MotoGP – The Italian Grand Prix turn by turn –

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The Italian Grand Prix turn by turn

MotoGP - The Italian Grand Prix turn by turn -

An Italian circuit, an Italian world champion in need of undefeated points here since 2002, an Italian on an Italian motorbike able to take the lead in the championship: the Mugello promises to be … Italian! Moto-Net’s exclusive turn-based tour.

An Italian circuit, an Italian world champion in need of undefeated points on his land since 2002 and another Italian on an Italian motorcycle able to take the lead of the championship: the Mugello is likely to make the anthem heard … Italian ! So much so that the other competitors are outsiders, at least in the premier class. 89,200 spectators are in suspense.

The Mugello is a circuit where liveliness is key, as is power and grip on the corner. But it is also the official test circuit of Ducati, whose factory is only 60 km away … A big asset for Loris Capirossi who feels there, even more than his compatriots, as at the House !

5,245 m, nine turns to the right and six to the left and a straight line not quite straight which requires a big heart with a speed of 330 km / h for the fastest in the break to the left, which obliges to trajectory flush borders. Above all, this straight line allows aspiration to play and the first to enter it has every chance of getting passed before the line if his pursuer is in his wheel !

Crucial in 125, important in 250, Mugello also allows MotoGP to use this artifice. Suspense guaranteed until the end if the leader does not widen the gap! The weather is working hard to disrupt the forecasts, with a drizzle that makes a track sometimes dry, sometimes wet, which does not facilitate the tuning of the machines or the crucial choice of tires for the race….

Class 125

Friday morning free practice takes place in the dry. Bautista was the fastest just ahead of Gadea, Kallio and Pasini. Tom Luthi, the victim of his old broken collarbone still not consolidated, is only 19th, two places behind Mike Di Meglio. Alexis Masbou sets the 24th fastest time. In the afternoon, the first qualifying session takes place on a wet track and it is Julian Simon who takes the provisional pole in front of Pirro, Abraham, Lai and Kallio: upheaval in values, especially as Mike Di Meglio shows himself to his advantage with the 7th stopwatch! Masbou is 35th…

On Saturday, the dry track in the morning sees Pasini take the best time ahead of Kallio, Corsi, Pesek and Lai. Luthi is 17th, Di Meglio 19th and Masbou 27th. The 2nd qualifying session is also contested on a dry track. Czech Lukas Pesek set the fastest time and took the first pole of his career and the first for a Czech rider, 1/10 ahead of Pasini, 0.6 seconds ahead of Faubel and 0.7 seconds ahead of Lai. Bautista is 5th on the 2nd row 0.8 s from pole, then Nieto 1.1 s, Talmacsi and Kallio 1.2 s.

In 3rd row we find Rodriguez at 1.2 s and Cortese, Corsi and Simon at 1.3 s. Luthi is 14th at 1.5 s, Di Meglio 18th at 1.9 s and Masbou 24th at 2.7 s. 43 pilots will be at the start !

In the warm up, Alvaro Bautista set the best time on the dry track ahead of Pesek, Gadea, Pasini, Talmacsi and Simon. Luthi came back in better shape to 9th place at 1.2 s, like Mike Di Meglio 11th fastest in the morning at 1.5 s behind the leader. Masbou, he only made the 35th time at 3.5 s…

Departure. Bad news for Alexis Masbou: barely recovered from his ankle injury, he discovers that his clutch waxes during the formation lap !

Lai takes the best start ahead of Dovizioso, Bautista, Faubel, Nieto, Kallio, Pesek who completely missed his start, Talmacsi and Simon. But Pasini took the lead under braking from the 2nd corner and quickly moved away a few lengths in front of Lai. Luthi passes 9th in front of Simon, Pesek 6th in front of Kallio and Bautista 2nd in front of Lai.

In the first lap, Pasini was 1s ahead of Bautista, Lai, Faubel, Nieto, Pesek, Kallio a little further, then Simon who led the peloton, in a fight with Luthi and Gadea. Di Meglio is 21st, Masbou 28th. Pesek passed 5th ahead of Nieto at the end of the straight line, then at the start of the descent, Faubel passed 3rd ahead of Lai with a superb interior. Luthi and Gadea pass Simon. Bautista is pushing ahead and cutting back on his teammate Pasini. He brings Faubel, Lai, Nieto and Pesek back while Sandi falls very heavily and remains inanimate, he who was just recovering from injury…

On the second lap, Pasini led but was only 0.4 seconds ahead of Bautista, who set the fastest lap. Faubel passed 3rd ahead of Pesek and Lai. Further on, Nieto takes Talmacsi, Kallio, Luthi and Simon. At the end of the straight line, Lai came back to 4th under braking in front of Faubel, from whom Pesek grabbed 3rd place: the long straight line draw is playing hard! Di Meglio climbed back to 19th while Bautista got back into Pasini’s wheel at the bottom of the descent. Di Meglio passed 18th in front of De Rosa, then 17th in front of Espargaro. Entering the last long straight before the straight, Bautista takes the lead in front of Pasini.

On lap 3, Bautista leads with Pasini in his wheel, Pesek pushes ahead and lets go of Faubel and Lai, then Nieto, Kallio, Simon, Talmacsi and Luthi fight for 6th place. Mike Di Meglio 16th came back to his teammate Koyama’s wheel. Thanks to the aspiration, Pasini returned to the lead at the end of the straight. Iannone receives a penalty for early departure … At the bottom of the descent, Bautista takes the lead again ahead of Pasini. Pesek takes advantage of the fight between the two teammates to return and brings Faubel, Lai and Nieto back.

On the 4th lap, Bautista leads ahead of Pasini. Then come Pesek at 0.7 s, Faubel at 1.4 s, Lai and Nieto at 2.1 s, Kallio, Simon, Gadea and Talmacsi at 2.8 s. Di Meglio was 16th at 6.4 s, in a fight with Iannone – who had to go through the pits for his penalty – and Koyama. Pasini takes the lead again at the end of the straight line. Alexis Masbou, still chased by bad luck, has to return to the pits because of his clutch problem … In the lead, Pasini and Bautista are glued to each other. Pesek plays the accordion a bit, then Faubel has let go of Lai and comes back on the Czech. Litjens, Arnaud Vincent’s teammate, retired due to a mechanical problem. Karel Abraham, he falls heavily and destroys his motorcycle, without damage to the rider.

At the 5th passage, Bautista passes Pasini on the line. Pesek is at 0.5 s, Faubel at 1.5 s, then Lai, Nieto and Kallio come back in contact with the group by bringing back Simon and Talmacsi. Di Meglio passed 15th, in points! Bautista tried to start alone in front and Pesek came back to Pasini’s wheel at mid-circuit. Faubel rolls 4th and also tries to join the leaders, then Kallio passed 5th in front of the group of pursuers and lets go of Lai, Gadea, Talmacsi and Simon.

On the 6th lap, Bautista, Pasini and Pesek, who scored the best lap, are wheel to wheel. Faubel is alone in 4th place, then Kallio, Lai, Nieto, Talmacsi and Simon follow. At the end of the straight, Pasini took the lead again under braking. Pesek, who brakes earlier and enters the curve less quickly at the end of the straight line, loses contact and has to whip to get back on the two leaders. Kallio 5th distance in the winding Nieto, Lai, Gadea, Simon, Talmacsi, Cortese, Luthi and Corsi. Di Meglio is fighting with Iannone – still not passed through the pits! – and Koyama.

On lap 7, Pesek took the lead in front of Bautista and Pasini in the draw, but the three men braked head on and Bautista took the lead on the turn ahead of Pasini and Pesek! Faubel is alone 4th at 1.6 s and Kallio 5th at 3 s. At 3.5 s behind follow Nieto, Gadea passed 7th ahead of Lai, Simon, Talmacsi, Corsi, Cortese and Luthi. Di Meglio in a fight in a group of six drivers is 21st while Iannone is excluded by the black flag for not having passed in time by the pits … Ranseder falls and retires.

On the 8th lap, Pasini took the lead again ahead of Bautista. Pesek is a few lengths behind, then Faubel alone in 4th, Kallio on whom Gadea, who scored the best lap, Simon, Lai, Nieto, Corsi, Cortese, Luthi and Talmacsi. At the end of the straight, Bautista takes the lead again under braking: no gift between the two teammates of the Aspar team! Kallio and especially Gadea return to Faubel.

On lap 9, Bautista leads ahead of Pasini. Pesek is at 0.5 s, then Faubel, Kallio and Gadea are regrouped at 3.5 s from the leaders. Simon, who also put the pressure on, came back to the three men and let go of the peloton. Di Meglio is 20th. Pasini takes the lead again when braking the last corner.

On lap 10, Bautista switched back to suction but Pesek almost stayed in his wheel. Pasini brakes again at the end of the straight line. Faubel, Kallio and Gadea are 3.3 s behind the leader, then Simon who has almost put the trio back together, and finally Lai, Corsi, Luthi and Cortese at 5.6 s. Rodriguez takes a big crash and gives up. Iannone returns to the pits, eliminated. Di Meglio is 19th. Bautista takes the lead again at the change of angle of the descent.

On lap 11, Bautista, Pasini and Pesek were 3.7 seconds ahead of Kallio, Gadea, Faubel and Simon. Pasini takes the lead again at the end of the straight line. Bautista takes over the lead at the start of the descent and gets very hot going out on the vibrator, his bike almost losing grip: Pasini immediately takes the opportunity to get back to the leader! Gadea returns to 4th in front of Kallio.

On lap 12, Bautista, Pasini and Pesek are 3.5 seconds ahead of Gadea, Kallio, Faubel and Simon, then Luthi, Corsi, Talmacsi, Lai and Cortese are more than 8 seconds behind. Di Meglio is 18th.

On lap 13, Bautista, Pasini and Pesek lead while Gadea, Kallio, Faubel and Simon follow. Faubel, Kallio and Gadea braked head-on at the end of the straight line and it was Kallio who took 4th place ahead of Faubel, Gadea and Simon. Di Meglio is still 18th, glued to the basques of Koyama, Zanetti and De Rosa. Bautista and Pasini accelerate and let go of Pesek slightly. Gadea passed 4th in front of Kallio when braking the last curve.

On the 14th lap, Pasini, who had the fastest lap, took the lead again ahead of Bautista. Pesek is at 0.6 s, then Kallio, Faubel, Gadea and Simon at 5 s. Thanks to the fall and abandonment of Cortese, Di Meglio fell to 17th. In the descent, Pasini, Bautista and Pesek are grouped again.

On lap 15, Bautista got back to the lead on the draw and managed to keep the advantage under braking over Pasini and Pesek. Kallio is ahead of Gadea, Faubel and Simon, then Corsi, Luthi, Talmacsi and Lai. Di Meglio passed 16th ahead of Koyama. Gadea returns to 4th in front of Kallio inside the fast right at the bottom of the descent.

On lap 16, Pasini regained the advantage over Bautista. Pesek is on their heels as Gadea passes Kallio, Faubel and Simon again.

On lap 17, Pesek sucks Pasini and Bautista but pulls aside and has to let the two Aprilia pass again! Gadea, Kallio, Faubel and Simon are wheel in wheel at 5 s, then Luthi takes Corsi, Talmacsi, Lai and Nieto. In the aspiration game, Di Meglio is again 17th.

On lap 18, Bautista once again got back to suction ahead of Pasini, but the Italian passed the leader on braking at the end of the straight! Gadea now takes Faubel past Kallio and Simon. Luthi, Talmacsi, Corsi, Lai and Nieto are in a fight for the 8th position. Di Meglio is still 17th. In the lead, Pasini and Bautista entered too hard on the long, very narrow straight at the bottom of the descent: Pesek took the opportunity to get in the lead! Bautista passed 2nd in front of Pasini on braking of the last corner.

On the 19th lap, before the line, Pesek turns around to see Bautista and Pasini in full aspiration! The Czech then saw a rocket named Pasini delaying its braking and passing it like a shell, imitated by Bautista at the start of the last lap! Behind, Gadea takes Faubel, Kallio and Simon. On the descent, Pasini manages to take a short lead but Bautista gets back on his wheel, chased by Pesek! On the long straight, Pasini and Bautista move off the rope again and Pesek returns to the same spot as on the previous lap! The Czech turned around again, stepped aside and had to let Pasini and Bautista pass on the last corner! Pasini accelerates very early, Bautista is a bit late but is benefiting from the suction. Pesek is in his wheel but can not accelerate as early as the Spaniard who comes out so wide that he goes through the dirt beyond the vibrator !

Despite the aspiration, Mattia Pasini won by a thousandth of a second over Bautista and 5 hundredths over Lukas Pesek who completed the podium. Gadea takes the 4th position ahead of his teammate Faubel 5th: the four Aprilia of the Aspar team are in the first five places! Kallio is 6th, Simon 7th, Talmacsi 8th, Luthi 9th, Corsi 10th, Lai 11th, Nieto 12th, Olive 13th, Zanetti 14th and Koyama, Masbou’s teammate, takes the point of 15th place. 29 drivers are classified at the finish of the 43 starters. Mike Di Meglio, him, fall in the last lap…

In the championship, Bautista is more and more solid leader with 119 points ahead of Kallio (88), Pasini (74), Faubel and Gadea (67), Pesek (55), Simon (46), Luthi and Talmacsi (44) and Corsi (43). Among the French, the collapse continues with the one and only point taken at the 4th GP in China by Mike Di Meglio … On the brands side, Aprilia strengthens its leadership with 108 points ahead of KTM (83), Honda (64), Derbi (39 ), Gilera (37) and Malaguti (22).

Class 250

On Friday morning Andrea Dovizioso was the fastest in front of Lorenzo, Debon, Smrz and Barbera. Guintoli is the 7th fastest, Cluzel the 20th and Vincent the 22nd. In the afternoon, on a dry track, it was Smrz who took the provisional pole ahead of Barbera, Dovizioso, De Angelis, Debon and Lorenzo. Guintoli is 10th, Vincent 20th and Cluzel 21st.

On Saturdays, the official Aprilia do the cleaning in the morning with Barbera, Lorenzo and De Angelis ahead … the Aprilia from Smrz, Locatelli, Battaini and Guintoli! Cluzel achieved the 16th fastest time and Vincent the 24th. In the afternoon, it was Jorge Lorenzo who signed his 4th pole of the season, 0.38 s ahead of Takahashi and 0.5 s ahead of Locatelli and De Angelis.

In 2nd row, Dovizioso, Simoncelli, Barbera and Smrz stand between 0.59 and 0.7 s. S. Aoyama and Debon are still under the second, but H. Aoyama and Ballerini are 1.1 and 1.2 s from pole. Sylvain Guintoli, who fell twice, started only from 16th position with his time of Friday at 2.3 s. Cluzel is 21st at 3.8 s and Vincent 23rd at 4.4 s.

In the warm-up, Lorenzo was again the fastest, 0.1 s ahead of Locatelli and De Angelis and 0.4 s in front of Dovizioso. Guintoli sets the 11th time in the morning at 1.3 s of the Spanish, Vincent the 18th at 2.2 s and Cluzel the 21st at 2.5 s.

Departure. Takahashi made the hole shot ahead of Lorenzo, Locatelli, Dovizioso, Debon, De Angelis, Simoncelli, S. Aoyama, Smrz and Guintoli. Vincent is 11th, Cluzel 16th. Barbera, struggling with mechanical problems, was overtaken by all the drivers at the start and retired on this first lap! At the 2nd turn, H. Aoyama and Baldolini hang on and fall: they too give up … At the bottom of the descent, Lorenzo takes the lead ahead of Takahashi and Dovizioso takes 3rd ahead of Locatelli. Arnaud Vincent falls and gives up.

On the 1st lap, Lorenzo leads ahead of Takahashi, Dovizioso, Locatelli, De Angelis, Debon, Simoncelli and Smrz. These eight men made the hole on Ballerini alone 9th at 3s already! Guintoli made a costly mistake by pulling straight at the chicane and crossed the line in 21st position! Cluzel is then 14th. Dovizioso takes 2nd place inside Takahashi on the tight right at the bottom of the descent.

On the second lap, Lorenzo took a little lead over the Hondas of Dovizioso and Takahashi. De Angelis, Simoncelli author of the fastest lap, Locatelli, Debon and Smrz are on their heels. Ballerini was alone 9th at 3.7 s, then S. Aoyama at 5.6s, Talmacsi and Cardenas at 6.2 s and Porto and Cluzel at 8 s. Guintoli is 19th at 10.3 s: he goes up! Cluzel passes Porto which immediately returns. Smrz attacks and passes Locatelli on the inside of the last corner.

In the 3rd lap, Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Takahashi are wheel to wheel, De Angelis, Simoncelli, Locatelli, Smrz and Debon are still on their heels. Cluzel passed 13th ahead of Porto and Guintoli came back 15th. Simoncelli tries an outside on De Angelis at the end of the straight line but the San Marinese resist. Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Takahashi and De Angelis take a few lengths over Debon, Locatelli and Smrz. De Angelis moved up to 3rd inside Takahashi in the downhill chicane. Battaini who had found a place thanks to the defection of Chaz Davies must give up. Smrz passes in front of Locatelli and Debon.

At the 4th lap, Lorenzo leads ahead of Dovizioso, De Angelis, Takahashi and Simoncelli. Debon, author of the fastest lap, returned to the leaders by bringing back Locatelli and Smrz. Ballerini is still alone 9th then come S. Aoyama, West, Cardenas, Cluzel and Guintoli passed 14th in front of Porto. Smrz makes a big high-side, passes over his motorbike and lands on his back: he gives up without major damage. On the descent, Debon passed Takahashi inside for 4th place. Entering the straight line, Debon misses and has to let Takahashi pass.

On lap 5, Lorenzo, Dovizioso and De Angelis took a few steps ahead thanks to this small error on Takahashi and Debon. Simoncelli and Locatelli are on their heels. Guintoli overtook Cluzel: the two men who passed Poggiali are now 12th and 13th. At the end of the straight, De Angelis took 2nd on suction but Dovizioso got back on braking! Debon came back to 4th in front of Takahashi. At the change of angle of the descent, De Angelis passed 2nd with a superb interior on Dovizioso.

On the 6th lap, Lorenzo leads ahead of De Angelis, Dovizioso, Debon, Takahashi, Simoncelli and Locatelli who seem to be struggling to keep up. Guintoli is still 12th with Cluzel in his wheel. Locatelli makes the effort and is once again in the lead.

On the 7th lap, Lorenzo was attacked by De Angelis under braking but resisted! Dovizioso, Debon, Simoncelli, Takahashi and Locatelli are still there … At 9.7 s behind the leader, S. Aoyama 8th sees West return, Ballerini with Cardenas in his wheel, then further at 16.9 s, Guintoli is followed by Cluzel and Poggiali . Debon misses and must let Simoncelli, Locatelli and Takahashi pass in that order. In the maneuver, Lorenzo, De Angelis and Dovizioso took a few steps ahead.

On the 8th lap, Lorenzo, De Angelis and Dovizioso were 1 s ahead of Locatelli who passed Simoncelli in the draw, 1.6 s over Takahashi and Debon. Guintoli and Cluzel are still wheel to wheel just ahead of Poggiali. On the back of the draw, De Angelis took the lead from the outside ahead of Lorenzo and Dovizioso. Simoncelli returned to 4th in front of Locatelli pursued by Takahashi who let Debon go. West passed 8th ahead of S. Aoyama. Cluzel falls forward, forcing too much to follow Guintoli…

At the 9th passage, De Angelis leads ahead of Lorenzo. 0.9 s further, Simoncelli passed 3rd ahead of Dovizioso, Locatelli and Takahashi, who had the fastest lap in the race. Debon is 1 s from Takahashi who brings up the rear of the leading group. At the end of the straight, Dovizioso explains to Simoncelli how to brake hard by taking back 3rd place! De Angelis tried to leave and took a few steps ahead of Lorenzo. The Spaniard comes back to the bottom of the descent and takes advantage of the suction again.

On the 10th lap, De Angelis was 0.4 s ahead of Lorenzo, 0.8 s over Dovizioso, 1.1 s over Simoncelli, 1.4 s over Locatelli, 1.7 s over Takahashi and 2.3 s over Debon who made another effort to come back. The leaders are playing the accordion more and more and are struggling to take advantage of the suction with each turn: the gaps are starting to be felt! Guintoli 12th always has Poggiali in his wheel.

On the 11th lap, De Angelis still leads ahead of Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Simoncelli attacked by Locatelli who resists, Takahashi and Debon who is slightly back. S. Aoyama moved back to 8th in front of West under the eyes of Ballerini. Guintoli holds up ahead of Poggiali in 12th position.

On the 12th lap, De Angelis was again joined by Lorenzo. Dovizioso is very close, then Simoncelli with difficulty contains the attacks of Locatelli who manages to pass 4th in front of his compatriot at the end of the straight line. Debon came back 0.5s from Takahashi 6th. Guintoli is still 12th just ahead of Poggiali. Dovizioso is again right in Lorenzo’s wheel at the bottom of the descent. Locatelli brings Simoncelli back in contact with the leaders while Debon also returned to contact with the leading group.

On the 13th lap, De Angelis leads ahead of Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Takahashi who came back 4th and author of the best lap, Locatelli, Simoncelli and Debon. At the bottom of the descent, De Angelis, Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Takahashi are wheel to wheel. Locatelli is very close but Simoncelli and Debon are a few steps behind. At the entrance of the last corner, Lorenzo took the lead from De Angelis who had strayed from the rope. Debon passes 6th ahead of Simoncelli !

On lap 14, Lorenzo crossed the line ahead of De Angelis who won him the aspiration. Dovizioso was attacked by Takahashi but Locatelli, who had the best lap, passed 4th ahead of the Japanese. Debon and Simoncelli are also at loggerheads. At the end of the straight line, De Angelis, Lorenzo, Locatelli and Dovizioso brake almost head on! Dovizioso dives in front but Locatelli still inside takes the lead while Lorenzo tries to join the rope where De Angelis has infiltrated! But Takahashi watches for the slightest opening to rush into it too! Lorenzo, who had remained outside De Angelis, dived inside the next corner and took 3rd position. At the change of angle, Simoncelli managed a surprise attack inside Takahashi and passed 5th! At the bottom of the descent, De Angelis dives inside Lorenzo and reclaims 3rd place from him !

On lap 15, Locatelli leads, De Angelis passes Dovizioso on the draw, then Lorenzo, Simoncelli, Takahashi and Debon keep a close eye on the fight. At the end of the straight, Simoncelli delayed his braking but had to pull away and immediately lost contact with the leaders. Lorenzo leads in front of De Angelis, Dovizioso, Takahashi, Debon, Locatelli, then Simoncelli 1 s later, West moved back to 8th in front of S. Aoyama and Ballerini, then Guintoli who still stands up to Poggiali.

On lap 16 De Angelis took the lead on the aspiration ahead of Locatelli, Dovizioso braked Lorenzo who pulled away and had to let Takahashi pass, Debon took the opportunity to come back almost to contact again. Simoncelli, probably in trouble with his tires, secured his 7th position, already 4.9 s behind the leader! At over 20s, West held firm ahead of S. Aoyama and Cardenas 1s down, then at 27.7s behind the leader, Guintoli secured 1s of lead over Poggiali.

At the entrance of the downhill chicane, Dovizioso who resists the attack from Takahashi and Lorenzo takes the outside of Locatelli and goes 2nd at the change of angle: great art! Dovizioso removes a tear-off in the following right end and Locatelli takes the opportunity to brake him again in the following left, but Dovizioso resists, stays on the outside and, on the momentum, takes the lead in front of De Angelis in the left entry following! Takahashi took advantage of Locatelli’s loss of trajectory to move up to 3rd. In the tight right, Locatelli took 3rd place after braking heavily on Takahashi: the two men touched! Dovizioso took the opportunity to take a few lengths but was quickly joined at the entrance to the straight.

On lap 17, De Angelis took full advantage of the aspiration to take the lead ahead of Dovizioso. Takahashi crosses the line in front of Locatelli, not without losing pieces of carbon from his rear fender damaged by the fight with the Italian … But it is Lorenzo who enters 3rd in the turn at the end of the straight ahead Locatelli and Takahashi, under the eyes of a Debon all happy to take advantage of the intense fight to redo the connection! Lorenzo moved away from the inside and Locatelli immediately took the opportunity to come back third! Takahashi also infiltrates but Lorenzo stays on the outside and retains the advantage over the Japanese…

At the next change of angle, Takahashi takes advantage of a gaping hole to get past Lorenzo! At the bottom of the descent, Takahashi brakes at Locatelli and passes 3rd at the entrance to the tight right: Locatelli accelerates too early, almost losing the rear, recovers his bike somehow but loses 4th place in favor of Lorenzo who didn’t ask for so much…

On the 18th lap, De Angelis, Dovizioso, Takahashi and Lorenzo took a good lead over Locatelli and Debon who even passed the Italian on the draw, 1.6s behind the leader. Simoncelli rolls into the rhythm of the leading men. 4.6 s later, West further increased his lead over S. Aoyama and Ballerini who let Cardenas go. Then come Guintoli and Poggiali who run more than 1 s faster than the Colombian. At the end of the straight, Lorenzo took advantage of Locatelli’s difficulties in diving into the bend to regain third position. De Angelis takes a slight advantage in the descent over Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Takahashi.

On lap 19, De Angelis led with 0.4s ahead of Dovizioso and Lorenzo and 0.6s over Takahashi: nothing was done! On the other hand, Locatelli and Debon were dropped 2.5 seconds behind the leader. Simoncelli was alone in 7th, more than 5s, then at 22s West kept more than 1s ahead of S. Aoyama who tried to come back. Ballerini definitely took the advantage over Guintoli and Poggiali relegated more than 5s behind him due to Cardenas falling in front of their wheels! At the end of the straight, Lorenzo took 2nd place ahead of Dovizioso and Takahashi.

On lap 20, at the start of the last lap, Lorenzo passed De Angelis on the draw. Dovizioso seems let go just like Takahashi a little further. Lorenzo delayed his braking and pulled away but retained the advantage over De Angelis. Dovizioso, always an excellent brakeman, got back on their feet with Takahashi on his heels. But in the descent, Lorenzo, De Angelis and Dovizioso regain a little lead over the Japanese who are more closely in touch.

At the entrance from the tight right, Lorenzo made a slight block in front and moved away: De Angelis immediately infiltrated under the clamor of the public, all in favor of the Italian drivers! Dovizioso also tries to pass but Lorenzo returning to the rope closes the door to him. At the end of the bend, De Angelis’s Aprilia moves in all directions but the San Marinese remains full throttle! Entering the last corner, the optimistic De Angelis stepped aside and had to let Lorenzo pass. Dovizioso also shows up inside but De Angelis stays by his side and Lorenzo takes off! De Angelis comes out wide into the dirt beyond the vibrator but retains the advantage over Dovizioso who returns Takahashi to the suction !

Jorge Lorenzo manages to keep a tenth of a second ahead of De Angelis and 3 over Dovizioso who keeps the podium ahead of Takahashi for 14 thousandths. Debon finished 5th and Locatelli 6th, then Simoncelli 7th, West 8th and first private, Shuhei Aoyama 9th, Ballerini 10th, Guintoli 11th, Poggiali 12th, Porto 13th, Tizon 14th and Perren 15th.

In the championship, Dovizioso remains leader with 108 points (a podium in each race), but sees Lorenzo return with his three victories and 88 points, who nabbed 2nd place from Barbera who passed 4th to 78 points. Takahashi moved up to provisional third ahead of the Spaniard. H. Aoyama 5th remains at 75 points while Locatelli is 6th with 67, De Angelis 7th with 55, Guintoli 8th with 43 and Simoncelli 9th with 40. On the brands side, Aprilia leads with 131 points ahead of Honda (113), KTM (79) and Gilera (40).

MotoGP Category

The first free session on Friday morning saw Valentino Rossi prove to be the fastest in front of the two Ducatis of Capirossi and Gibernau. Then came the Honda of Stoner, Melandri and Hayden while De Puniet achieved the 8th fastest time. Same top trio in the same order in the afternoon, but Hopkins straddles his Suzuki in front of Stoner, Hayden and Melandri’s Honda. Randy makes the 14th time.

On Saturday morning, Capirossi is ahead of Hayden, Rossi, Gibernau, Edwards and Stoner. Randy sets the 10th fastest time. The afternoon qualifying session saw Sete Gibernau take his first pole on the Ducati, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Capirossi and 0.2s ahead of Rossi. Hayden, Nakano and Melandri form the 2nd row between 0.2 and 0.3 s from pole. In 3rd row, Hopkins and Pedrosa are at 0.5 s and Stoner at 0.9 s. Randy De Puniet, still in trouble with the qualifying tires, did no better than the 16th fastest time, 1.6 s from pole.

In warm-up, the official Honda riders are the fastest (Hayden 0.3 s ahead of Pedrosa) but Rossi is on their heels. Capirossi is 0.4 s from Hayden, Edwards 0.7 s, Gibernau 0.89 s, Elias, Hopkins, Stoner, Roberts, Melandri and Tamada in a handkerchief at 1.1 s, Nakano at 1.3 s and Randy de Puniet at 1.6 s.

Departure. Gibernau took the best start and took the lead ahead of Rossi, Nakano, Stoner, Melandri, Pedrosa, Capirossi and Hayden. As soon as the climb, Melandri passes 4th in front of Stoner. Rossi attacks and passes Gibernau. Hayden passed 7th in front of Capirossi and Roberts, who made a good start to the race. Elias goes 9th ahead of Roberts at the bottom of the descent. Entering the last corner, Melandri dives inside Nakano and passes 3rd.

On the first lap, Rossi leads with Gibernau in his wheel. Melandri, Nakano and Stoner follow at 0.9 s. Half a second later came Pedrosa and Hayden, then Capirossi a few lengths ahead of Elias who himself took a little lead over Roberts. Behind Hopkins, Edwards passed 12th ahead of Tamada. Randy de Puniet is 17th. At the end of the straight, Stoner passed 4th under braking ahead of Nakano. Edwards misses his braking at the end of the straight line and starts off last! At the bottom of the descent, Rossi comes out wide beyond the vibrator into the dirt and Gibernau immediately takes the opportunity to take the lead. !

On the second lap Gibernau led ahead of Rossi but Melandri came back 0.8 behind the Spaniard and half a second behind his compatriot as he led Stoner in his aspiration. Hayden passes Pedrosa and attacks Nakano at the end of the straight line, but pulls aside and has to let the Japanese pass inside. Pedrosa also took the opportunity to sneak in, but Hayden stayed outside and dived past his young teammate in the left. At the bottom of the descent, Melandri and Stoner practically returned to Rossi’s wheel and Capirossi to Pedrosa’s. Two quartets in the lead! Hayden dives inside Nakano at the entrance to the last corner.

On the third lap, Gibernau leads a few lengths ahead of Rossi, on whose wheel Melandri, who took the fastest lap, returned. Stoner is in the aspiration, then Pedrosa in turn passes Nakano taking advantage of the superior power of the Honda. At the end of the straight line, Melandri attacks and passes in 2nd position in front of Rossi. Roberts passes Elias, Hopkins passes Tamada, De Puniet doubles Ellison and Edwards passes Cardoso.

On lap 4 Gibernau edged ahead 0.6s over Melandri, Rossi and Stoner. Pedrosa, who had the fastest lap, and Hayden came back 1.5s from the leader, Nakano stopped Capirossi at 2.8s and Roberts was almost 5s ahead of Elias, Tamada, Hopkins and Checa. De Puniet is 14th 9.7s behind the leader. Stoner attacked Melandri and Rossi on the draw, but the two Italians delayed their braking and it was Rossi who entered the corner 2nd at the end of the straight! Capirossi used the power of the Ducati to take 7th place ahead of Nakano. Rossi is already back in Gibernau’s wheel and takes advantage of the change of angle to throw himself inside the Spaniard and take the lead! The Catalan kept the outside and took the lead again on the next turn but Rossi delayed his braking at the bottom of the descent and passed Gibernau again! Pedrosa and Hayden have reconnected with the four leaders and Capirossi also returns to the lead..

On the 5th lap, Rossi leads in front of Gibernau while the young Stoner passes Melandri on suction! Pedrosa and Hayden are just behind and Capirossi is still 1 second behind the American. Randy is still 14th. At the end of the straight, Melandri returned to third ahead of Stoner at the cost of superb braking.

In the 6th lap, Rossi and Gibernau, author of the best lap, lead. Stoner and Melandri are at 0.6 s, Pedrosa and Hayden at 1.1 s and Capirossi at 2.2 s. In the descent, Rossi and Gibernau take a few more lengths on Melandri, Stoner, Pedrosa and Hayden.

On lap 7 Rossi and Gibernau were 0.9 seconds ahead of Melandri, Stoner, Pedrosa and Hayden. Capirossi returns to 1.7 behind the leader, 0.4 s behind Hayden thanks to the fastest lap in the race! Stoner passed Melandri on the draw but the Italian passed the Australian on the braking at the end of the straight, like a script already written. At the change of angle of the chicane, Hayden attacked and passed Pedrosa. De Puniet passed 13th ahead of Checa.

On lap 8, Rossi and Gibernau were 1.3 seconds ahead of Melandri, Stoner, Hayden, Pedrosa and Capirossi returning to contact. Stoner moved up to third again, but this time retains the advantage at the end of the straight. Edwards came back 16th. Pedrosa seems to struggle to keep up with his teammate Hayden. Suddenly Stoner goes high-side and takes an impressive fall, luckily without physical consequences..

On lap 9, Rossi and Gibernau were 1.2 seconds ahead of Melandri, Hayden and Capirossi who passed Pedrosa. Nakano and Roberts are 7.7 seconds behind the leader. Tamada, Elias and Hopkins are over 9s away. De Puniet was the only 12th in 14s. Hayden passes 3rd in front of Melandri. Hoffmann falls and gives up.

On the 10th lap, Rossi and Gibernau were 1.5 seconds ahead of Hayden, Melandri, Capirossi and Pedrosa. At the end of the straight, Pedrosa got in very hard on the brakes and passed Melandri but moved away and forced Melandri to pull out too: Capirossi rushed into the breach and passed 4th in front of the two Honda! De Puniet is 12th, Edwards 15th.

On lap 11, Rossi and Gibernau were 1.3 seconds ahead of Hayden who gradually came back to the leaders. Follow Capirossi, Melandri and Pedrosa who are slightly behind.

On lap 12, Rossi and Gibernau were only 1 second ahead of Hayden, Capirossi, Melandri and Pedrosa who were hanging on. Nakano is now followed by Elias who has passed Roberts. At the end of the straight, Capirossi passed 3rd in front of Hayden at the cost of superb braking. De Puniet is 12th, Edwards 13th. Capirossi lets go of Hayden and returns to contact with his teammate.

At the 13th passage, Rossi leads in front of Gibernau. Capirossi is back in their wheels then Hayden, Melandri and Pedrosa are almost in contact too !

On the 14th lap, Rossi, Gibernau and Capirossi are now wheel to wheel. Hayden and Melandri have returned to contact and Pedrosa is also very close … It promises! Capirossi passed 2nd ahead of Gibernau on the draw. But at the entrance of the turn, Rossi and Capirossi, a little too hard on the brakes, moved aside and let Gibernau pass again in the lead! Capirossi manages to accelerate earlier than Rossi, returns to 2nd and Hayden takes advantage of the confusion to pass 3rd in front of Rossi! At the change of angle of the chicane downhill, Melandri also infiltrated inside Rossi and passed 4th! Entering the last corner, Capirossi infiltrates inside Gibernau and takes the lead.

At the 15th passage, Capirossi leads past Gibernau, Hayden, Melandri, Rossi and Pedrosa. At the end of the straight, Hayden delayed his braking and dived inside Gibernau in 2nd position. At the change of angle, Melandri threw himself under Gibernau’s wheels and passed 3rd! Melandri attacks and passes Hayden on the inside of the tight right at the bottom of the descent, but Hayden who remained by his side returns at the angle change! In the penultimate corner, Rossi is back to 4th in front of Gibernau.

On the 16th lap, Capirossi leads ahead of Hayden, Melandri, Rossi, Gibernau and Pedrosa. At 1.2s, Elias was ahead of Roberts, Nakano, Tamada and Hopkins. Pedrosa in turn passed Gibernau who quickly lost contact with the leaders. Rossi attacks Melandri who returns at the change of angle, but Rossi returns to the next turn and retains 3rd place !

At the 17th passage, Capirossi leads past Hayden, Rossi, Melandri and Pedrosa. Gibernau is already 6th at 2.8sec, Roberts at 14sec overtook Elias, Tamada, Nakano and Hopkins. De Puniet 12th is now followed by Edwards. Rossi attacked and passed Hayden at the angle change in the downhill chicane. Melandri also attacks Hayden but the American resists and stays ahead of the Italian away.

Two corners later, Melandri delays his braking and passes inside Hayden: three Italians lead the Italian Grand Prix, it’s crazy in the stands at Mugello! But at the entrance of the tight right, Melandri pulls aside, goes out into the grass, has to let Hayden, Pedrosa and even Gibernau pass, losing contact with the leading group !

On the 18th lap, Capirossi and Rossi were a few steps ahead of Hayden, 1 s on Pedrosa, 2.5 s on Gibernau who was again the fastest on the track, 5.6 s on Melandri, 15 s on Roberts, Elias, Tamada, Nakano and Hopkins, 26.4 s on De Puniet which hardly contains Edwards. Hayden is forced to force the brakes to maintain contact with the two leaders.

At the 19th passage, Capirossi, Rossi and Hayden are wheel to wheel. Pedrosa is 1.2 seconds behind the leader. Gibernau still the fastest is at 2.4 s and Melandri at 6.3 s. Roberts holds his 7th place ahead of Elias, Tamada and Nakano while Hopkins takes down. Edwards passed 12th ahead of De Puniet and the distance. At the entrance of the last corner, Rossi passed Capirossi under braking, but the better placed ducatist regained the lead under acceleration, which benefited Hayden who was glued to Rossi’s wheel…

On the 20th lap, Capirossi, Rossi and Hayden were 1.3 s ahead of Pedrosa, 2 s over Gibernau, still the fastest on the track, 6.9 s over Melandri and 17.1 over Roberts, Elias, Tamada and Nakano, Hopkins made the effort to get back on the Japanese 0.5 s behind him, then Edwards put 1.3 s between him and De Puniet. Hayden passes Rossi to the draw, but the Italian brakes decidedly much later than everyone else and takes the advantage…

Capirossi struggles to keep the rope, Rossi begins to infiltrate but the leader manages to tighten to close the door to his compatriot. In the left of the chicane, Rossi comes out of Capirossi to dive in front of him in the right, but Capirossi accelerates and keeps the lead.

At the 21st passage, Capirossi leads ahead of Rossi and Hayden. Capirex pulls away at the entrance to the corner at the end of the straight line, Rossi places his front wheel but Capirossi accelerates again and manages to contain the world champion once again! Pedrosa 4th 1.3s from the leader is now less than 0.7s ahead of Gibernau !

Behind Roberts 7th, Tamada passed Elias on the draw, but the young Spaniard overtook the Japanese on the outside at the entrance to the turn at the end of the straight: great art !

As for Rossi, he took the lead again ahead of Capirossi at the entrance to the downhill chicane. Vale puts in his effort and tries to let Capirossi go, but the No.65 hangs up and it is Hayden who is slightly behind…

On lap 22, entering the last loop, Rossi still had Capirossi glued to his wheel. Hayden is only 0.3sec, then Pedrosa at 1.6seconds some distance to Gibernau, 2.5sec behind the leader. Melandri is at 9 s and Roberts at 18 s ahead of Tamada, Elias, Nakano and Hopkins back in his wheel. Edwards is solid 12th ahead of De Puniet alone 13th.

In the straight line, Capirossi takes the lead again ahead of Rossi who remains by his side on the inside! The n ° 65 delayed his braking and took the lead in the turn at the end of the straight ahead of Rossi and Hayden, but he did not hold the rope and Rossi immediately infiltrated and took back the lead! Hayden also shows his front wheel to Capirossi, which Rossi takes the opportunity to take some distance !

The No. 46 who put in his effort just at the right time retains the advantage and wins ahead of Capirossi who manages to keep the advantage over Hayden despite the draw! Rossi takes the victory on his land for the 5th consecutive year and this 55th success in the premier category puts him ahead of Mick Doohan! Capirossi, after his failed start and his magnificent fight, took 2nd place while Nicky Hayden confirmed his status with the 3rd step of the podium. Pedrosa is 4th, Gibernau 5th, Melandri 6th, Elias 7th, Roberts 8th, Tamada 9th, Hopkins 10th, Nakano 11th, Edwards 12th, De Puniet 13th, Vermeulen 14th and Checa 15th.

In the championship, Capirossi and Hayden are tied with 99 points but the Italian leads thanks to his victory. Melandri is 3rd with 89 points, Pedrosa 4th with 76, then Rossi is tied with Stoner at 65 points, i.e. 34 behind the leaders … Elias is 7th with 49 points ahead of Gibernau 8th (44) while Randy de Puniet is 16th with 11 points.

On the brands side, Honda leads with 131 points ahead of Ducati (99), Yamaha (94), Suzuki (41), Kawasaki (37) and KR211V (28).

With 185 points, the official Repsol team leads quite well ahead of Ducati (143), Fortuna Honda (142), Camel Yamaha (114), Honda LCR (65) and Suzuki and Kawasaki tied (48).

Good news never comes alone (read), finally note that Italy will have two Grand Prix in 2007 because Misano will host the second Italian race.

Until 2007, the predictions giving Rossi world champion even before his Italian victory regain value, even if his two main opponents are with him on the podium….

See you on June 18 in Barcelona for the Catalan Grand Prix, where the Spaniards will be keen to shine with Bautista in 125, Lorenzo and 250 and Pedrosa and Gibernau in MotoGP: will they be up to it? To be continued !

J. ARSOUILLE – Photos DR and Milagro

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