ROSSI TAKES DRAMATIC HOME VICTORY AT MUGELLO CLASSIC
The dramatic scenery of the Mugello circuit in Tuscany provided
the backdrop to one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living
memory today as Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clinched
his second victory of the season in a heart-stopping Italian
Grand Prix. The local hero produced one of his best ever performances
in front of the adoring 89,200 crowd, emerging from an intense
battle with his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and a
host of other riders to take the chequered flag with a 0.575
second advantage after 23 laps of pure drama.
Rossi got an excellent start from the front row of the grid,
passing early leader Sete Gibernau (Ducati) on the first lap
and attempting to escape a hungry chasing pack. However, the
Spaniard refused to lie down and after a brief battle between
the pair the Italian took control to lead for ten laps. Capirossi
soon recovered from a bad start and by lap fourteen he was
in the hunt for the lead, passing both Gibernau and Rossi,
who dropped back to fifth place as Marco Melandri and Nicky
Hayden (both Honda) also came through. Within four laps Rossi
was back on Capirossi’s tail and the pair went head-to-head
in a thrilling finale, which saw the Yamaha rider snatch the
lead on the last lap and open out a crucial gap that carried
him to the line.
Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards, meanwhile, battled
through another tough race after being run wide into the gravel
on the second lap. The Texan fought back from last place to
finish in the points in twelfth place but has lost ground
in the championship, dropping to eighth. Rossi’s win
moves him up to fifth overall, 34 points behind leaders Capirossi
and Hayden, who are currently tied on points.
In addition to the activity on the track, Valentino’s
dance around the Mugello hills were enjoyed today 1,500 Yamaha
fans at the Factory’s Materassi stand. Every time
the Yamaha riders passed the Yamaha tribune, the sound of
the engines was accompanied by a standing ovation from a sea
of yellow.
VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 42’39.610)
“That was for sure one of the toughest battles of my
entire career. I got a really good start and after I passed
Sete I tried to escape but it was impossible, he was so strong
today. For a long time I didn’t know where Loris was
because he had a bad start but once he arrived I knew I was
in for a hard fight. I decided to let him pass and run behind
him for a while but I didn’t realise so many other riders
were so close and they all came through! Suddenly I was down
in fifth and had it all to do again. It was just an amazing
fight for everybody and I think it is fantastic that it went
down to the final lap between two riders, two factories, two
tyre manufacturers but just one country! This is great news
for our sport. If I had to bet on who would win the last lap
I honestly wouldn’t have been able to choose. I don’t
think I took a breath over the last two laps but I made it
and I am unbelievably happy. To do it in front of so many
fans, family and friends is a special emotion and I won’t
be thinking about the championship tonight – just this
wonderful race.”
COLIN EDWARDS (12th; + 0’30.678)
“We made a dramatic change this morning and I went
for the new chassis with Valentino’s settings because
I knew the bike we had from yesterday was not going to be
good enough for the race. Basically I braked a little earlier
than normal into turn one and Makoto Tamada drafted up the
inside, pulled straight in front of me and left me with nowhere
to go but the grass. After that the race was just a test session
for me really with the new chassis. It felt good but we need
to adapt the setting to me because I didn’t have enough
grip on the rear. We’ve got a day of testing tomorrow
so we will have time to do that and get the chance to complete
some of the work that we weren’t able to do during the
Grand Prix.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“It has been a perfect day for Valentino and for Italy
after this fantastic battle to the final corner. It was just
what we needed after the bad luck of recent races –
Valentino needed to win and you could see how much it meant
to him. Yamaha have done a great job to bring our package
back up to a competitive level and now I hope we can keep
fighting for wins until the end of the season. My sincere
thanks to all our staff because it has been difficult over
the last few weeks but once again we have seen that this is
a team that never gives in and this is a great reward for
all the hard work and belief. Colin’s race didn’t
go as we had hoped it might, after the problem he had on the
second lap, but he’s taken some important information
away from here and hopefully he can come back to the top in
Barcelona next week.”
Results
1.VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 42’39.610
2.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, +0.575 3.Nicky
Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, +0.735 4.Dani Pedrosa (SPA)
Repsol Honda Team, +2.007 5.Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro
Team, +3.070 6.Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, +11.793
7.Toni Elias (ITA) Fortuna Honda, +18.999 8.Kenny Roberts
JR (USA) Team Roberts, +19.172 9.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica
Minolta Honda, +19.231 10.John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki
MotoGP, +19.821 12.COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha
Team, +30.678
Championship Standings
1.Loris Capirossi (ITA) 99 2.Nicky Hayden (USA) 99 3.Marco
Melandri (ITA) 89 4.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) 86 5.VALENTINO ROSSI
(ITA) 65 6.Casey Stoner (AUS) 65 7.Toni Elias (SPA) 53 8.COLIN
EDWARDS (USA) 49 9.Sete Gibernau (SPA) 44 10.Makoto Tamada
(JPN) 40
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