk of the front folding under the rider while entering the downhill sweepers – caused when excess weight transfers onto the front tyre under deceleration.
With no real specific hard braking anywhere on the five kilometre layout, fork springs will be chosen to maximise rider feedback, although biased slightly towards the softer side. It will also be a similar case on the rear with the monoshock’s spring rate. This is possible due to the circuit’s design, which allows the rider to keep up his corner speed, and is therefore unlikely to load the rear shock under power to the same extent as riding, for example, the stop-and-go Le Mans layout.
With the long radius corners a consistent and progressive throttle action is needed to ride them quickly. Although power is always a must have, throttle connection and a linear power delivery play a prime part in any successful result at Brno.
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