MotoGP – The Grand Prix of Qatar lap by lap –

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The Qatar Grand Prix lap by lap

MotoGP - The Grand Prix of Qatar lap by lap -

Losail is a challenge for tire manufacturers. Rossi is keen to return to the standings, but the rookies are gaining strength, Gibernau will try to ward off fate and Capirossi is looking for the title: enough to liven up the race in the premier class !

After the first deal in Spain, the championship should really start in Qatar, on a circuit with little grip and in front of a meager audience of spectators..

In 125, the young wolves will have to reckon with Bautista and Pasini, sharp as ever to win the title they have been pursuing for a few seasons, under the nose and beard of the announced favorite, Kallio and his KTM, with the refereeing of the best driver Honda present at the forefront, Gabor Talmacsi. We are also awaiting the return of Tom Luthi, the defending champion, injured in Jerez. Di Meglio is still struggling with tuning his machine, and Masbou forfeits recovering from his Jerez injury.

In the 250, the ultra favorite Lorenzo, very domineering on his factory Aprilia, is expected to add a layer at the expense of his team-mate Barbera, with De Angelis on Aprilia too. Dovizioso will have a lot to do as a Honda leader in pursuit of Aprilia, for the moment superior in 250 as in 125. As in 125, watch out for the return of Honda and KTM !

On the French side, will Sylvain Guintoli get out of his tuning problems, will Jules Cluzel curb his enthusiasm and score his first points in GP 250, can Arnaud Vincent renew his good Spanish ranking on his Honda ?

In the premier class, everyone is waiting for the reaction from Rossi, who had a fine solo two-point race in Jerez. We are also awaiting confirmation from Pedrosa and Capirossi, who claim the title with a more consistent Ducati and Bridgestone than last year..

Elias, author of the most beautiful race after having jostled the master of the track, will want to confirm his claims for the podiums, just like Stoner, who made his ranges brilliantly in Spain. Randy De Puniet has to learn more, without actually reaching the level of his teammate Nakano, which he equaled in the offseason, in the race: action !

Class 125

The first day is dominated by Pasini who seize provisional pole, Gadea, Bautista, Faubel, Pesek, Kallio, Simon and Talmacsi on his heels. On the second day, the dominant Pasini in the morning did not improve his qualifying time, and it was Alvaro Bautista who took pole ahead of Pasini, Kallio and Gadea at 0.240sec.

In the 2nd row at 0.4 seconds, Pesek, Talmacsi and Nieto, then Olive at 0.7 s. Faubel, Simon and Rodriguez are the last in the same second as the poleman, Iannone completes the 3rd row at 1.3 s. Di Meglio who did not improve on the 2nd day is 21st on the grid more than 2s from pole.

In the warm-up, Bautista dominates Pasini by a quarter of a second, Talmacsi follows at 0.4 s, Kallio at 0.6 s, Gadea at 0.7 s, Nieto and Luthi at 0.8 s, Rodriguez just under the second, then Corsi and De Rosa at 1.2 s, Pesek at 1.3 s, Lai at 1.7 s, Simon at 2 s just ahead of Mike Di Meglio 14th fastest time at 2.3 s from pole.

A strong wind has picked up over Losail, which will probably hamper the 37 riders during the race…

Departure. Mika Kallio on his KTM took the best start ahead of Gadea, Pasini, Faubel, Talmacsi, Simon, Bautista started badly, Nieto and Luthi started very well. From the first corner, Gadea took the lead ahead of Kallio’s interior bossy. A few turns later, it’s Pasini who attacks and passes the Finn for the second position, while Gadea tries to start in front with a very high pace from the start.

Talmacsi passed Faubel but moved away and had to let him pass. Gadea has already taken several steps ahead but Pasini comes back and lets go of Kallio. Lai passed 9th ahead of Luthi. Di Meglio started 20th and moved to 17th position. Pasini makes the junction with Gadea, Faubel passes 4th in front of Simon.

On the 1st lap, Gadea and Pasini lead in front of Kallio who is pushing to come back, then Faubel, Talmacsi, Simon, Bautista then Luthi, Pesek, Lai, Corsi, De Rosa, Iannone and Cortese. Pasini takes advantage of the draw to take the lead from teammate Gadea.

Di Meglio passed 16th and fought with Koyama, Masbou’s injured teammate, close to the points. Bautista goes back to back to Simon then Talmacsi: the poleman is 5th. Four of the five leading motorcycles are the Aprilia of the Aspar team and only Kallio has inserted his KTM… Talmacsi does not let it go and goes back to 5th. On the 2nd lap, Pasini and Gadea lost a little of their lead over Kallio, Faubel, Bautista author of the best lap which passes 4th on the line, Talmacsi and Simon, then a trio formed by Pesek, Luthi and Lai. Gaps start to form !

At the end of the straight line, Bautista on his tracks passed 3rd in front of Kallio. Mike Di Meglio returns to the pits, his brake lever broken by Koyama while the two men were in a fight: bad luck pursues the young Toulouse … Further, it is Olive and Cortese who hang on and fall.

In the 3rd lap, the trio of Aprilia Aspar leads, with Pasini slightly detached, Gadea and Bautista a few lengths in front of Kallio, then Pesek author of the best time who comes back strong with Faubel and Simon, Talmacsi a little further with Luthi, Nieto, From Rosa and Corsi. Bautista passes Gadea and heads for Pasini, then Gadea is joined by Kallio "pushed" by Pesek, Faubel leading Simon. Pasini tries an outside on Bautista who does not give up and keeps the advantage: hot between the teammates !

On the 4th lap, Bautista is slightly detached from Pasini. Follow Kallio, Gadea, Pesek, Faubel, Simon and Luthi regrouped who let go of Talmacsi. At the end of the straight, Pesek passed 3rd but entered a bit strong, moved away and had to let Kallio, Gadea and Faubel pass.

Gadea passes Kallio in the pif but the Finnish returns in the paf. Luthi passed 7th in front of Pesek. The latter dived inside the quick double right in front of Luthi. In the process, Pesek pays Simon to the braking of the left which follows. In front, Bautista took a few lengths on Pasini, himself clearly ahead of Kallio who has a lot to do to contain Faubel.

On the 5th lap, Bautista signs a new fastest lap, Pasini follows at 1.4s, Kallio takes Faubel, then Gadea, Pesek, Simon, Luthi, Nieto, Talmacsi and De Rosa. Ranseder falls with the ‘junior’ KTM and retires.

On the 6th lap, behind Bautista, Kallio and Gadea returned to Pasini, then Pesek sounded the charge to come back taking Faubel and Luthi, then further on Nieto, Simon, De Rosa, Talmacsi and Corsi. Gadea tries to pass Kallio under braking but the Finn resists with authority. Sandi falls and is knocked out.

On the 7th lap, Bautista leads, Pasini, Kallio and Gadea try to limit the gaps, then Pesek lets go of Faubel and Luthi and comes back like a ball on Kallio and Gadea. Bautista is now almost 3 seconds ahead of Pasini.

On the 8th lap, behind Bautista, Pasini was picked up by Kallio and Gadea, and Pesek came back even stronger, having completely let go of Faubel, Nieto and Luthi. De Rosa, Simon and Corsi follow, then Rodriguez, Talmacsi, Iannone and Lai. Kallio joins Pasini on this lap, Gadea is not far away and Pesek is still getting closer.

On lap 9, Bautista increased his lead to 4.4 s over Pasini and Kallio, Gadea then Pesek were a few lengths behind, Nieto passed 6th, Faubel and Luthi 2.8 s behind. Gadea redoes the junction with Pasini and Kallio, Pesek a few lengths away.

On the 10th lap, Bautista precedes a quartet formed by Pasini, Kallio, Gadea and Pesek, then Nieto who gradually releases Faubel and Luthi. Bautista increases his lead to 5s.

On lap 11, Pesek took advantage of the draw to get ahead of Gadea. Kallio is up to Pasini under braking, but the positions remain unchanged. Nieto is 1 second ahead of Faubel and Luthi. 1.4 s later Rodriguez, Corsi and Simon fight, 1 s ahead of De Rosa and Talmacsi who gradually retrograde. Lai and Iannone are still at 14s! Gadea tries to attack Kallio on several occasions but the Finn resists.

On lap 12, behind Bautista, Kallio sucks Pasini, Gadea sucks Kallio and Pesek also tries to brake ahead of Pasini, the 4 men entering the curve almost head on. Finally, it was Gadea who took second ahead of Kallio, Pasini and Pesek. Pasini passes Kallio back inside the double right while Gadea misses, goes out past the buzzer and has to let Pasini, Kallio and Pesek pass! Gadea lost a few lengths and had to make an effort to come back.

On lap 13, Bautista led Pasini by 7 seconds, Kallio, Pesek and Gadea who returned to the draw, Nieto and Faubel were 3.2 seconds behind, then at 1.8 seconds Rodriguez passed Luthi. At the end of the straight line, Pasini resists Kallio who took advantage of the draw.

In the 14th straight, Pasini got up to let Kallio pass and take his wheel, not without preventing Pesek from taking the opportunity to pass third. Bautista is 8 seconds ahead of Kallio, Pasini, Pesek and Gadea. Pasini takes advantage of the suction to pass Kallio, Pesek tries too but the Finn is resistant under braking. Behind them, Faubel passes Nieto but widens and must let his compatriot pass. Rodriguez and Luthi have redone the connection.

On lap 15, Bautista was 8 seconds ahead of his pursuers who were again 4 abreast, Pesek in the lead – but who was caught under braking by Gadea – followed by Pasini and Kallio. Pasini tries to pass Pesek again but the Czech closes the doors. It’s even Kallio who takes advantage of a mouse hole to pass Pasini who had raised his bike after his attack on Pesek !

Pasini places himself in the right of the snitch, delays his braking in the bump, passes Kallio then on his momentum Pesek who, surprised, raises his motorcycle, which Kallio immediately takes advantage of to infiltrate at the exit of the turn by going to touch Pesek and miss take it out in the grass. Pesek immediately passes again with authority in the next turn! Meanwhile, Gadea took the opportunity to get a few steps ahead.

At the start of the last lap, behind the strong leader Bautista, Gadea is three quarters of a second ahead of Pasini, Pesek and Kallio. On the draw Pesek and Kallio passed Pasini, then on braking Kallio won over the Czech but swerved outwards. Pesek creeps in, Kallio stays on the outside, and dives ahead again on the next corner. But Pesek plays him outside again. The Finn attacks and passes to the next brake.

Kallio is pushing to get back into Gadea’s aspiration and behind Pasini force Pesek to enter the double right. The latter, surprised by the daring maneuver, does not raise his motorcycle and has the front wheel pushed by Pasini: it’s a fall! In the maneuver, Pasini had to let Gadea go and Kallio back in his wheel.

In the end, Bautista crossed the finish line as a great winner and took his second victory in a row. Behind him, Kallio came out like a bullet takes Gadea’s suction and passes him just before the finish line… 2 / 100ths! Pasini is alone 4th, then Nieto takes 5th place, Faubel passes 6th ahead of Rodriguez 7th, Luthi is 8th, Corsi 9th, Simon 10th, Talmacsi 11th, De Rosa 12th, Iannone 13th, Lai 14th and Koyama takes the point of 15th place despite his probable suffering.

It should be noted that Bautista ends a series of 56 GP 125s without the same winner of 2 races in a row since… Arnaud Vincent !

In the standings, Bautista takes the lead with 50 points ahead of Kallio 33, Pasini 29, Gadea 25, Pesek and Faubel 20, Nieto and Simon 17, Talmacsi 13 and Corsi 12. On the brands side, Aprilia leads with 50 ahead of KTM 33, Derbi 20 , Honda 16, Gilera 12 and Malaguti 5.

Class 250

Barbera, Lorenzo, De Angelis, Porto, Dovizioso are the leaders of the 1st day of testing. Sylvain Guintoli signs the 9th provisional time, Arnaud Vincent the 13th and Jules Cluzel the 17th. On Friday, after a free session again dominated by Barbera, Lorenzo set the record straight with pole, 0.3 seconds ahead of Barbera who did not improve his time on Thursday. Locatelli is 3rd time at 0.4 s and De Angelis completes the 1st row with his Thursday time 0.6 s from pole.

Porto, also with his time on Thursday, is in 2nd place at 0.7 s, with Dovizioso at 0.8 s, Smrz at 1.1 s and H. Aoyama at 1.4 s. In 3rd row, Poggiali, Guintoli, Takahashi and West stand between 1.6 and 1.8 s. Cluzel is 17th on the grid at 2.6 s, Vincent 19th at 2.9 s with his time on Thursday.

Departure. Locatelli got off to the best start and took the lead ahead of Barbera, Dovizioso with a superb start, H. Aoyama, Porto, De Angelis, Lorenzo, Barbera and Guintoli who also started very well. From the 2nd corner, Dovizioso passes 2nd in front of Aoyama. De Angelis passed 4th in front of Porto. Quickly, these 8 men stand out in front of Poggiali who leads the peloton.

De Angelis made a mistake on this first lap, tried to raise his bike but had to give up. Dovizioso takes the lead in front of Locatelli, then Aoyama seems to be stuck with Lorenzo, who has already come back 4th ahead of Barbera, Porto, Guintoli and Simoncelli. Lorenzo passed 3rd in front of Aoyama, immediately imitated by his teammate Barbera. Dovizioso pushed ahead and gradually let go of Locatelli, who was a few steps ahead of Lorenzo. Cardenas passed 9th in front of Poggiali. Cluzel started 20th goes back 17th ahead of Arnaud Vincent.

In the first lap, Dovizioso leads in front of Locatelli, who swoops down on Lorenzo, then Barbera who tries to keep pace, followed by Aoyama, Guintoli, Simoncelli and Porto. Cardenas leads the peloton a little further. Cluzel is 14th! Locatelli then went out wide while wanting to keep pace with Dovizioso, made a lap in the gravel and resumed the track in 21st position…

On the second lap, Dovizioso leads with the fastest lap, Lorenzo 2nd is 1.2s, then Barbera 2.8s from the Italian a few lengths ahead of Aoyama, Guintoli and Simoncelli, then Porto and Takahashi. Cluzel is still 14th, Vincent 18th. Cluzel passed S. Aoyama, Ballerini and Poggiali but moved away and returned to 14th.

In the 3rd lap, Dovizioso leads, Lorenzo tries to come back, then Barbera, Aoyama, Guintoli and Simoncelli, further on Takahashi passed in front of Porto. Simoncelli passes 6th in front of Guintoli.

On lap 4, Dovizioso with a fastest lap increased his lead again. Lorenzo limits the damage, while Barbera keeps Aoyama, Simoncelli and Guintoli at bay. Takahashi let go of Porto. Cluzel is 11th, Locatelli who is running in the leader’s lap is 14th. Poggiali continues to downgrade, 16th: out of points. Tizon falls and gives up.

In the 5th lap, Dovizioso leads, Lorenzo remains a little more than 1 s, Barbera is 4th, 3 s behind his teammate, 2 s further the trio Aoyama, Simoncelli and Guintoli, then another 1.5 s to find Takahashi, Porto, Cardenas and Smrz, 4.5 s more and it is Cluzel 11th on which descends on Locatelli in full rise! Vincent is 18th. Guintoli returned to 5th in front of Simoncelli.

On lap 6, Dovizioso held his lead over Lorenzo, Barbera was 5.6sec, Aoyama and Guintoli 2.3s later had taken a few steps ahead of Simoncelli, then Takahashi was 1.1sec behind Smrz who overtook Porto. Lorenzo takes 1 / 10th from Dovizioso in this lap.

On the 7th lap, Dovizioso who felt the threat of Lorenzo becoming clearer signed a new fastest lap. Barbera is further and further away, Aoyama and Guintoli are wheel to wheel, then Takahashi has passed Simoncelli, Smrz on their heels.

At the end of the straight line, Guintoli brakes at Aoyama for 4th place. Jules Cluzel is wrong by trying to keep pace with Locatelli, one of the fastest on the track! Arnaud Vincent is 16th behind Heidolf.

On lap 8, Lorenzo got slightly closer to Dovizioso, Barbera rolls alone 3rd, Guintoli is 4th, then Simoncelli sucks in Takahashi who had just overtaken her. Simoncelli comes out a little wide, loses contact with Takahashi and finds himself under threat from Smrz.

On the 9th lap, Dovizioso who lost his rhythm sees Lorenzo swooping down on him in the straight line and taking the lead under braking! Barbera 3rd, Aoyama moved back to 4th in front of Guintoli on the draw, then behind Takahashi, Simoncelli and Smrz. Porto and Cardenas see Locatelli swooping down on them with a fantastic comeback. Guintoli recovered 0.5s from Barbera. Dovizioso hangs on Lorenzo’s wheel despite the Spaniard’s efforts to start ahead.

Entering the 10th straight, Lorenzo took 0.5s over Dovizioso, Barbera 3rd lost 0.1s of his lead over Guintoli who had to fight under braking to contain Aoyama, then Takahashi, Simoncelli and Smrz. Porto and Cardenas are still ahead of Locatelli. Dovizioso by force of braking beyond the grave has returned to the wheel of Lorenzo whose Aprilia moves much less than the Honda of the Italian.

On the 11th lap, behind Lorenzo and Dovizioso, Barbera holds his 3rd place, Guintoli contains Aoyama, Takahashi, Simoncelli and Smrz have a new threat in the person of the unleashed Locatelli who left Cardenas then Porto behind. Arnaud Vincent came 15th ahead of Heidolf. Dovizioso again loses contact with Lorenzo but returns thanks to the heavy braking that precedes the straight line.

On the 12th lap, Lorenzo and Dovizioso are reunited, Barbera is at 13 seconds, 2 seconds ahead of Guintoli who returns with Aoyama. Another 2 seconds and we find Takahashi under threat from Locatelli who got rid of Simoncelli and Smrz! Arnaud Vincent is still 15th. Locatelli passed Takahashi who got out of the way trying to contain the fast Italian.

On the 13th lap, behind Lorenzo and Dovizioso together, Barbera, 14 seconds behind the leaders, was only 1.5 seconds ahead of Guintoli and Aoyama, themselves 1.8 seconds ahead of Locatelli, Takahashi, Simoncelli and Smrz! Vincent is 15th.

On the 14th lap, Lorenzo and Dovizioso are wheel to wheel, Barbera is at 15 s, 1.8 s ahead of Aoyama, passed before Guintoli. Locatelli, author of the lap record, arrives like a ball on them and literally drops them under braking! Simoncelli, Takahashi and Smrz could not do anything to keep up with the very fast Italian. Locatelli immediately drops off Aoyama and Guintoli and heads for Barbera.

On the 15th lap, Lorenzo and Dovizioso – who made up again their delay in the straight line with each braking – were 15.5 s ahead of Barbera who was only 1.2 s ahead of Locatelli, a new lap record in his pocket ! Aoyama and Guintoli are 3.1 seconds ahead of Takahashi, who passed Simoncelli and Smrz, Vincent is 15th but Heidolf is on his heels again.

On lap 16, Lorenzo and Dovizioso reworked the scenario for each lap, the Spaniard taking a lead in the straight line which the Italian – who had set a new lap record – filled under braking. Barbera was just a few steps ahead of Locatelli, Aoyama edged up 1.6s over Guintoli who slowed down but kept 3.3s ahead of Simoncelli, Smrz and Takahashi. 1.5 seconds later, Porto is 7 seconds ahead of Cadenas. Locatelli gets back into Barbera’s wheel and stays a little in his wheel. Takahashi passes Smrz again, Vincent still contains Heidolf. Carchano falls and gives up.

On lap 17, Lorenzo and Dovizioso were 17.2s ahead of Barbera and Locatelli, Aoyama was alone 5th at 2.4s, Guintoli was 1.7s behind the Japanese and almost 5s ahead of Simoncelli, Takahashi and Smrz. Dovizioso puts pressure on Lorenzo by showing him his wheel, Lorenzo reacts and takes again a few lengths on his opponent.

On the 18th row, Dovizioso comes back to Lorenzo’s wheel again. At 17.4s, Barbera still has a shadow named Locatelli, Aoyama is at 3.8s and is only 1.4s ahead of Guintoli. Simoncelli contains the assaults of Takahashi and Smrz, Heidolf takes 15th place from Vincent and quickly distances him.

At the start of the last lap, Lorenzo saw Dovizioso’s wheel for a moment but held him under braking. Locatelli passed 3rd in front of Barbera who returned to suction, Aoyama regained 2.4 s lead over Guintoli who has 6.6 s margin over Simoncelli, Porto doubles Takahashi and Smrz.

Dovizioso attacked and passed Lorenzo with a change of angle and superb braking. But the Italian widened in the quick double right and had to let the Spanish pass. Lorenzo closes the door of the last corner, brakes at the limit of the rupture. Dovizioso glued to his wheel, takes in the suction but can do nothing against the higher power of Aprilia, failing at 77 / 1000ths !

Lorenzo therefore signed the double, like Bautista in 125, ahead of Dovizioso. Locatelli enters the straight with Barbera in his wheel, zigzags to prevent his opponent from picking up the suction, and retains 3rd place for 34 / 1000ths! Aoyama is 5th, Guintoli 6th, Porto – who finished well – is 7th, Simoncelli is holding on despite the aspiration and finishes 8th ahead of Takahashi 9th and Smrz 10th. Cardenas is 11th, Ballerini 12th, S. Aoyama 13th, Poggiali 14th and Heidolf 15th, 0.8s ahead of Arnaud Vincent who gets the worst place at the gates of the points.

In the championship, Lorenzo leads with 50 points ahead of Dovizioso 36, Locatelli 25, Barbera 24, H. Aoyama 21, De Angelis and Takahashi 20, Guintoli 17, Cardenas 13 and Porto 9. Among manufacturers, Aprilia leads with 50 points ahead of Honda 36 , KTM 21 and Gilera 8.

MotoGP Category

Very domineering Casey Stoner was only beaten in the 2nd free session by Roberts, and again, 6/1000! Alternately, Rossi, Capirossi, Melandri, Edwards, Hayden, Elias and Pedrosa struggled but always behind the young Australian.

In the qualifying session, Stoner confirmed and took pole: he became the 2nd youngest driver to sign a pole in the premier class, the youngest being Freddie Spencer! Capirossi – at 0.038 s – and Elias at – 0.052 s – complete the 1st line in a handkerchief against the clock! Hayden at 0.1 s, Pedrosa and Rossi at 0.3 s form the 2nd row.

Gibernau, Edwards and Nakano at 0.5 s are in ambush on the 3rd row, then Roberts at 0.58 s, Vermeulen at 0.67 s and Melandri at 1.1 s on the 4th. Randy De Puniet who still suffers from his hand injured in Jerez can not do better than the 15th fastest time, 1.5 s from pole.

In the warm-up, the Australian decidedly very comfortable on a slippery track – he likes sliding and the rain -, confirms with the best morning time, 0.2 s in front of Hayden and 0.3 s in front of Capirossi who would like to set off again from Qatar while retaining the championship lead. Hopkins on the Suzuki shows himself with a 4th stopwatch at 0.4 s just ahead of Elias, Melandri follows at 0.5 s ahead of Rossi at 0.6 s, Pedrosa and Edwards at 0.8 s, Randy De Puniet 10th time at 1.1 s ahead of Nakano at 1.2 s and Gibernau at 1.4 s.

Departure. Casey Stoner took full advantage of his pole position and took the lead in front of Capirossi, Rossi off to a superb start, Nakano crushed by the Italian tug of war who managed to come out third ahead of Melandri, Gibernau and Elias. Hayden infiltrates the outside and takes 3rd place ahead of Rossi who put the brakes on Nakano !

Gibernau passes Melandri, quickly imitated by Elias. Hopkins is 9th ahead of Edwards. Pedrosa started badly and is only 13th. Conversely, Stoner started strong and quickly took a few steps ahead of Hayden, who passed 2nd ahead of Capirossi. Randy de Puniet gets hooked by Hofmann and falls: he must give up! Melandri returned to 7th in front of Elias. Rossi attacks and passes Capirossi at the entrance to the double right: unstoppable !

On the first lap, Stoner led by 0.5sec ahead of Hayden, himself 1sec ahead of Rossi. The latter was attacked under braking by Capirossi but resisted, Gibernau took advantage of the power of his Ducati to pass 5th in front of Nakano, imitated by Melandri. At the entrance of the 2nd corner, it was Edwards who took 7th under braking ahead of the Japanese. Hopkins passed 9th ahead of Elias. Pedrosa passed 11th ahead of Vermeulen and Checa.

On the second lap, Stoner leads in front of Hayden – author of the best time – back in his wheel. Rossi tries to come back followed by Capirossi, then Gibernau, Melandri and Edwards who hang on to keep in touch, Nakano and Hopkins a little further. Hopkins passes Nakano under braking. Edwards passes 6th ahead of Melandri.

On lap 3, behind Stoner and Hayden wheel after wheel, it was Rossi who set the fastest lap and gradually let go of Capirossi. Gibernau 5th is not far behind, followed by Edwards and Melandri. Hopkins has slightly left behind Nakano and Elias who returns Pedrosa. Elias passes Nakano at the entrance to the double right, widens, Nakano passes, but Elias passes again in the second part.

On the 4th lap, behind Stoner, Rossi got back into Hayden’s wheel. Capirossi is joined by Gibernau, Edwards tries to come back and let go of Melandri, who himself has a comfortable lead over Hopkins, Elias, Pedrosa and Nakano. Hopkins pulled away at the end of the straight and had to retire with a broken engine. The young American, with rage, will kick hard in his Suzuki once it is placed on the edge of the track…

On the 5th lap, Stoner leads, Hayden contains Rossi, then Capirossi stays close to the lead, Gibernau on his heels. Edwards does not manage to come back to the Ducatis but stays ahead of Melandri, Elias and Pedrosa. Rossi accelerates very hard in the change of angle, brakes late, passes Hayden with his moving Yamaha, Hayden accelerates very hard and immediately returns to the far left, his Honda moving no less than the No. 46.

Rossi does not let go and brakes again at the entrance to the triple right, Hayden goes back inside before the second part of the double, Rossi takes the inside and this time goes for good in 2nd position: boiling hot ! But in the fight, the two Ducatis got back on the heels of the American.

In the 6th round, Stoner regained some lengths in favor of the wrestling. Behind him, Rossi, Hayden, Capirossi and Gibernau are grouped together, then Melandri is back 6th in front of Edwards a few lengths ahead of Elias and Pedrosa. Rossi pushes ahead and returns to young Australian leader.

On lap 7, Stoner practically lost his lead, Rossi and Hayden on his heels, the two Ducatis a little further. Melandri contains Edwards, then Elias and Pedrosa even further. Roberts passed 11th ahead of Vermeulen.

On the 8th lap, Stoner still leads but Rossi is glued to his wheel, Hayden is just behind, 0.6 s ahead of Capirossi and Gibernau. Melandri is still ahead of Edwards, but Pedrosa, him, passed 8th in front of Elias under braking. Vermeulen returns to the pits and retires: no more Suzuki in the race! In the lead, Stoner’s bike moves with each entry of a curve while Rossi follows quite easily, Hayden in his wheel.

On lap 9 Rossi attacked and took the lead under braking at the end of the straight. Hayden, Capirossi and Gibernau returned to contact, 2.7 s ahead of Melandri and Edwards themselves 1.4 s ahead of Pedrosa and Elias. Stoner remains glued to Rossi‘s wheel, Hayden seems to let go a little, Capirossi is a little further, a few lengths ahead of Gibernau. For his part, Pedrosa comes back very strongly on Edwards.

On the 10th lap, Rossi accelerates again, Stoner lets go and is joined by Hayden. Capirossi and Gibernau get closer again.

On lap 11 Rossi was a few steps ahead of Stoner, and under braking at the end of the straight, Hayden passed the Australian but came out wide and had to come back to 3rd behind Stoner. The American accelerates hard and goes back to braking on the next left. Rossi took the opportunity to take the lead 0.6s, and Capirossi returned to contact with Stoner by releasing Gibernau.

On lap 12 Rossi leads, Hayden hangs on, Stoner contains Capirossi’s assaults, Gibernau is not far away, then at 3.9s more Melandri is threatened by Pedrosa who passed Edwards, Elias 1.1s further. Halfway through the circuit, Stoner moves a lot at the change of angle, loses the inside and sees Capirossi immediately infiltrate to steal 3rd place..

On the 13th lap, Rossi leads, Hayden comes back, Capirossi tries to let go of Stoner, Gibernau comes back on the Australian, then Pedrosa passes 6th in front of Melandri… who regains his good braking at the end of the straight line! Edwards and Elias are let loose. Pedrosa on the attack hits the brakes too hard and loses contact with Melandri. Elias passed 8th ahead of Edwards. Hayden returns within 0.5s of Rossi !

On lap 15, Hayden merged with Rossi, 1.2 seconds ahead of Capirossi and Stoner, Gibernau closer and closer to the Australian. 4.8 s later, Pedrosa came back and sucked in again Melandri who further delays his braking and returns at the cost of a superb exterior !

In the 16th lap, Rossi and Hayden are wheel to wheel, Capirossi gradually distance Stoner, and Gibernau comes back ever closer. Pedrosa and Melandri follow, ahead of Elias and Edwards. Melandri returns to Pedrosa.

On the 17th lap Rossi and Hayden lead, Capirossi the fastest on the track tries to come back, Stoner feels Gibernau’s breath on his saddle, then Pedrosa passes Melandri once again in the straight line but Melandri brakes him again.

On the 18th lap, Hayden passed Rossi on suction and held him under braking, Capirossi still got closer to 1.1 s, Stoner was under threat from Gibernau but held on, Pedrosa again passed in front of Melandri who again came under braking and Elias keeps Edwards at a safe distance. In the lead, Rossi turns to see where Capirossi is, then relentlessly resumes the pressure on Hayden.

On the 19th lap, Rossi braked Hayden again at the end of the straight line, Capirossi redid the junction. Pedrosa passes Melandri who returns to the next braking. Up front, Rossi dug a slight hole on Hayden and Capirossi.

At the entrance to the 20th straight, Rossi leads, Hayden and Capirossi follow, then Stoner makes a big run from behind at the entrance which Gibernau immediately takes to pass 4th. Hayden comes close to Rossi and lets Capirossi go again. Pedrosa passes Melandri in the triple right, Melandri tries to resist but finds himself in the grass beyond the buzzer and has to give in with a few good lengths of delay this time..

At the start of the last lap, Rossi maintains a small lead over Hayden himself ahead of Capirossi. Gibernau has no chance of returning to the regular, Stoner has completely let go and secures his 5th place, Pedrosa holds a comfortable 6th position ahead of Melandri, far ahead of Elias and then Edwards. Rossi further increases his lead in this last lap, Capirossi does not give up and returns meter after meter on Hayden.

In the end, Rossi won his 54th victory in the premier class and equaled Mick Doohan! Hayden is 2nd, Capirossi 3rd completes the podium. Gibernau is 4th, Stoner 5th, Pedrosa 6th, Melandri 7th, Elias 8th, Edwards 9th, Roberts 10th, Nakano 11th, Checa 12th, Ellison 13th, Tamada 14th and Hofmann 15th.

In the lap of honor, Rossi will congratulate Hayden, Capirossi and above all Stoner, whom he waited to salute his great race: a tribute that the young Australian must have fully appreciated. !

In the championship, Capirossi is still leading with 41 points ahead of Hayden 36, Pedrosa 30, Rossi 27, Elias and Stoner 21, Melandri 20, Nakano and Roberts 14, Gibernau 13 and Edwards 12. Ducati with 41 points leads ahead of Honda 40 , Yamaha 30, Kawasaki and KR211V 14 and Suzuki 7. The Repsol Honda team leads with 66 points ahead of Ducati Marlboro 54, Fortuna Honda 41, Camel Yamaha 39 and Honda LCR, with Stoner’s only machine, 21.

See you on April 30 in Istanbul to verify the domination of Bautista in 125, Lorenzo in 250 and Rossi’s return to MotoGP, unless troublemakers come again to disrupt the hierarchy? But above all: will bad luck finally let go of the French? Answer in 3 weeks …

J. ARSOUILLE – Photos DR and Milagro

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