ROSSI CLINCHES DRAMATIC HOME VICTORY AT MUGELLO
 Gauloises
Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced one of the best
performances of his career today as he outwitted a trio of
Italian compatriots to take a stunning home victory at Mugello.
The World Champion was passed by a handful of riders from
pole position but fought his way aggressively through the
pack to lead the way at the end of the first lap. Chased by
Marco Melandri, Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi (all Honda) in
the opening stages, Rossi set an electric pace but was unable
to shake off his pursuers and was passed by Melandri on the
eleventh lap as he began to struggle with front-end problems.
By that time Gibernau had already crashed out of the race
and it was left to Loris Capirossi (Ducati) to join in the
combat and provide a home crowd of over 88,000 with a thrilling
all-Italian battle. Biaggi grabbed the lead on the seventeenth
lap but was stalked all the way by Rossi, who planned his
move to perfection and passed his rival with just three laps
remaining, opening up a crucial advantage that saw him take
the chequered flag by 0.359 seconds. The fight for the final
podium position raged behind them, with Capirossi clinching
third place after holding off an attack from Melandri in the
last corner. Whilst Rossi’s win extends his championship
lead to 49 points, his Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards
continued to struggle with the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine
today and could only manage ninth place. However, the American
will look to bounce back as the season continues at the Catalunya
Grand Prix in Barcelona next weekend.
VALENTINO ROSSI – (Winner; 42’42.994)
“That was an incredible race and the best possible
finish for the crowd, with four Italian riders in the top
four positions. It was a great battle – full of passes
and full of attacks. In the beginning I tried to go alone
but I had some problems with the front and decided just to
concentrate on my rhythm. Then Melandri arrived and we had
a great fight, also with Biaggi after that. We set a high
pace to the finish, I made my attack with three laps to go
and it worked so of course I am very happy. My team once again
did a great job and everybody at Yamaha has worked so hard
to provide me with the bike I wanted – this is our reward.
I want to thank them and also the amazing crowd here at Mugello;
it was an honour to race in front of them.”
COLIN EDWARDS (9th; + 25.485)
“It’s hard to know what to say after a weekend
like this because I’m as mystified as anyone else. We
made a great start to the weekend on Friday morning but didn’t
seem to move on from there. Every refinement we made to the
bike seemed to leave us in exactly the same position. Today
my start was not good and I was way back at the first split.
I passed about four people on the first lap but from then
on it was an uphill battle. We made a lot of progress with
the base set-up at Le Mans but we’ve struggled to get
it working at this track – hopefully we can be back
where we need to be in Barcelona.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR
“Another 25 points and another win! Of course, being
an Italian team this is more special for us and to see all
the fans from up on the podium was incredible. To win four
of the first five races is a lot and, as Valentino said, it
is a sign of the great job we are doing. Gibernau and Biaggi
have both been in good shape to win races but they haven’t
been able to and we are proving very hard to beat. But there
are twelve races left and we have to keep our concentration.
Colin has had a difficult weekend but we will aim to get him
back on the right path for Catalunya to find again the level
of result he achieved in Le Mans.”
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