RACE REPORT – QATAR GRAND PRIX - LOSAIL 08/04/2006
ROSSI BOUNCES BACK WITH QATAR VICTORY
Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top
step of the podium after a stunning ride in today’s
Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi’s 54th career MotoGP victory
was sealed with a perfectly timed run in the second half of
the race, passing early leader Casey Stoner (Honda) on lap
10 of 22 and holding off a late attack from Nicky Hayden (Honda)
and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who completed the podium. The
win bring Rossi’s premier-class tally level with that
of Mick Doohan, with only the legendary Giacomo Agostini now
ahead of him on 68 victories.
Colin Edwards endured a difficult afternoon after front-end
problems that appeared throughout the weekend returned to
haunt him in the race. The American started from eighth on
the grid and made a good start, moving up to sixth place by
lap five, but he was unable to maintain the fast and consistent
pace he showed practice and he eventually dropped to ninth.
Rossi’s victory moves him up to fourth in the championship,
fourteen points behind early leader Capirossi after two rounds
of seventeen.
VALENTINO ROSSI - 1st; 43’22.229
"That was a great race – it was hard but that
is what made it such fun. My M1 worked really well today -
as the race went on the grip went down and the chatter completely
disappeared, so I was able to go fast at the end. This win
is important for the championship but even more so from a
mental point of view for me and the team. It was windy but
the grip was good and I was able to chase Stoner, who was
very fast at the start. When his tyres went down I was able
to pass him and I thought I could escape but Nicky stayed
with me. Then I looked back and saw Loris was coming too so
I began to get worried about the last few laps. Anyway, I
pushed hard and managed to hold on. It is great to be level
with Mick Doohan, now only Giacomo Agostini is ahead of me.
Records are not the most important thing but they are always
nice! This feels like the start of the championship for me.
Jerez was a nightmare but here we woke up! Big thanks to Jeremy
and all the guys because they stayed focused during a difficult
time and this is their reward.”
COLIN EDWARDS - 9th; 43’45.149 (+22.920)
"I made a good start and over the first five laps I
felt fine – the bike was good and I was able to ride
aggressively. I thought: ‘okay, let’s go for it.’
Then on lap six I lost the front three times in a row and
I almost crashed on each one of them. I thought it was a bit
early in the race for that to happen so I pushed on and got
going again but the front kept going and I had to ride slower
and slower. In the practice simulation I ran a 1’57.2
on my last lap but in the race it was three seconds slower
so clearly something is not right. Thankfully we have a test
tomorrow to find out what it was and make sure that we are
in better shape for Turkey.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“This is a great day for us because we have been going
through a difficult patch so to come out of it with a win
is fantastic. It is a credit to the team because they have
remained determined throughout the problems and never lost
their focus. On Colin’s side we have to keep this focus
because he had some problems today and we want to bring both
Yamahas to the top. We have work to do but we made up some
important points in the championship today and this victory
gives us even more motivation to continue in the same way
at Istanbul.”
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