MotoGP – The Chinese Grand Prix turn-based –

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The Chinese Grand Prix turn by turn

MotoGP - The Chinese Grand Prix turn-based -

Shanghai, China: More and more Chinese public to watch Ducatis in longest straight of the year: will Stoner confirm? J. Arsouille’s turn by turn in world exclusivity !

The Chinese track, not very appreciated by the pilots, is considered "on-off": understand heavy acceleration and braking. A circuit where the engine is important, but also the braking.

After the longest straight of the season, the hairpin on the right is the slowest turn of the year! The unknown in the premier class is at Yamaha and Michelin: has the problem encountered in Turkey (read) been resolved ?

The last seven MotoGP races have seen six different winners, proof that the category remains hotly contested: will Rossi interrupt this series? Another major unknown, the weather: it’s the bad season in China and everyone remembers the conditions that had allowed Olivier Jacque’s feat with his superb 2nd place in the Chinese rain of the 2005 edition (read ) !

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Friday morning, Talmacsi – for his 100th GP – dominated the first free session ahead of Pasini, Faubel, Pesek, Olive, Corsi, Nieto, Masbou, Smith, Koyama and Terol. Mike di Meglio is 16th.

The first qualifying session sees Pasini take the provisional pole ahead of Pesek, Talmacsi, Gadea, Faubel, Corsi, Smith, Cortese, Koyama, Ranseder, De Rosa, Masbou, Iannone, Zanetti and Di Meglio.

Saturday morning, Gadea is ahead of Pasini, Pesek, Talmacsi, Smith, Nieto, Koyama, Faubel, Espargaro, Olive, Corsi, Zanetti, Masbou and Di Meglio.

The afternoon saw Pasini keep pole with his time the day before, 0.3 s ahead of Faubel and 0.4 s ahead of Pesek and Talmacsi. In 2nd row, Smith, Gadea, Corsi and Koyama are between 0.6 s and 1 s from pole. Ranseder, Cortese, Koyama and Rabat form the 3rd line between 1.1 s and 1.6 s from Pasini. The 4th row is occupied by Nieto, Olive, Iannone and Terol. Masbou qualifies 22nd at 2.1 s and Di Meglio 23rd at 2.2 s from pole.

In the warm up, Talmacsi is ahead of Ranseder, Corsi, Pesek, Pasini, Faubel, Koyama, Smith, Gadea, Oklive, De Rosa, Espargaro, Di Meglio. Masbou is 16th in time.

Departure. It was Pasini who got the best start and took the lead in front of Smith from the second row, but who got out of the rope in the right and had to let better placed Corsi and Talmacsi pass. In the left, it’s Pesek’s turn to pass the young Englishman. Pasini is forcing and distance Corsi, Talmacsi, Pesek, Faubel, Smith, Koyama, Gadea and Iannone. Talmacsi took 2nd to Corsi in the sequence. De Rosa passed 8th ahead of Iannone and Gadea. Pasini widens the gap on Talmacsi, who lets Corsi go slightly. Koyama passed 6th ahead of Smith. Corsi and Pesek pass Talmacsi before the straight. Krummenacher makes a mistake in the hairpin at the end of the straight line.

In the first lap, Pasini was 1.2 seconds ahead of Corsi, Pesek, Talmacsi, Faubel and Koyama, then a little further Smith took De Rosa, Espargaro, Iannone, Rabat, Cortese. Masbou moved up to 15th place, Di Meglio to 18th. Talmacsi passed 3rd in front of Faubel who also passed Pesek. Talmacsi passes 2nd in front of Corsi, Faubel and Pesek and leads the hunt for Pasini. Koyama tries to come back to the quartet that precedes him. Faubel passed Corsi on the draw for the straight. Koyama has redone the junction and brings back

On the second lap, Pasini was 0.9 s ahead of Talmacsi, who had the fastest lap, Faubel, Corsi, Pesek, Koyama, De Rosa, Espargaro, then Cortese and Masbou who came back to 12th .. Di Meglio was still 18th. Terol and Bonsey s’ hang and drop in the pin. Talmacsi made an effort to get back on Pasini and distance Faubel, Corsi and Pesek slightly. Pesek passes 4th in front of Corsi.

On lap 3, Pasini still leads but Talmacsi got back into his wheel. Faubel, Pesek, who set the fastest lap, and Corsi also got closer, then De Rosa, Koyama, Iannone, Espargaro, Smith, then 5.1s behind the leader, Gadea, Masbou. Di Meglio is 17th. In the lead, a group of 6 riders formed, with Pasini, Talmacsi, Faubel, Pesek, Corsi then De Rosa almost in contact. In the straight line, Faubel took advantage of the suction, overflowed Pasini, then Pesek overran the two men and took the lead in front of Pasini who got the better of Talmacsi under braking. Pesek gets out of line in the hairpin and has to let Pasini pass again.

At the 4th passage, Pasini leads ahead of Pesek, Faubel, Talmacsi, Corsi and De Rosa. Koyama and Espargaro lead the chase 2.4 seconds behind the leader. Masbou is 12th, Di Meglio 18th. In the straight line, Faubel passed on the suction in front of Pasini, Talmacsi in front of Pesek, but Pasini delayed his braking and took the lead in the hairpin..

On the 5th lap, Pasini leads ahead of Faubel, Talmacsi, Pesek, Corsi and De Rosa, then 1.5 s further, Koyama leads Espargaro, Iannone, Masbou and Rabat. Talmacsi came back to 2nd on the draw, then Corsi, who passed Pesek on the draw, passed Faubel down the long straight. Pesek passes Faubel. At the end of the straight, Pasini saw Talmacsi, Corsi and Pesek come back to his height. Pasini still dominates under braking and maintains his position in front of Talmacsi, Pesek and Faubel take advantage of Corsi’s gap in the hairpin to get him back.

On the 6th lap, Pasini leads in front of Talmacsi, Pesek, Faubel, Corsi and De Rosa, then 1.2 s later, Koyama, Espargaro and Masbou which sees Iannone return, then Rabat, Gadea and Ranseder, the three fastest on the track! Di Meglio passed 15th.

On the 7th lap, Pasini leads ahead of Talmacsi, Pesek, Corsi, Faubel and De Rosa. Koyama came back 1.8 seconds from the leader and left Espargaro, Masbou, Rabat, Gadea and Ranseder the fastest on the track. Bianco falls at the hairpin. Pesek passes 2nd in front of Talmacsi. In the straight line, Talmacsi comes back to 2nd. Koyama made the connection with the leading group.

At the 8th passage, Pasini takes Talmacsi, Pesek, Corsi, Faubel, De Rosa and Koyama. 3.9 s behind the leader, Gadea takes Rabat, Espargaro, Ranseder and Masbou. Talmacsi takes the lead in front of Pasini by swinging to the long left. Corsi passes 3rd in front of Pesek. Pesek moved back to 3rd in the line. Talmacsi makes an effort to try to get away, and Pesek gets inside Pasini down the long stretch that commands the straight. At the end, Pasini, master of braking, took 2nd position, Faubel passed Corsi, and Koyama passed De Rosa.

On lap 9, Talmacsi leads ahead of Pasini, Pesek, Faubel, Corsi, Koyama and De Rosa. At 3.5 s behind the leader, Gadea, the fastest on the track, takes Rabat, then at 4.7 s, Espargaro, Ranseder, Masbou, Smith and Iannone. Faubel passes Pesek under braking. At the end of the return straight, Faubel passes Pasini, touches Talmacsi but without consequence.

On the 10th lap, Talmacsi leads in front of Faubel, Pasini, Pesek, Corsi who slightly lets go of Koyama and De Rosa, then Gadea and Rabat who always turn faster than the leader. Masbou is 12th, Di Meglio 15th. Faubel took the lead in front of Talmacsi, and Pesek passed 3rd ahead of Pasini. At the end of the straight, Faubel kept the lead ahead of Talmacsi, Pesek and Pasini, and Koyama returned to 6th place ahead of Corsi. De Rosa has also put it back together, and Gadea and Rabat are almost in the aspiration.

On lap 11, Faubel leads ahead of Talmacsi, Pesek, Pasini, Koyama, Corsi, De Rosa, Gadea and Rabat. Masbou 13th was passed by Smith, Di Meglio is 15th. At the end of the straight, Pasini brakes at Pesek and comes back to 3rd. Then Pasini who remains tight to the rope takes advantage of a gap by Faubel and Talmacsi to regain the lead! flap passes Gadea, then continues by getting rid of Koyama.

At the 12th passage, Faubel leads ahead of Talmacsi, Pasini, Pesek, Corsi, Rabat, Koyama and Gadea. De Rosa who wins is joined by Ranseder, then Smith, Espargaro and Masbou. Di Meglio is still 15th. In the draw Pasini takes over the lead in front of Faubel, Pesek slips under the Talmacsi wheels, Corsi is neck and neck with Talmacsi in the right and passes him by swinging to the left. In the tight right, Rabat in full rise makes the braking in Talmacsi! In the process, Rabat makes the outside to Pesek in the right of the sequence, then dives in front of Corsi in the left! In the long straight, Rabat passed second ahead of Faubel on the draw. Talmacsi misses the pin and has to let it go

On the 13th lap, Pasini leads ahead of Rabat, Faubel, Corsi, Pesek, Talmacsi, Koyama, Gadea, then Ranseder and De Rosa who have joined the leading group. Talmacsi returned to 5th in front of Pesek. Pasini and Rabat took a few steps ahead before entering the long straight. Gadea passes Koyama again but deviates from the hairpin and has to give in to the Japanese.

At the 14th lap, Pasini leads ahead of Rabat, Faubel, Corsi, Pesek, Gadea, Koyama, Ranseder, Talmacsi and De Rosa. Under braking, Rabat took the lead in front of Pasini who moved away and must also let Faubel pass on the outside, and Corsi who cleverly held the rope and burned politeness to the two men. Pasini takes 3rd place, better placed than Faubel. Rabat quickly takes a few steps ahead of Corsi.

In the 15th lap, Rabat leads, at 16, ahead of Corsi, Pasini, Gadea, Pesek, Faubel, Koyama, Talmacsi, Ranseder and De Rosa. Masbou is 14th, Di Meglio 15th. Pasini dives under the wheel of Corsi in the right of the chain. Pesek dives under Gadea’s wheel in the following right. In the long straight, behind Rabat, it was Gadea who dived second ahead of Pesek and Corsi who passed Pasini. Pasini returns in force, and apologizes, in front of Corsi, who suddenly returns to the Italian.

On the 16th lap, Rabat leads ahead of Gadea, Pesek, Corsi, Pasini, Faubel, Talmacsi, Koyama, Ranseder, and De Rosa seems to have been let down. Smith and Espargaro take the opportunity to get closer to him. In the straight line, Gadea took the lead in front of Rabat, Pesek also tried, but the young Spaniard held up well. Faubel, Talmacsi and Koyama overtook Pasini. De Rosa in turn passes Pasini, visibly in difficulty !

On the 17th lap, Gadea leads ahead of Rabat, Pesek, Faubel, Talmacsi, Corsi, Ranseder, Koyama, then Pasini, De Rosa, Smith and Espargaro. Rabat takes Faubel’s aspiration, Pesek Rabat’s, and Pesek takes the lead in the hairpin ahead of rabat and Faubel. De Rosa and Smith pass Pasini. Corsi and Talmacsi come and go in the sequence. At the start of the straight, Pesek and Rabat Pont took a few steps ahead. Rabat regained the lead on suction, and Pasini on braking passed Smith and Ranseder again. Pesek regains the lead in the left braking which controls the finish straight.

At the start of the last lap, Pesek leads ahead of Rabat, Faubel, Gadea, Corsi, Talmacsi, Koyama, Pasini, Ranseder and De Rosa. Faubel passed 2nd on the draw ahead of Rabat. Espargaro and Smith overtake De Rosa. Pesek put in the effort and managed to stay a few steps ahead of Faubel and Rabat. Corsi, Talmacsi and Gadea stay in touch, but Ranseder has won.

At the end of the straight line, Faubel got back into Pesek’s wheel, flap just behind him. Talmacsi passes 4th in front of Corsi, but seems too far to get back on the 3 leaders.

The order remains the same until the entry of the finish straight, and Pesek finally takes his first victory for his 62nd Grand Prix ahead of Faubel and Rabat who achieve their first podium for their 16th race. Talmacsi finished 4th, Corsi 5th, Gadea 6th, Ranseder 7th, Smith 8th, Espargaro 9th, Pasini 10th, Iannone 11th, De Rosa 12th, Masbou 13th, Di Meglio 14th and Zanetti 15th.

In the championship, it is Pesek who does the right thing and takes the lead in the championship with 71 points ahead of Talmacsi 69, Faubel 67, Corsi 47, Espargaro 34, Olive 33, De Rosa 30, Koyama and Rabat 26, Ranseder 23, Gadea 21, Nieto and Smith 20. Masbou has 9 points, Di Meglio 4.

On the brands side, Aprilia leads with 95 points ahead of Derbi 71, Honda 32 and KTM 29.

250

Friday morning it was Barbera ahead of Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Simon, de Angelis, Bautista, Luthi, Simoncelli, S. Aoyama, Kallio, Wilairot, West and H. Aoyama. Cluzel is 17th.

In the afternoon, Lorenzo left the provisional pole to no one, ahead of Simon, Bautista, Dovizioso, Barbera, De Angelis, Simoncelli, Luthi, Lai, Espargaro, Kallio and Takahashi. Cluzel is 18th.

On Saturday morning, Lorenzo was the fastest again ahead of Dovizioso, Bautista, Barbera, Simon, De Angelis, Luthi, Simoncelli, Kallio, Takahashi and S. Aoyama. Cluzel is 21st.

In the afternoon, Lorenzo took pole 0.7s in front of Barbera, 0.8s in front of Kallio and 1s in front of Simon! In 2nd row, Dovizioso, Luthi, De Angelis and Bautista are between 1 s and 1.5 s from pole. S? Aoyama, H. Aoyama, Lai and Simoncelli form the 3rd row between 1.9 s and 2.7 s from Lorenzo. West, Heidolf, Wilairot and Takahashi should be in 4th place. Should be because Takahashi, a victim of a fall, has a fractured left wrist and will be forfeited. Jules Cuzel qualifies 20th at 4s.

In the warm-up, Dovizioso is ahead of Lorenzo, De Angelis, Simon, Bautista, Kallio, Simoncelli, Luthi, Barbera, S. Aoyama, Espargaro and H. Aoyama. Cluzel is 22nd.

Departure. Kallio got the best start and took the lead, Lorenzo trying to stay on the outside but was passed by Dovizioso tightening the rope. But the Italian made a heat on the acceleration, pulled away to retain control and had to let Lorenzo and Barbera pass. Behind them, Simon, Bautista, De Angelis, Simoncelli and H. Aoyama. Simon took advantage of Dovizioso’s caution to steal 4th position by diving under his wheels. Dovizioso returned to fourth in front of Simon, tipping under him in the long left. De Angelis passed 6th ahead of Bautista. At the start of the straight, Kallio, Lorenzo, Barbera, Dovizioso and Simon took a few lengths to Bautista and his followers. Lorenzo took the lead in the draw, and Dovizioso took 3rd under braking ahead of Barbera. Lorenzo, too optimistic, goes out very wide, passes through the grass past the vibrator in the hairpin and leaves behind Bautista, not without annoying the furious Simoncelli !

On the first lap, Kallio leads ahead of Dovizioso, Barbera, Simon and De Angelis, then Lorenzo 1.9s behind the leader, followed by Simoncelli, Luthi and H. Aoyama. Barbera goes alongside Dovizioso on the left, but the better-placed Italian stays second by switching to the right. West catches Cluzel who falls at the end of the straight line and sets off again last. In the straight, Dovizioso and Barbera take Kallio’s suction, pass him, Barbera in the lead, but Dovizioso delays his braking and enters the hairpin lead..

On the second lap, Dovizioso, who had the best lap, leads Barbera, Kallio, Simon, De Angelis then Lorenzo who whips to come back, with further Barbera, Simoncelli, H. Aoyama, S. Aoyama and Bautista. Dirk Heidolf gives up. In the fast straight which commands the long straight, Imperial Dovizioso, like Rossi, recovers distances from Barbera. In the straight, De Angelis passed successively Simon and Kallio, Lorenzo almost came back.

On the 3rd lap, Dovizioso leads ahead of Barbera, De Angelis, Kallio, Simon and Lorenzo who scored the fastest lap. Luthi leads the second group ahead of S. Aoyama, Bautista, Simoncelli and H. Aoyama. Lorenzo attacks and passes Kallio in the hairpin on the right but steps aside and has to let the Finn pass. Dovizioso makes the effort and distances Barbera. At the end of the straight, de Angelis brakes inside Barbera and takes 2nd place. Lorenzo passed 4th thanks to a better exit from the curve than Kallio.

On lap 4, Dovizioso was 1 s ahead of De Angelis, Barbera, Lorenzo, Kallio and Simon. At 4.7 s, Luthi leads Bautista, S. Aoyama, Simoncelli and H. Aoyama. Lorenzo sticks to Barbera’s wheel and distances Kallio and Simon. At the entrance from the left before the long right, Lorenzo passed Barbera with a superb interior under braking. At the end of the straight line, Simon passes 5th under braking in front of Kallio.

On the 5th lap, Dovizioso leads but De Angelis and especially Lorenzo, who scored the best lap, returned, Barbera in Lorenzo’s wheel. Simon and Kallio are almost 1 second behind Barbera. De Angelis and Lorenzo return to Dovizioso, and Simon, who lets go of Kallio, returns to Barbera. At the end of the straight, De Angelis and Lorenzo returned to contact with Dovizioso.

On lap 6, Dovizioso led ahead of De Angelis and Lorenzo with another fastest lap, then Barbera and Simon, Kallio a little further. Bautista passed 7th in front of Luthi leads the chase. Simon passes Barbera in the left which precedes the long right. At the end of the straight, De Angelis came back on the brakes, Dovizioso delayed, moved away, and Lorenzo took the opportunity to take the lead between the two men !

On lap 7, Lorenzo led ahead of De Angelis and Dovizioso, then 1.7s behind the leader, Barbera passed Simon again, then Kallio. Lorenzo made the effort and gradually distance De Angelis who slightly blocked Dovizioso.

On the 8th lap, Lorenzo, the best lap, was 0.5 s ahead of De Angelis and Dovizioso, 2.6 s on Barbera and Simon, 3.5 s on Kallio, 4.7 s on Bautista who let go of Luthi and S. Aoyama, 12.6 s on H Aoyama and Simoncelli. Shuhei Aoyama fall.

On lap 9, Lorenzo who posted a new fastest lap was 0.9 seconds ahead of De Angelis and Dovizioso, 4 seconds over Simon overtook Barbera and Kallio who was hanging on, 5.3 seconds behind Bautista who came back, 7.3 seconds over Luthi. When braking from the hairpin to the right, Dovizioso passes 2nd in front of De Angelis. Barbera and Kallio iron Simon.

On lap 10, Lorenzo was 1.6 s ahead of Dovizioso and De Angelis, 5.2 s over Barbera, Kallio, Simon and Bautista. Bautista passed 6th in front of Simon at the end of the straight line. In the right of the chain, Bautista voluntarily goes outside Kallio, and finds himself placed inside him to pass him in the following right: masterful! At the entrance from the left before the long right, Simon also passes Kallio under braking. Luthi shoots a pinch of water, but doesn’t lose position. At the end of the straight, Bautista passed 4th in front of Barbera braking the hairpin on the right.

On lap 11, Lorenzo was 2.1 s ahead of Dovizioso, 3.3 s over dropped De Angelis, 8.6 s over Bautista, Barbera, Kallio and Simon. Luthi was 8th at 13 s, Simoncelli 9th at 19 s.

On lap 12, Lorenzo only increased his lead, Dovizioso managed his 2nd place, De Angelis saw Bautista come back at 2.5s, almost as fast as Lorenzo, and who rolled almost 1s faster than the San Marinese. Kallio returned to 6th in front of Simon who entered the hairpin too hard at the end of the straight line.

On lap 13, Lorenzo still drives home the point, Dovizioso 2nd, De Angelis 3rd less than 2 seconds ahead of Bautista! Simoncelli takes a high side, a big fall, apparently without much damage however …

On the 14th lap, Lorenzo, still fast, was 3.7 s ahead of Dovizioso, 6.3 s over De Angelis. 7.7 s on Bautista who always comes back strong and brings back Barbera who reacted and lets go of Kallio and Simon.

On lap 15, Lorenzo prances 4.3sec ahead of Dovizioso, De Angelis sees Bautista back in his tracks, 1sec ahead of Barbera, and Kallio and Simon are almost 1s older. Luthi is still alone in 8th, and even more and more alone after the fall of Simoncelli. At the start of the set, Bautista takes another shot from the outside to the left to dive better in front of De Angelis on the right: demonstration, please! Bautista immediately distances himself from De Angelis.

On the 16th lap, Lorenzo leads, Dovizioso manages, Bautista attacks, De Angelis takes down, Barbera is 1.2s behind San Marinais, 1s ahead of Kallio and Simon. Bautista makes the effort to try to get back on Dovizioso, 2.3sec ahead of him.

In the 17th lap, Lorenzo ensured, Dovizioso lost more than 1s in the lap, and even more on Bautista, the fastest on the track, only 1.3sec behind the Italian !

On the 18th lap, Lorenzo slowed down and ensured, Dovizioso, he accelerated, probably panned on the ascent of Bautista who took another 0.5 s in this lap! De Angelis assures, Barbera too, but Kallio and Simon are always threatening, no question of releasing, unlike Luthi alone 8th.

On the 19th lap, behind Lorenzo, Dovizioso now has Bautista in his wheel. De Angelis too drives faster than Dovizioso and comes back from a threatening distance. Barbera, Kallio, Simon, and Luthi retain their positions. Bautista redoes his attack from the last two passes: an outside shot in the right, then we dive better placed in the left that follows: unstoppable, again, and Bautista is 2nd! Dovizioso sticks to his wheel but loses contact on the straight, penalized by Aprilia’s superior power.

At the start of the last lap, Lorenzo remains dominant and manages without forcing too much, Bautista has a few steps ahead of Dovizioso, De Angelis at 1.9 s can no longer return to the regular, Barbera sees Kazllio back on his wheel, Simon is dropped, then Luthi. Dovizioso passes Bautista back in force in the tight left that precedes the long straight.

Bautista comes back behind Dovizioso, sucks him in and then cups him on the vibrator to a very limited extent, Dovizioso who cannot brake so hard on the sliding vibrator has to drop water and lose contact. Behind, Kallio passes Barbera but on a more regular basis …

Lorenzo takes the victory ahead of Bautista and Dovizioso. De Angelis finished 4th, Kallio 5th, Barbera 6th, Simon 7th, Luthi 8th, H. Aoyama 9th, Lai 10th, Espargaro 11th, Wilairot 12th, West 13th, Sekiguchi 14th and Tizon 15th. Cluzel finished in 16th position.

In the championship, Lorenzo consolidates his leadership with 95 points ahead of Dovizioso 68, De Angelis 59, Bautista 56, Barbera 34, Luthi 32, Simon 26, Kallio and Lai 21, H. Aoyama and Talahashi 17, S. Aoyama and Espargaro 15. Côte brands, Aprilia dominates with 95 points ahead of Honda 68, KTM 31 and Gilera 17.

MotoGP

Friday morning, Stoner dominates the first session ahead of Hopkins, Rossi, Hayden, Vermeulen, Capirossi, Edwards, Pedrosa, De Puniet, Melandri, Elias, Roberts, Checa, Hofmann and Jacque Guintoli is 17th.

In the afternoon, Hopkins beat Melandri, Pedrosa, Hayden, Capirossi, Rossi, Edwards, Stoner, Hofmann, Checa, De Puniet, Vermeulen, Barros, Elias and Tamada. Guintoli is 17th. Olivier Jacque, victim of a fall in which his arm is trapped under his Kawasaki, will have to go for a deep cut.

Saturday morning, always fast Hopkins leads the way ahead of Stoner, Edwards, Pedrosa, Rossi, Capirossi, Hayden, Melandri, De Puniet, Vermeulen, Checa, Hofmann, Barros, Elias and Nakano.

The qualifying session saw a Valentino Rossi beat the competition with a blazing time, the only one under 1’59 ’’, which relegated Hopkins and Edwards to almost a second! In 2nd row, Stoner, Pedrosa and Melandri are between 1s and 1.4s from pole. De Puniet, Barros and Hayden are between 1.5s and 1.6s behind the Italian in the third row. Nakano, Hofmann and Elias, in 4th row, are at 1.7 s. Checa, Capirossi and Vermeulen, the latter two having clashed at the end of the qualifying session, are on the 5th row, between 1.8 s and 2.2 s from pole. Guintoli is 17th at 2.37 s.

In the warm up, Stoner was the fastest ahead of Hopkins, De Puniet, Pedrosa, Hayden, Melandri, Elias, Capirossi, Rossi, Edwards, Barros, Checa, Vermeulen, Hofmann and Guintoli.

Departure. It was Hopkins who took the best start and took the lead in front of Rossi, Edwards and Stoner who tried to get him outside, Pedrosa, Barros, De Puniet, Melandri who sneaked inside De Puniet and Barros, Elias , Vermeulen and Hayden. From the exit of the 1st corner, optimistic Elias collides with Hayden and goes to the mat. Hayden manages to avoid the fall but has to pass through the grass and return to the back of the grid. Barros, who was just behind Elias, avoids the crash but gets stuck in the grass on Elias’s bike and takes very long seconds to back up his bike to resume the track. Elias gives up. In front, Hopkins leads ahead of Rossi, Edwards, Stoner, Melandri, Pedrosa, De Puniet, Nakano and Capirossi. As the left entry precedes the long straight forward straight back, Rossi delayed his braking and took the lead in front of Hopkins. The very long straight allows Stoner to pass successively, and only on acceleration, ahead of Edwards and then Hopkins. In the hairpin, Rossi widens, but backs up neck-to-neck with Stoner, then dives back into the lead in the left which commands the finish straight. Melandri passes 4th ahead of Edwards.

On lap 1, Stoner passed Rossi on the line and took the lead in the long straight. Behind, Melandri tried in vain to attack Hopkins, and Pedrosa passed 5th in front of Edwards. By tilting to the left, Melandri attacks and this time passes 3rd in front of Hopkins. Guintoli is 15th ahead of Hayden and Barros. Stoner manages to get a few steps ahead of Rossi in the twisty first part. But Rossi, with Melandri in his wheel, returns to stick to Stoner in the sequences which precede the straight line. Rossi and Melandri did not lose too much ground on Stoner thanks to a good entry into the straight. When braking the hairpin, Melandri passes 2nd in front of Rossi !

On the second lap, Stoner, who had the fastest lap, took ½ s ahead of Melandri and Rossi, then Hopkins and Pedrosa 1 s behind the leader, then De Puniet at 1.8 s who overtook Edwards, and at 2.7 s Capirossi, Nakano and Vermeulen. Guintoli is 15th behind Roberts. In the twisty part, Melandri, Rossi, Hopkins, Pedrosa and De Puniet who let Edwards go are trying to come back. In the long straight, Rossi kept the aspiration e Melandri, but Stoner flew past his 5 pursuers.

In the 3rd lap, Stoner, author of a new fastest lap, 0.7 s ahead of Melandri, 1 s over Rossi followed by Hopkins and Pedrosa, 2.2 s over De Puniet, 3 s over Edwards and Capirossi who released Vermeulen and threatened Texan. At the end of the straight, Capirossi passed 7th ahead of Edwards. Behind the whipping Stoner in the lead, Melandri and Rossi got a bit ahead of Hopkins and Pedrosa, and De Puniet held on to a few lengths, with a good margin over Capirossi and Edwards. At the end of the back straight, Rossi delayed his braking and passed Melandri, but pulled away and had to let Super Marco pass. Behind Pedrosa attacks Hopkins who resists braking and retains his 4th place.

On the 4th lap, Stoner was 0.8 s ahead of Melandri and Rossi, 1.8 s over Hopkins and Pedrosa, 2.5 s over De Puniet, 3.6 s over Capirossi and Edwards. At 11s behind the leader, Guintoli was passed by Hayden and hangs onto his wheel. At the end of the straight, Rossi took 2nd ahead of Melandri, Hopkins widened and Pedrosa took the opportunity to slip inside. At this same braking, Tamada catches Nakano, the two men go to the mat and give up. Hopkins stayed next to Pedrosa topples past him in the long left. Rossi makes the effort, lets go of Melandri and slowly comes back to Stoner. At the start of the straight, Rossi got back on Stoner who picked up a few lengths under acceleration. Rossi delays his braking and almost hits the Australian’s wheel in the hairpin.

In the 5th lap, Stoner and Rossi, author of the best lap, lead, Melandri sees Hopkins return who has left Pedrosa behind in his wheel, De Puniet is 1.1 s behind the Spanish, Capirossi returns to the French, Edwards is 1.2 s behind the Italian and 1.2 s ahead of Vermeulen. In the long straight before the return straight, Rossi is in Stoner’s wheel, but as soon as you accelerate, Stoner picks up about twenty meters! Rossi must delay his braking to make up part of the deficit. Hopkins returned to the wheel e Melandri.

On lap 6, Stoner and Rossi lead, Melandri and Hopkins follow, then Pedrosa very close, and De Puniet is now threatened by Capirossi. Hopkins attacked and passed 3rd under braking in front of Melandri. Pedrosa took the opportunity to pick up the two men. Rossi managed to limit the damage with a superb corner exit at the entrance to the straight line, but he failed to keep the Ducati’s aspiration. Less far than in previous laps, he immediately returns to contact in the pin.

On lap 7, Stoner and Rossi were 1.9 seconds ahead of Hopkins, 2.5 seconds over Melandri and Pedrosa, 5.1 seconds over De Puniet who defied Capirossi, 7.3 seconds over Edwards. Guintoli is 13th and follows Hayden, having let go of Roberts. Rossi took the lead in front of Stoner, but the Australian returned to the straight. Under braking Rossi came back and got into the lead in the hairpin but widened and had to let the Australian pass again.

On the 8th lap, Stoner leads in front of Rossi, Hopkins returns to 1.3 s, Melandri and Pedrosa are at 2.7 s, then De Puniet at 5.7 s from the leader has taken more than a second of margin on Capirossi who made a drop of water in the pin. In the long straight, Pedrosa attacked and passed 4th ahead of Melandri at the entrance to the hairpin.

On lap 9, Stoner and Rossi lead, Hopkins is 1 sec from the Italian, then Pedrosa and Melandri are 3.1 sec. De Puniet 6th keeps his margin on Capirossi, and further, Edwards sees Vermeulen return almost on his heels.

On lap 10, behind Stoner and Rossi, Hopkins then the fastest on the track returned: he was only 1s behind the leader! Pedrosa 4th did everything to let go of Melandri who was hanging on, then De Puniet kept his lead over Capirossi. Rossi attacked and took the lead under braking the little left which precedes the long right before the long straight. But Stoner got back on the acceleration smoothly. Hopkins took advantage of the fight to get even closer.

On lap 11, Stoner, Rossi and Hopkins lead, Pedrosa took 0.5s over Melandri, De Puniet 9.2s from Stoner 1.7s from Capirossi, and Vermeulen got back into Edwards’s wheel. As on the previous lap, Rossi took the lead under braking from the left and held his own in the long straight ahead of the straight. And as in the previous round, Stoner returns to the straight line.

On lap 12, the top three remained the same, then Pedrosa let Melandri more and more, De Puniet was 1.9 s ahead of Capirossi, and Vermeulen passed 8th ahead of Edwards. Rossi stayed behind Stoner this time and managed to maintain contact by returning to braking. Hopkins moved closer to the two leaders.

On lap 13, Stoner and Rossi were just 0.8 seconds ahead of Hopkins, who was again the fastest on the track. Pedrosa increased his lead over Melandri, De Puniet managed his over Capirossi, and Vermeulen let Edwards go. Guintoli holds his 13th place.

On the 14th lap, Stoner, Rossi and Hopkins who approach tenth after tenth are almost regrouped. Behind them Pedrosa did not keep pace with the leaders, but drove faster than the other drivers and let Melandri more and more. De Puniet lost 0.3 s of his lead over Capirossi on which Vermeulen came back. Stoner and Rossi accelerate and again slightly distance Hopkins.

On lap 15, Stoner, who had another fastest lap, the 1st under 2 minutes, still had Rossi under 2 ’in his wheel. Hopkins pays the price for this acceleration of the two leaders and goes back to 1 s from Stoner. De Puniet now has less than 2s of margin on Capirossi and Vermeulen is 0.5s behind the Italian, Hofmann a few lengths who doubled and let Edwards go! At the end of the straight, Rossi delays his braking, is forced to release due to a blocking initiation, widens, crosses the curb and grass strip, and returns to the track behind Hopkins !

On lap 16, Stoner leads alone with 1.2s ahead of Hopkins, and 2.6s over Rossi! Behind Pedrosa and Melandri, De Puniet is 2 seconds ahead of Capirossi on which Vermeulen comes back.

In the 17th lap, Stoner, who took the opportunity to complete a new lap under 2 ’, was 2.1 s ahead of Hopkins and 2.8 s over Rossi. Randy is just 1.6 seconds ahead of Capirossi and 2 seconds ahead of Vermeulen. Rossi comes back into the Hopkins wheel at the left-right entrance that commands the straight. At the end of the straight line, Rossi, with a master brake, takes second to the American.

On lap 18, Stoner was 2.7 s ahead of the fastest Rossi on the track, who immediately let go of Hopkins! Pedrosa 4th, Melandri 5th, then De Puniet who was only 1.2s ahead of Capirossi and Vermeulen returned to the wheel of the Italian. Rossi pulls out the big attack and comes back 0.4s in this round on Stoner.

On lap 19, Stoner was 2.3 seconds ahead of Rossi and 2.8 seconds over Hopkins. Behind Pedrosa and Melandri, De Puniet turns around to see Capirossi and Vermeulen in the fight, almost back on his wheel! In this lap, Stoner and Rossi neutralize each other, the gap only decreases by 0.1 s !

On lap 20, Stoner was 2.2 seconds ahead of Rossi and 1 second ahead of Hopkins. Behind Pedrosa then Melandri, De Puniet now has Capirossi and Vermeulen in his wheel. Guintoli is still 13th. At the end of the straight, Capirossi takes advantage of his speed to overtake De Puniet and enter 6th in the hairpin.

Entering the final lap, Stoner was 2.3 seconds ahead of Rossi and 4.3 seconds over Hopkins who managed to hold 3rd place. Vermeulen passed 7th ahead of De Puniet. Stoner manages again without a mistake, Rossi does not give up, Hopkins ensures and Stoner celebrates his 3rd victory of the season with a wheelie on the line, just like Rossi 2nd and even more Hopkins 3rd who celebrates his first podium well deserved by a nice wheeling too.

Pedrosa finished 4th, Melandri 5th, Capirossi 6th, Vermeulen 7th, De Puniet 8th, Hofmann 9th, Checa 10th, Edwards 11th, Hayden 12th, Guintoli 13th, Barros 14th and Roberts 15th.

Stoner consolidates its first place in the championship with 86 points ahead of Rossi 71, Pedrosa 49, Melandri 41, Hopkins 39, Elias 35, Edwards 31, Capirossi, Hayden and Vermeulen 30, Barros 27, Checa 20, De Puniet and Hofmann 19 and Nakano 15.

On the brands side, Ducati leads with 86 points ahead of Yamaha 71, Honda 69. Finally, the official Ducati team leads with 116 ahead of Fiat Yamaha 102, Repsol Honda 79.

See you at Le Mans for the French Grand Prix on May 20 !

J. ARSOUILLE – Photos DR and F. KIRN

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