MotoGP Race Results: 1. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 30 laps, 46:58.152 2. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, -0.097 second 3. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, -2.959 seconds 4. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, -18.718 seconds 5. Alex BARROS, Honda, -20.706 seconds 6. Max BIAGGI, Honda, -21.254 seconds 7. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, -23.142 seconds 8. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, -25.678 seconds 9. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, -36.710 seconds 10. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, -39.116 seconds 11. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, -41.136 seconds 12. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, -45.691 seconds 13. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, -46.507 seconds 14. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, -49.856 seconds 15. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, -79.443 seconds 16. Franco BATTAINI, Blata, -1 lap 17. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. James ELLISON, Blata, -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Nobuatsu AOKI, Suzuki, -22 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, -27 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, -30 laps, DNF, crashed MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 17 of 17 races): 1. ROSSI, 367 points 2. MELANDRI, 220 points 3. HAYDEN, 206 points 4. EDWARDS, 179 points 5. BIAGGI, 173 points 6. CAPIROSSI, 157 points 7. GIBERNAU, 150 points 8. BARROS, 147 points 9. CHECA, 138 points 10. NAKANO, 98 points 11. TAMADA, 91 points 12. ELIAS, 74 points 13. TIE, HOPKINS/Kenny ROBERTS, 63 points 15. Troy BAYLISS, 54 points 16. XAUS, 52 points 17. Olivier JACQUE, 28 points 18. ROLFO, 25 points 19. HOFMANN, 24 points 20. Jurgen vd GOORBERGH, 12 points 21. Chris VERMEULEN, 10 points 22. TIE, BATTAINI/ELLISON, 7 points 24. Shane BYRNE, 6 points 25. TIE, KIYONARI/David CHECA, 4 points 27. Tohru UKAWA, 1 point More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TENTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR BATTLE WEARY NAKANO The 2005 MotoGP season came to an exhausting close in front of 125,000 fans today, with both Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, finishing in the points in the Valencia Grand Prix. Nakano’s eleventh place finish in the race confirmed his tenth place in the championship standings, while Hofmann was an impressive 14th in his comeback ride from injury. Both Nakano and Hofmann rode with debilitating injuries and were physically and mentally drained at the end of the 30-lap race. Nakano raced after a pain-killing injection in his bruised and swollen left hand, while Hofmann ignored the discomfort and lack of strength in his left foot. Today was Hofmann’s final race appearance with the Kawasaki team and he raced bravely, just seven weeks after having two plates and 16 screws inserted in multiple ankle and foot fractures. Both Nakano and Hofmann were lucky to survive turn one during a frantic start to today’s race. A cautious Hofmann found the rider-less Ducati of Roby Rolfo in front of him after the Italian rider had banged into the rear of Nakano’s Ninja ZX-RR and crashed. Nakano lost four places and Hofmann three, in this opening lap skirmish. On the difficult-to-pass Valencia track, and less than 100% fit, both riders settled into a race plan to finish in the points. Nakano chased and passed John Hopkins for tenth position on lap eight but could not close the gap on Makoto Tamada. Over the final five laps Nakano knew his physical condition made him vulnerable and he had to concede tenth position to Toni Elias just two laps from the end. By mid-race Hofmann had settled into 13th place behind Hopkins, Elias and Nakano and was matching their race pace. Wisely, Hofmann did not want to chance the high-risk passing moves required to make forward progress and was just happy that he had enough strength to finish the gruelling race. Nakano’s hand injury will keep him out of this week’s Valencia test, and he will return to Japan for further examination and treatment. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Eleventh “The final five laps were very difficult with my hand and it was not easy to concentrate. I knew Toni (Elias) was behind me and that if he challenged me it would be impossible to hold him back, so l let him go past – I knew I needed the points in the championship. When Rolfo hit me in turn one at the start I was lucky not to crash, but then I had a good race with Hopkins, although I could not catch Tamada-san. For sure tenth is not the position that either I, nor Kawasaki, wanted in the championship, but everyone is already working very hard for next season. I want to thank everyone in my team and I know we can do much better in 2006.” Alex Hofmann: #66 – Fourteenth “That was the maximum my body would allow me to do today. Over the final ten laps my leg was folding and I knew that trying to overtake would be a big risk, plus my concentration was fading. And in my final race for Kawasaki I wanted to finish in the points. To be honest, I don’t know how I made it through turn one, I was lucky not to hit Rolfo’s Ducati. When I was behind Hopkins we could match Shinya’s pace, but it was impossible to find a way past. I want say a big thanks to all the boys in my crew for their support, it has been great working with them. I’ll be back.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “Finally, a tough, and sometimes unlucky season is over. It was a difficult weekend for both our riders and the injuries to Shinya and Alex mirrored what happened earlier in the season. They both did a great job today, but now it’s time to look forward. We must aim for better results next season, and already both Kawasaki and Bridgestone are working towards that goal. My thanks to both riders and everyone in the team for their dedication this season.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Melandri takes second straight win as MotoGP curtain falls at Valencia Marco Melandri followed up his debut MotoGP success at Istanbul two weeks ago with a second successive victory in the final round of the 2005 season at Valencia on Sunday. The Italian youngster led from the opening corner of a thrilling 30-lap race, chased all the way to the line by his factory colleague Nicky Hayden. With the Honda pair battling it out at the front, Valentino Rossi provided an interesting sub-plot to the race as he surged from fifteenth on the grid, his lowest ever MotoGP qualifying position, to claim third place for Yamaha. Hayden piled on the pressure in the closing stages but Melandri held firm to take the win by 0.097 seconds and secure the coveted runner-up spot in the championship by fourteen points. “This is an unbelievable situation for me, I can’t find the words to describe how I feel,” said Melandri after the race. “I started the race thinking about the championship but I took the lead into turn one and realised I could win it. When I saw Nicky was behind I tried to escape but he was too strong. I thought about letting him pass but I know how hard it is to overtake at this circuit so in the end I stayed in front and held on.” Carlos Checa completed his strong finish to the season with Ducati by clinching fourth place by a comfortable margin over Alex Barros. The Brazilian overcame Honda colleague Max Biaggi in the race’s other main battle, with Biaggi therefore unable to overturn Colin Edwards in the fight for fourth place in the championship. Edwards made a poor start from sixth on the grid but fought back in the middle of the race to secure eighth place behind Loris Capirossi. Makoto Tamada and Toni Elías completed the top ten. Dani Pedrosa celebrated his final appearance in the 250cc World Championship with the eighth victory of his second successive title-winning season. The Spaniard started from pole position and, after conceding the lead for several laps to Jorge Lorenzo, re-asserted his dominance in the category with a series of lap records that saw him clear and unchallenged in the final stages of the race. Casey Stoner picked up third place to consolidate the runner-up spot in the championship ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, who finished ninth today with a remarkable charge through the pack after running into the gravel on the first lap. Thomas Lüthi clinched the 125cc World Championship title with a steady ninth place in today’s opening race despite seeing his only remaining rival, Mika Kallio, take the victory. Lüthi only needed three points to secure the crown and become the first Swiss rider to win the series since Luigi Taveri in 1966. Gabor Talmacsi and Mattia Pasini completed the podium after home favourite Sergio Gadea crashed out of the lead. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory Racing: YAMAHA CONCLUDES 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH VALENCIA PODIUM Yamaha Factory Racing rider Valentino Rossi scored his sixteenth podium from seventeen races in the final round of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship to put the shine on Yamaha’s 50th Anniversary celebrations at Valencia. The Italian started from his lowest grid position of the season but produced a dramatic ride to end the race in third place, lapping quicker than eventual winner Marco Melandri (Honda). A crowd of 124,520 watched Rossi make up seven positions with an incredible surge on the first lap, although the early pace of Melandri and Nicky Hayden (Honda) provided them with an advantage that proved impossible to breach in the second half of the race. Rossi’s Yamaha Factory team-mate Colin Edwards suffered a disappointing end to his first season with the team, losing three positions on the first lap after starting from sixth and only managing to recover one place by the end of the race. Nevertheless, the American has made significant progress with a new riding style over the course of the weekend and he is now looking forward to winter testing as he prepares for his second season as a Yamaha rider. In the meantime, Yamaha is left to reflect on a stunning Anniversary season, in which it has swept the board, taking the riders’, teams’ and constructors’ World Championship titles. VALENTINO ROSSI (3rd – +2.959) “The second part of the race was very positive because my pace was fast and I rode well but if you want to win a race then you can’t start from fifteenth on the grid. I made a mistake yesterday with the crash but the truth is that we were struggling all weekend with the setting and we didn’t understand until this morning what the problem was. We worked it out and in the race I was able to ride how I wanted to, but it was too late. It was good fun, I pushed hard but it wasn’t enough. In the future we have to make sure we work better in practice. It’s been a fantastic season and everyone has worked hard to achieve all our targets. Now we look forward to some holidays and some hard work during winter testing!” COLIN EDWARDS (8th – +25.678) “I didn’t rider great today. In the middle of the race I started to push hard and caught up again with the middle of the pack, but by that time I had abused my tyres a lot, they were moving around and so I decided to hold station. I have never been at the last race of a season counting down the days for winter testing to start. We have a lot of work to do and I want to get going as soon as possible. It’s been an average season but we’ve learnt a lot for next year and the whole team has worked very hard for me. I want to thank them and thank Michelin and I’m looking forward to working with everyone over the winter and coming out strong next year.” DAVIDE BRIVIO YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM DIRECTOR “Basically we lost the race in practice, both with the setting difficulties we had and Valentino’s starting position for the race. It is always going to be difficult from the fifth row, but he was 4.9 seconds down on the leader after four laps and by the end it was 2.9 so his pace was even better than the race winner. It’s been a long season from January, when testing started, to November. We have won everything available, scored eleven race victories and right now I would accept the same statistics next season only with Colin higher in the championship. That is our aim for next year but for now I just want to say thank you to all our staff, engineers, crew and both of our riders. It has been a fantastic season.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Fourth place in Valencia: Bridgestone and Carlos Checa finish 2005 season on a high note With a fourth place in this MotoGP season’s final race, Carlos Checa and Bridgestone finished a great year on a high note. Two podiums of Checa in Malaysia and Australia, and two victories of his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi in Japan and Malaysia were the highlights in the new and promising cooperation between the Japanese tyre giant and the Italian motorcycle manufacturer that began with initial setbacks, but eventually lead to an exciting and highly competitive package. Checa, who was hoping for another podium finish at his home race after consistently good results in recent races, started well from his second row grid position and was fifth into the first turn. On lap three and four, the Spanish idol moved up to third place, and was then drawn into an exciting battle when Valentino Rossi came from behind. Rossi swept past, but Checa managed to stay right behind the hard-charging world champion, and only lost touch with his rival towards the end when he was slowed by a slight chattering problem. Team-mate Loris Capirossi made a heroic comeback from his chest injuries suffered in Australia, pushing himself and his bike to seventh in practice and race. Kawasaki star Shinya Nakano was also gritting his teeth after a fall on Friday. The Japanese ace rode with a heavily bruised left wrist to eleventh position. Suzuki rider John Hopkins and Nakano’s Kawasaki team-mate Alex Hofmann took 13th and 14th place, and completed a good day with five out of the six Bridgestone riders in the point rankings. Only Nobuatsu Aoki, replacement rider of injured Kenny Roberts within Suzuki, was forced to retire with bike problems. Carlos Checa Ducati Marlboro Team 4th position “In the race, I didn’t have quite the pace that I had in yesterday’s qualifying and in this morning’s warm-up session. Once I got the tyres up to full temperature, I was able to push and to attack for a while, and I gained a few positions and enjoyed a good fight with Valentino. I was faster then him in some sections, but it felt too risky to overtake, especially later in the race, when the rear of my bike started to vibrate a bit. From that point on, Valentino was stronger, and pulled away. But even though I missed out on a podium finish today, I’m still happy with our achievements. I started this season on a new bike, with a new team and new tyres, and I got injured early on. But we fought our way through, and our work really paid off in the second part of the year. I had two podium finishes and was out of the top five only once in the last six races, which shows how far we have come. Our bike and the Bridgestone tyres are now fully competitive!” Tatsuya Okajima Vice President & Senior Officer Bridgestone Corporation Firstly, a big thank you to our 3 partner teams for a hard fought season, as they have made us proud to be their tyre supplier. We conclude this year with 8 podiums including 2 wins, which are much better results than the previous year, and we are happy to see the progress we have made with this project. However, we understand that we are still challengers in this sport, and therefore will keep working hard in our pursuit of a world championship. Finally, a job well done to everybody involved in the Bridgestone MotoGP project, as I am sure they will continue with the same passion and motivation into the coming seasons. Hiroshi Yamaha – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “Fourth place is a good result for us even though we expected a little more, and hoped Carlos could finish on the podium today. He had an exciting battle with Valentino, and the grip level and consistency of his tyres were very good. Only towards the end of the race, his rear wheel developed some strange vibrations that slowed him slightly, a problem that we will have to analyse together with the team. Our other riders also tried very hard today, especially Loris and Shinya, who started the race with injuries. Considering the circumstances, their race and their results were very good. All in all, we are very happy and satisfied with what we have achieved this year, and I want to thank the riders, the teams and our staff for all the hard work they put in. We will continue to try hard and to get even better results. Our development never stops our new season starts on Wednesday and Thursday already, with our next tyre test session here in Valencia!” Bridgestone Results: 4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, 47.16,870, 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 47.21,294, 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 47.39,288, 13. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 47.44,659, 14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki, 47.48,008, Did not finish: Nobuatsu Aoki (JPN) Suzuki More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: BARROS BATTLES TO TOP FIVE FINISH Alex Barros finished in fifth place at the end of a combative and spectacular race. The Brazilian started from eight on the grid and set a pace only slightly slower than the lead group as he recovered positions and became involved in a long battle, firstly with Loris Capirossi and then Max Biaggi, closing in on Carlos Checa without getting close enough to attack. Ryuichi Kyionari had a discrete race, crossing the line in twelfth place after starting lowly group position. Sito Pons Camel Honda “I am happy for Alex because we had a great race and demonstrated a lot of grit and character. He came out on top of two big battles with Loris Capirossi and Max Biaggi and if he had a few more laps he could even have caught Checa. In any case I think we’ve seen good things from him today. Ryuichi started from a long way back but also had a good race to finish in the points, ahead of experienced riders such as John Hopkins and Alex Hofmann. I think this has also been a positive day for him.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 5th “I am really happy even though this wasn’t an exceptional result because I have won two difficult battles with Loris and Max. With Capirossi it was particularly tough because his bike is so powerful and there was only one point where I could pass him. For two laps, he came back past me but in the end I managed to close the door. I think we both had good fun. My rhythm was quite good but not as good as the front three. Maybe I could have fought with Checa but when I got past Max it was too late.” Ryuichi Kyionari Camel Honda 12th “I want to say thanks to Honda and the Camel Honda team because they have given me the opportunity to compete in this race. I am not satisfied with twelfth place, we could have done a lot better. Anyway this experience will serve me well for the future.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN COMPLETE STRONG FINISH Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi finished today’s Valencia Grand Prix in fourth and seventh positions, completing a strong finish to their 2005 season. With two race victories and a further two podiums from the last six races the omens for the future are good. In front of 124,000 fans Checa battled for third place for several laps, while Capirossi spent much of the race in a three-way contest for fifth spot, despite suffering from the injuries he sustained in a big crash during last month’s Australian GP. “Loris was little short of a hero this afternoon, and Carlos showed once again that he’s a very strong rider,” said Ducati Motor president Federico Minoli. “This year we’ve shown that we have a great machine, a great package. With a little more luck the season could have been even better. Overall, we’re pretty satisfied, we showed we are on a par with the big Japanese factories. By comparison, we’re a small company, they spend their huge budgets, we reply with passion and commitment. Thanks to everyone, including our technical partners Shell Advance, who played their part in making sure we had a 100 per cent reliability record in the 17 races. We’ve grown together with Bridgestone, it’s a long-term partnership, and if we keep improving at this pace, next year should be very interesting.” CHECA ENDS 2005 WITH FOURTH-PLACE FINISH Carlos Checa had a straightforward target today – to finish 2005 on the podium in front of his home fans. The Ducati Marlboro Team had every reason to believe he could make the top three after running fast and consistent on race tyres during practice and qualifying a close fourth quickest. “I didn’t quite have the pace that I had yesterday and during morning warm-up, I struggled to run in the 33s,” explained Checa, ninth overall this year. “Tyre warm-up cost me some time, then once the tyres were hot I tried to catch the guys in front, but I couldn’t as I started getting some chatter. I was with Valentino (Rossi) for a while, I was faster in some areas but it was too risky to overtake and finally he was stronger. The chatter got worse in the final laps and I slowed down, so we need to analyse that. “I had a difficult start to the year – new bike, new team, new tyres and I got injured. It wasn’t easy and there was a lot of pressure but we kept working and finally the bike and tyres were good. The last six races have been good – two podiums and only once outside the top five. I’ve learned a lot this year.” INJURED CAPIROSSI SEVENTH AT VALENCIA Loris Capirossi rode a courageous race, chasing Alex Barros and Max Biaggi for much of the 30 laps, finally easing off for a safe seventh place. The Ducati Marlboro Team was riding in some discomfort from the chest injuries he suffered at Phillip Island just 23 days ago. “I’m satisfied because I made it here and I raced,” he said. “If I hadn’t come here I would’ve finished the year eighth overall. Instead I’m sixth. I’m happy with my race. Riding 30 laps was as difficult as I’d expected, especially the last five or six laps when I was very tired. My heart rate was really high, so during the last two laps I decided just to finish the race. Seventh position isn’t so bad, I fought with Biaggi and Barros and being here to race has been very satisfying, it would’ve been much worse staying home. Without my crash in Australia maybe I could’ve finished higher in the championship but our sport isn’t about ifs and buts, and anyway, Marco (Melandri, the race winner) was really good today. “We’ve been really competitive since midseason, and in my opinion finishing sixth isn’t bad. Ducati has improved a lot, especially in electronics and rideability. The co-operation with Bridgestone is really strong, our relationship is very close, as our six podium results demonstrate. This year we sewed, next year we’ll aim to be competitive from the start and reap the reward!” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: FORTUNA YAMAHA RIDERS SIGN OFF IN CHESTE The GP of Valencia always looked like being a difficult race for the FORTUNA YAMAHA riders who started from the fifth and sixth rows respectively in Cheste at a circuit where overtaking is always difficult. However, knowing they had little to lose, both achieved their personal objectives and finished the season in solid style. TONI ELIAS got off to a fine start and made up four places on the opening lap. The Spanish rider then had a battle with World Champion Valentino Rossi who had started down in 15th and two almost came together. Elias spent the majority of the race lapping in a group comprised of Nakano, Aoki, Hopkins, Hoffman and Kiyonari who were all fighting for tenth spot. RUBEN XAUS, for his part, did not get away so well and lost three positions. From that moment he did battle with Ellison as he struggled to make it up into the points, which he ultimately managed finishing 15th. Elias, who took tenth, brought the curtain down on a season in which his best result was sixth in Turkey. However, despite the young Spaniard missing three rounds after a crash at Le Mans, he still managed to take the ‘Rookie of The Year’ after a hugely impressive campaign. It was Xaus who took that honour last year, but this season his best results were the four tenth places he managed in Portugal, China, Catalunya and Japan. TONI ELIAS (24): RACE:10TH CHAMPIONSHIP: 12th, 74 points “We had a difficult weekend as we could not solve the problems we had on the first day. However, I still gave my best. I think it was a season where I built up very valuable experience. I have learnt a lot and, despite the injury that kept me out for a while, I think I have progressed well. Now I am going to rest for a few days which I think I deserve! I want to thank everyone at my team, the mechanics and everyone who has supported me.” RUBEN XAUS (11): RACE:15th CHAMPIONSHIP: 16th, 52 points “It has been a difficult year in which I have been battling to adapt to the M1, but it has proved difficult. Today was another hard one, but despite not enjoying myself much on the bike, we got some points. I must look forward now and keep fighting.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: MELANDRI SHOWS 2006 INTENT WITH HARD-FOUGHT WIN LUTHI TAKES 125cc WORLD TITLE Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) capped a fine season in style here in front of 124,000 race fans when he won his second consecutive race from Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) in third. The Italian Honda man now secures runner-up position in the final World Championship standings after this, the final race, of a 17-round series. Hayden finished third overall. But if the result of the last race has any bearing on events in 2006, this was a strong finish to a gruelling year by Melandri and Hayden and promises much for next season. Melandri got the holeshot into turn one and never looked back, despite the closest intentions of Hayden, who tried everything to squeeze past him on a track where overtaking is notoriously tricky. The 30-laps of this claustrophobic track are hard work. Riders hardly get a chance to ‘relax’ at any point on the 4.005km course. And it was Melandri who showed a super-strong will to win by denying victory to Hayden another Honda man hungry for a second win of the season. Melandri, Hayden and Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) made the early running with Sete setting an early fastest lap of the race at 1m 33.476 seconds. But on lap four the Spaniard was forced out of contention with machine trouble, ending a miserable year without the win he yearned for. This has been a barren year for Gibernau. Rossi started from 15th on the grid after crashing in yesterday’s qualifying session, and he had made his way up to third by lap six. But Melandri and Hayden were long gone and although Rossi reduced a six second gap to just under three seconds by the flag, he was never on terms with the leading pair. Nor was Carlos Checa (Ducati) after holding fourth for much of the race. The Spanish rider finished in that position more than 18 seconds down on the leaders. Melandri and Hayden were in total charge of events to the extent that Marco could afford to drop the pace mid-race to encourage Hayden to spend some time at the front. But when Hayden couldn’t make it past the Italian, Melandri worked out that if Hayden couldn’t pass him, then he was unlikely to be able to re-pass the American for the win. His tactic was then to ride hard to the flag and hang on to a valuable win. Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) rode a spirited race to finish fifth ahead of Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) in fifth. Those two had a race-long battle with Loris Capirossi (Ducati) with Capirossi crossing the line in seventh. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) was ninth and Ryuichi Kiyonari, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V), finished 12th. Marco, who crashed at low speed on the slowing-down lap while pulling a stunt (rolling burnout), said, “This is a great moment for me. I got into turn one and got into a rhythm, but I knew Nicky was always behind. I tried to break him, but he was too strong, so then I tried to force him past me. But when he couldn’t do that I just went from there to win.” Nicky said, “It was always going to be tight here. Once I loosened up I felt confident. I was always looking to stick the nose of the bike ahead, but Marco always had things covered up. My win at Laguna was huge, and it would have been nice to have made it two wins, but we’re ready for next year right now.” A crestfallen Sete said, “I think it’s fair to say that it is difficult to take when you work more and work harder but get less reward. We had another perfect weekend, setting the fastest time in free practice, qualifying and warm-up but this morning HRC detected a small oil leak in the engine and decided to change it just to be safe. I realised on the sighting lap that the bike was vibrating and I told the boys, but we thought that because it was a new engine everything would be fine. In the race the vibrations got worse with every lap until it broke. It’s a shame to finish the year like this but it is not a disaster for me. We have been competitive at every Grand Prix, I have never let my head drop despite the circumstances and I am sure this will make me stronger for the future.” Alex in fifth said, “I’m really happy. But this wasn’t an exceptional result because I’ve won two difficult battles with Loris and Max. With Capirossi it was particularly tough because his bike is so powerful and there was only one point where I could pass him. For two laps, he came back past me but in the end I managed to close the door. I think we both had good fun. My rhythm was quite good but not as good as the front three. Maybe I could have fought with Checa but when I got past Max it was too late.” “I’m very sad at ending the season in this way,” said Max. “It looked like we were in a better shape yesterday when we ran with the race tyres. In the race we were so slow into the corners. The front goes jump jump jump. I go as always at 100% and last year I finished second, just 0.4s behind the leader. Today I am 21s down on the winner. This is hard for me to accept.” Tamada said, “From the tenth lap on, the rear tyre began to spin and I couldn’t push the bike at 100% a pity because I was going quite well and catching Edwards. Then just before half-race distance I couldn’t attack as I wanted. Ninth position doesn’t satisfy me, now we have to evaluate the season and understand where and how to improve to fight with the bests next year.” “I want to say thanks to Honda,” said Kyonari. “And also the Camel Honda team because they have given me the opportunity to compete in this race. I am not satisfied with 12th we could have done a lot better. Anyway this experience will serve me well for the future.” Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) won what is likely to be the final 250cc race of his distinguished career, putting in an imperious display of quarter-litre mastery. He beat bitter rival Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) by three and a half seconds, with Casey Stoner (Aprilia) trailing home third. Hector Barbera (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) made the early running from the lights until Lorenzo snatched the lead from his team-mate on lap three with Dani holding third. Then Barbera ran wide at turn one on lap five allowing Dani to grab second place from him. Dani then set about hauling in Lorenzo and made his move for the lead into turn one at the beginning of lap 13 of this 27-lap battle. Next he pulverised the lap record, reeling off three consecutive fastest laps, with a best of 1m 35.792 seconds. Lorenzo had no answer. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) rode a heroic race to ninth, having been in last place on the opening lap when he to take to the gravel to avoid crashing into another rider. He now consolidates third in the overall World Championship standings as well as netting the coveted ‘rookie of the year’ title. Honda also won the prestigious Manufacturer’s Championship via this vital Dani win, his eighth of the year. And with Dani now graduating to the MotoGP class, his rivals now face a slightly easier task in 2006. Dani said, “The bike was moving around a lot but this a hard track. The pace was so fast, much faster than last year (total race time 37 seconds faster than 2004) and this win was important for the team and for the Constructor’s Championship. Thanks to Honda and my team for all their work.” Lorenzo said, “It was impossible to win today. My rhythm was very bad, as bad as it was in qualifying. But at the same time this is still one of my best races so far.” Lorenzo was denied the chance to become the youngest winner of a 250cc Grand Prix by Dani’s domination today. Dani still holds that distinction. At the second turn I had to go off to avoid hitting de Angelis,” said Dovi. “I had to stage a real recovery and I’m really glad I got third in the World Championship. Next year I’m here to work even harder and try to win the title.” Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) became only Switzerland’s second 125cc World Champion on two wheels when he finished in ninth position to clinch the World Championship. He now joins Luigi Taveri, the Swiss who first won the Championship in this class in 1962 on a Honda. He was also crowned World Champion in 1964 and 1966, again on Honda machinery. Luthi’s win now means Honda was three consecutive 125cc titles in this class for the first time. But Honda was denied the Manufacturer’s Championship in the class by Mika Kallio’s win for KTM. His team-mate Gabor Talmacsi was second and Aprilia’s Mattia pasini third. It looked as if Spanish rider Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) could record his first ever win here at a ‘home’ race until he crashed while holding a 1.5 second lead with just five laps to go. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Ajo Motorsport Honda RS125R) continued his strong end to the year in sixth while Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) was seventh. Luthi said, “It’s great to be World Champion. I think back to last season and all the crashed and failures and now this season everything has worked out. Thanks to everyone at Honda and in the team. I need a year to let it all sink in. I still can’t believe I did it this year.” “That was a tough race,” said Koyama. “The engine felt like it was running a bit rich and the rear suspension and the tyre never really felt good. It took a bit of time before I could push and if I’d pushed any harder I would have high-sided.” HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Marco Melandri, MoviStar Honda: 1st: “It has been a perfect weekend for me. Not only have we sealed the runner-up spot in the championship but we did it with my second consecutive win. I started the race planning to control my advantage in the standings without pushing too hard but I got a good start and was leading into the first corner. I knew Nicky was very close so I focused on maintaining my rhythm without taking too many risks. There was a point where I thought about letting him past but I was worried that I might find it too difficult to get back in front. I pushed as hard as possible over the final few laps to try and open up a gap and I was able to win. This is like a dream come true.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2nd: “That was good racing! At the beginning I was a little tight as I’ve crashed here for the last two years when things got hot and I didn’t want to blow things this year. Once I’d loosened up and the bike was moving around a bit I started to get comfortable. I tried to be in a position all the race to take advantage of Marco leaving the door open but he rode real solid and never gave me the opportunity. On the last corner I was going to go up the inside and when he got all sideways I ditched the plan and tried to square off the corner but it just didn’t happen. Of course I’m disappointed I want to win. In the end I’m happy we’ve had a good end to the season and I’d like to thank all those that have stuck behind me this year; Honda, Michelin and all the sponsors. We’ll be back stronger next year.” Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 5th: “I am really happy even though this wasn’t an exceptional result because I have won two difficult battles with Loris and Max. With Capirossi it was particularly tough because his bike is so powerful and there was only one point where I could pass him. For two laps, he came back past me but in the end I managed to close the door. I think we both had good fun. My rhythm was quite good but not as good as the front three. Maybe I could have fought with Checa but when I got past Max it was too late.” Max Baggi, Repsol Honda: 6th: “I’m very sad at ending the season in this way. It looked like we were in a better shape yesterday when we ran with the race tyres but it did not go well this morning. The crash caused some pain in my finger and in my right leg but the bike was badly damaged and definitely didn’t feel the same this afternoon even though the team did a great job in rebuilding it in a very short time. In the race we are so slow into the corners. The front goes jump jump jump. I go as always at 100% and last year I finish second, just 0.4s behind the leader. Today I am 21’s down on the winner. This is hard for me to accept.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 9th: “In the first few laps I have tried to warm up well the tyres, but I took too much time. From the fourth lap things got better and the lap time got lower. The good feeling with the tyres didn’t last much, in fact from the tenth lap on, the rear tyre begun to spin and I couldn’t push the bike at its 100%. A pity because I was going quite well and I was looking Edwards, who was in front of me, much closer, then just before half of the race I couldn’t attack as I would have wanted. Ninth position doesn’t satisfy me, now we have to evaluate the season just concluded and understand where and how to improve to fight with the bests next year.” Ryuichi Kiyonari, replacement rider for Troy Bayliss at Camel Honda: 12th: “I want to say thanks to Honda and the Camel Honda team because they have given me the opportunity to compete in this race. I am not satisfied with twelfth place, we could have done a lot better. Anyway this experience will serve me well for the future.” Sete Gibernau, MoviStar Honda: dnf retired: “I think it’s fair to say that it is difficult to take when you work more and work harder but get less reward. We had another perfect weekend, setting the fastest time in free practice, qualifying and warm up but this morning HRC detected a small oil leak in the engine and decided to change it just to be safe. I realised on the sighting lap that the bike was vibrating and I told the boys but we thought that because it was a new engine everything would be fine. In the race the vibrations got worse with every lap until it broke. It’s a shame to finish the year like this but it is not a disaster for me. We have been competitive at every Grand Prix, I have never let my head drop despite the circumstances and I am sure this will make me stronger for the future.” 250cc: Dani Pedrosa, MoviStar Honda: 1st: “Today’s was not an easy race. It was difficult because the rear-end of the bike was moving a lot and slipping. I got away well and the pace was quicker last year, although I had to be more conservative on the final few laps. I am very satisfied withy today and the season in general. We have got great results and I won one more race than last year, although we got fewer podiums. What’s also important is that we helped Honda win the team championship today. I want to dedicate my victory to everyone at the team, all the mechanics and all the fans as well who were so supportive. A chapter has now come to0 an end and we are starting anew one. Next year will be very different and very difficult and we will have to approach races in a new way.” Jorge Lorenzo, Fortuna Honda: 2nd. “Although today I missed my last opportunity to beat the record as the youngest-ever 250 winner, I am happy with the race I rode which was one of my best of the year. I think winning was impossible today as we have not quite had the mentality to do it all weekend. I want to dedicate this result to everyone at my team, especially those who won’t be with us next year, and I want to thank them all for the effort they have made and the patience they have shown me.” Hector Barbera, Fortuna Honda: 5th. “My best weekend of the year? Without doubt! The resume of the weekend is: good in qualifying, but bad in the race. I was extra-motivated for this race and was really ready to give it my all. I made a very good start, but then had problems with the rear-end of my bike which was moving around a lot and not letting me open the gas as I wanted. It always seems to happen when it’s not the suspension it’s the engine”¦ there’s always something preventing you from being up there and for that reason I’m glad to be going back to Aprilia. But you have to take the positives and what I achieved in this race today was pretty good.” Hiroshi Aoyama, MoviStar Honda: 6th: “What can I say?! I could not have done any more today. The bike worked well all weekend but we lacked a little bit of speed today, unlike the warm-up and qualifying. From the eighth lap the rear tyre began to slide a bit and the bike was moving. It was the last race of the season and I did not want to fall, but finish in the best way possible.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: 7th. “Today I shoed the good feeling I have achieved with my Honda. I fought out the race in the second group but Aoyama san had a better pace than me and increased the gap between us. During the race I changed places with De Puniet many times and on the last lap overtook him and I got seventh place. After this season of experience I know I can do a good job next year, I’m already a different rider.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 9th. “At the second corner Alex de Angelis braked too early and I had to run of the track to avoid a collision with him. That left me at the back and I had to recover many positions. I’m happy to have maintained my third position in the World Championship. This has been a positive season but next year we have to work hard to win the championship.” Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR: 11th. “I was the first Honda kit bike to finish and that was important to me. That might have been my last race on the Honda so I wanted to give them a good result. I raced as hard as I could but the rear tyre controlled my speed, on several occasions the grip was not there and I had to roll the throttle to go faster.. “ Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda: 12th. “I am very satisfied with the result. Qualifying was almost perfect and the race was perfect. I was very unlucky today because not one rider in the top 15 crashed or had a problem so 12th place is a good result. I was sliding all weekend but that was pretty much my only problem here. I am leaving the team and I would like to thank them for all the help they have given my career. In some races we had some bad luck but in the many races we finished we achieved good results.” Arturo Tizon, replacement rider for Radomil Rous at Wurth Honda BQR: dnf retired. “That was really a great pity to have to stop. This weekend I have really felt comfortable on the 2-stroke for the first time since I joined the team a few races ago. I was riding at my best when I felt something go wrong with the bike so I just pulled off the track to retire.” Dirk Heidolf, Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda: dnf crash. “My start was not so good and I was on the outside of the first corner and a lot of riders passed me. I didn’t have a good rhythm in the first ten laps. Even if I had a rear tyre wear problem I felt I could go faster an slowly caught the group I front then I pushed a little too hard and high sided out of the race. We have done a good job this season and I have to thank the team for all they have done for me. We will stay together next season and we are already planning the winter tests.” 125cc: Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ajo Motorsport Honda: 6th. “That was a tough race and I tried as hard as I could. The engine felt a little rich and I didn’t have a good feeling with the rear suspension and tyre so it took me some time to be able to push. If I had pushed any harder I would have high-sided. Towards the end of the race I made up some places but I think the riders in front of me slowed rather than me going faster. I am very happy with my first grand prix season and with my team. I have already agreed to race for Ajo Motorsports “ Fabrizio Lai, Kopron Racing World Honda: 7th. “ Despite my bike being very fast I had to slow down a little after seven laps because the rear tyre had lost grip. I chose to race with a soft compound tyre because I had problems with the harder compound during practice. But in the first part of the race the tyre was quickly finished. I had a good race with Luthi, we helped each other till Koyama caught us and caused a little confusion. Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 9th. “That was nearly a perfect race for me, but the longest last few laps of my life I thought Mika (Kallio) would win the race so I had to stay in the top positions. From the start I was on the inside at turn one then the outside at the next. I tried to push hard and get away but it was not going to be possible so I went back into the group. My pit crew wee great they kept me informed of everything I knew exactly where I was all through the race. The difficult part was to keep my concentration over the last couple of laps. Being World Champion has not sunk in yet but I guess it will after a day or two.” Aleix Espargaro, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 11th. “I am very happy with the race after our problems in practice. It was a hard race but a lot of fun. The team have worked so hard for me here This is my last race for the team and I wish to thank them for all they have done for me by giving me the opportunity to race in the World Championship.” Alvaro Bautista, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 12th. “I started from 22nd place on the grid and finished 12th and I must be a little pleased with that. But in the race I had the same problem with the bike I had all year trying to get it to turn into the corners and hold the race line. I am really not happy to finish the season like this.” Sacha Hommel, Molenaar Honda: 26th. “The beginning of the race was not too bad but as the tyres started to wear I was having problems with the front end. This has something to do with the forks. We damaged our best set in final qualifying and didn’t have the time in warm up to get the bike sorted out 100%.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Racing World Honda: dnf crash. “I pushed too hard lost the front and crashed. There is nothing else to say!” Sandro Cortese, Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda: dnf crash. “The first ten laps were good and I was in about 10th place. After that the tyres went of very quickly and were not so good. I had to be a bit cautious. But on lap 18 at the fast left hand corner I had a big slide and one of the Malagutti’s came underneath me and we tangled. I don’t know if we actually touched but we crashed. Anyway I have a tyre mark on my helmet but no damage. Not the best way to end the season.” Alexis Masbou, Ajo Motorsport Honda: dnf crash. “I had front end chatter during the whole race. I was with Nieto and I could stay with him but towards the end Espargaro and Bautista caught and passed us. I could do nothing about it the chatter was so bad. Then with two laps to go I just lost the front end and crashed.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Hopkins scores points as luckless Aoki retires John Hopkins finished in 13th position at today’s final round of the MotoGP World Championship at Valencia in Spain, with team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki having to retire when challenging for a top 10 position. Hopkins got off to a great start and was up to ninth by the fourth lap, but as the wear rate on his rear tyre increased he dropped away from his normal race pace before finding his consistency again later on. Aoki started from 14th on the grid but was soon passing other riders Hopkins included and was challenging for a top 10 place before disaster struck on lap nine. The unlucky Japanese rider was forced to retire with an electrical control fault and was bitterly disappointed as he felt certain that he would have got a good result. The Gran Premio betandwin.com Comunitat Valenciana was attended by 124,520 fans and they were treated to a race long battle for first place between Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden. Melandri crossed the line first to win his second Grand Prix in succession. Team SUZUKI MotoGP will now stay at Valencia for four more days to test and new signing Chris Vermeulen will join Hopkins and Aoki for his first ride on the Suzuki GSV-R. John Hopkins: “I got off to good start and went with Colin Edwards and Alex Barros. It was just push, push, push to try and get ahead. But unfortunately I started to lose a bit of grip and my lap times dramatically dropped off and I had to change my riding style to make up for it. I got into a bit of a battle with Nakano and Elias and then Nobu came by me but unfortunately his bike broke down, which was sad to see – that sucks for him. Other than that I got into another battle with Kiyonari and my lap times stayed consistent till the finish. It’s not the position I wanted to finish the season on that’s for damn sure. But once Wednesday comes around we’re going to start working on next year and we’re going to get this bike going in 2006!” Nobuatsu Aoki: “Things were going well until the engine stopped. I felt something was wrong after about five laps as the engine didn’t seem to have the same push as before. In the first couple of laps I tried to stay with other guys and stay calm. As the tyres got to temperature I started to push a bit harder and got past some riders including John and this felt good. I am really disappointed with what happened as it was a good opportunity for a top 10 that was my target this weekend. Anyway I am happy to have been at the Grand Prix and really appreciate that Suzuki and Paul gave me the chance to ride and the help from my guys was fantastic. I don’t know if I will get the chance to race again next year but if I do that will be super!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “Both riders were looking for better today but realistically we all know the level of MotoGP and therefore the result was probably expected. John made a fantastic start and bashed his way through into the top 10. He rode some great lap-times in the first few laps but as the tyre made its initial drop in performance he struggled to adapt and get the best out of the package. Towards the end of the race when he learnt to ride with what he had under him – he showed better pace and ran at similar times to riders higher up the field. “I feel so sorry for Nobu. He has ridden competitively all weekend and came from 16th on the first lap to get up to what looked like being a good result, but unfortunately he had an electrical failure and was unable to finish the race. After a season’s hard test riding he certainly deserved more than he got today. “There are some positives to take out of today as our race pace has improved over last year. The overall race time is over half a minute better than 2004 and we are over 20 seconds closer to the first place time. Whilst we can be positive about these moves forward from 2004, the team, the riders, Suzuki and myself personally are far from satisfied with this level of performance and the winter months will be a true test of all of us to make sure that we fulfil a better potential in 2006.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: MELANDRI CLINCHES RUNNER-UP SPOT Marco takes his second consecutive victory in MotoGP to finish second in the championship standings, as Sete breaks down with engine trouble. Marco Melandri could not have dreamed of a better way to finish as MotoGP World Championship runner-up than by ending an excellent season with another victory at Valencia. His second consecutive win came ahead of his main rival for the coveted position Nicky Hayden and caps his best ever season, with two victories and seven podiums to his name. His team mate Sete Gibernau hands over the number two plate to the youngster in only his third season in the premier class. Sete, meanwhile suffered another bout of bad luck in the final race of the season. He was better prepared than any other rider, with the fastest time in free practice, qualifying and warm up, but retired on the third lap with an engine problem. MARCO MELANDRI (1st): “It has been a perfect weekend for me. Not only have we sealed the runner-up spot in the championship but we did it with my second consecutive win. I started the race planning to control my advanta! ge in the standings without pushing too hard but I got a good start and was leading into the first corner. I knew Nicky was very close so I focused on maintaining my rhythm without taking too many risks. There was a point where I thought about letting him past but I was worried that I might find it too difficult to get back in front. I pushed as hard as possible over the final few laps to try and open up a gap and I was able to win. This is like a dream come true.” SETE GIBERNAU (retired): “I think it’s fair to say that it is difficult to take when you work more and work harder but get less reward. We had another perfect weekend, setting the fastest time in free practice, qualifying and warm up but this morning HRC detected a small oil leak in the engine and decided to change it just to be safe. I realised on the sighting lap that the bike was vibrating and I told the boys but we thought that because it was a new engine everything would be fine. In the race the vibrations got worse with every lap until it broke. It’s a shame to finish the year like this but it is not a disaster for me. We have been competitive at every Grand Prix, I have never let my head drop despite the circumstances and I am sure this will make me stronger for the future.”