From a press releease issued by Honda Racing Information:

HONDA RACING INFO

Results Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez, Spain.
Raceday Sunday May 11


ROSSI PUTS HEAT ON RIVALS WITH SPANISH WIN

A partisan crowd of 130,000 had to be disappointed with the early departures of their Spanish heroes Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) and Carlos Checa (Yamaha) in the first half of the race. But no one could begrudge Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) his second win of the season in the searing conditions that saw the track temperature at 41 degrees.

Rossi won in style with a stand-up wheelie across the line while second-placed Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati) were slightly were more reserved in their celebrations of second and third places respectively.

The 27-lap MotoGP race began with a mad rush into the uphill right-hand turn one and it was Troy Bayliss (Ducati) who rocketed into the lead as the pack bumped and bored its way around the first circuit of the 4.423km track. His team-mate Loris Capirossi collided with him on the back straight and came off better in the altercation. He grabbed the lead.

But Rossi was already sizing up his Italian rival Capirossi having hoisted himself from seventh to second by the end of the first lap. Rossi’s ability to carve his way through the chaos of the opening lap gave him the impetus he needed to stalk Capirossi and then dive inside him at the final left-hand hairpin on lap four. And then he was gone.

Lap after lap he piled on the agony for his pursuers putting anything between two and four tenths of a second into the gap between his number 46 machine and the RC211V of his erstwhile antagonist Max Biaggi. Biaggi could easily maintain the second place he grabbed on lap six but he could make no impression on the rampaging Rossi.

With Biaggi out of Bayliss’ range in second and Bayliss similarly clear of the rest of the field, the action was concentrated on fourth place and beyond. It eventually went to Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211) from Alex Barros (Yamaha) but not without a huge fight from the inspired rookie Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) along the way.

Rossi, who set a new lap record of 1:42.788 on lap five on his way to GP win number 52, now has a tally of five wins at this happy Spanish hunting ground.

“I’m happy,” he said. “The biggest problem everyone had was traction and we knew we had to work on making the bike controllable even with large amounts of wheelspin. I had a bad start but I didn’t want anyone to get away and so I had to make a lot of places up before I got behind Capirossi. I had a bit more speed than him and that was it.”

Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) was more relieved than happy at securing a solid points haul when he was in danger of coming away with little or nothing in the early qualifying stages.

“I’m happy with this after the qualifying troubles,” he said. “On Friday I was down in 12th, then I was on the front row on Saturday and now today a podium. Everyone dreams of winning and riding with the number one plate but in these conditions you take what you can get. I had a lot of fun overtaking other riders in the early laps but it was quite lonely towards the end.”

Things got better as the race wore on for Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211) who wasted a front row grid slot with a sluggish start and then couldn’t push through the field until after mid-race distance.

“The bike was not giving me enough confidence to push at the start,” said the Japanese star. “Then as the race went on things actually got better and I could make up places, but it was too late to make decent progress. Maybe there’s a small problem with me too, I seem to take too long to get into a rhythm at the moment.”

For Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) it was all a case of what might have been. “It was a real shame,” said the Spaniard. “When I was chasing Valentino the front end let go. I didn’t want to settle for second in front of this great crowd but I still have to adapt to this bike. We’re staying to test tomorrow and hopefully I’ll arrive at Le Mans with another chance of winning.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) made his rookie tag look faintly ridiculous as he stormed to sixth in only his third MotoGP race and his first visit to Jerez. “I’m very satisfied,” he said. “A day like this really pumps up the motivation. This is what we need to move forward and I’m really looking to the Le Mans race although we need to remember not to get carried away with this result.”

Nicky Hayden (Respsol Honda RC211V) went out on lap nine. “My start wasn’t great,” he said. “Then I caught a good group and got into a rhythm before the engine felt a little slower. Then I fell off and I’m disappointed because I knew I was going to finish higher. I’m aching a bit now as it was a pretty fast fall.”

Rossi leads the points standings after three races with 70, Biaggi is second on 56 points with Bayliss on 40 and Gibernau with 38.

A scintillating 250 race was won by home-ground hotshot Tony Elias (Aprilia) who came out on top of a four-way last lap fight for the second 250 race win of his career. Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) grabbed second with Randy De Puniet third.

“We are starting to get somewhere,” said Rolfo. “I could ride round the outside of the Aprilias in the corners but just didn’t quite have the acceleration to get past them. I had to concentrate at 100% all through the race and when the rear tyre started to go off in the middle of the race I was worried but I guess it was the same for the others as I didn’t lose too much ground.”

Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) rode a typically gritty race to sixth carrying a painful injury. “This has been the worst weekend of my life,” said the Argentine. “I had engine problems and then I crashed and the bike ran over my neck in qualifying. I was in pain in the race and couldn’t turn my head very much at all. I’ll take the 10 points because these are the sort of rides you need to put in with a Championship at stake.”

Alex Debon (Troll Honda BQR RS250RW) finished ninth. “I am happy with my race,” he said. “The team did a great job. The bike was almost perfect, despite the hot conditions it only lost a little power. I hope this is the beginning of some good results for us.”

Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) who finished fourth head the points table with 63, Rolfo lies second with 40 with De Puniet and Porto tied with 36 in third.

The 125 Grand Prix was won by Lucio Cecchinello (Aprilia) with Steve Jenkner (Aprilia) second and Alex De Angelis (Aprilia) in third. Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) finished fourth after getting wrapped up in a fierce fight with Stefano Perugini (Aprilia) on the final two laps.

“I’m really not happy with the race,” said Pedrosa. “But the result will have to do. I know everyone’s expected to fight to the maximum but not the way Perugini did it picking impossible lines and generally losing us the chance of staying with group. And now I’ve lost the Championship lead.”

Andrea Dovisioso (Team Scot Racing RS125R) finished ninth after leading the early laps. “I chose a hard compound tyre for the front and rear,” he said. “The front was perfect but the rear started sliding early in the race and I could do nothing to stay with the leaders. Aprilia have been here testing several times and it helped them in the race.”

The world Championship points table now shows Jenkner on 52 points after three races, Pedrosa tied on 46 with Cecchinello and Dovisioso fourth with 38.

MotoGP
Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda, 1st :”I’m happy with the win. The biggest problem for everyone was traction and during the practice we worked hard on race set-up so that we could control the bike under spinning conditions. Racing at this track is always a dream for a rider to perform in front of so many people. It’s fantastic. At the start I lost time – I went wide to avoid a rider and lost time. Then I see Gibernau and Capirossi going away and I don’t want the same thing as South Africa so I push. I make a good lap and overtake four or five riders and arrive behind Capirossi. I was a little bit more fast and it was possible to go. 25 points is very important for me to take 100%.”

Max Biaggi, Camel Pramac Pons, 2nd :”I’m really pleaseed with my results because, even if a rider’s thought goes always to the win, looking where we were on Friday, the progress we made has been great. The race has been funny only in the first laps. Entering the first turn somebody touched me on the rear and made me loosing the best line. Everybody was really ‘hot’ looking only for going into the turn without thinkinh how to get out!. I remained calm even if I found myself in fifth position. I got my fan overtaking the others till I arrive in second position, after then the race becaime quite boring. The weather so warm made the pace quite slower compared to this morning and yesterday also. I think I got the 100% from my bike and that this result was the maximum I could hope for. The team has been great sorting out the problems we had on Friday and I wish to thanks them for this. We’ll go on working race by race without thinking to much to the future and we’ll try to take advantage of every occasions, if there will be some.”

Tohru Ukawa, Camel Pramac Pons, 4th :”at the start of the race the bike was sliding a lot and I did not feel to confident, but as the laps went by I started to feel better and in the end I had an excellent feeling on the bike. The same thing happened to me at Suzuka, but clearly this time it was too late in the race to challenge for the lead. The set-up was not perfect but you have to accept that not everything is perfect in the world of racing. I hope to make another important step forward in Le Mans and battle for a podium finish. So I think that the testing we will be carrying out there on suspensions and the engine will be a great help.”

Sito Pons, Team Manager: “We are very satisfied with the preformance of our riders, both on whom have once again shown their true class. Max tried everything and has achieved the best result that we could have hoped for here today, while Tohru finished very strongly. I would also like to highlight the enormous amount of work and dedication our technical team have put in to prepare the bikes for the race.”

Makoto Tamada, Pramac Honda, 6th :” A real uphill race, with a fight to reach the head of the pack. When it was time to make my attack, I was no longer able to deliver all the power down to the ground because I was losing grip at the rear. I got past Barros and Ukawa by shutting down the throttle at the very last moment and braking harder. Two fine duels. But then, after three laps in fourth place, I had to let them by. When I’m decelerating, I still get vibrations that make the saddle painful and riding extremely difficult. But if we can solve these little snags, we’ll be able to go even faster. But I’m very satisfied as it is. A day like this really pumps up the motivation. This is what we need to go forwards and get better and better. Now I can look forward to the Le Mans race with real confidence, even though I know we mustn’t overdo things: we’ve got to take one step at a time.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica Movistar Honda, dnf : “What can I say? It was a real shame. This weekend was difficult because we have had many changes. It was my first race on this machine, I made a good start up to second but when I was chasing Valentino the front end went from underneath me. We have loaded quite a lot of weight onto the front end of the bike and that made it difficult to turn. I still have to adapt to this bike but here in Jerez, in front of this great crowd, I did not want to settle for second place. I want to go for everything but it wasn’t to be. I am sorry for all the people who have come here to support me and for my team who have worked so hard. Tomorrow we will stay to test and hopefully will arrive at Le Mans with a chance of victory”.

FAUSTO GRESINI, Team Manager: “It was a real shame. I think we had a chance of making the podium. Crashes, like so many other things that happen during a race, are part of this sport. That’s racing…”

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda, dnf :”I’m really pretty disappointed because after a difficult couple of qualifying days we actually had the bike going quite good. My start was not so great and in all the jockeying for position in the first corner I got knocked by someone and my whole brake lever system got twisted round. I then out-braked myself and managed to get sorted and got into quite a good rhythm and began to work my way forward. I caught up a good group and picked up a few places and then felt the engine slow a little. I fell off pretty quick – not really too sure what happened – all I do know is I’m disappointed as I knew I was going to finish higher and I’m aching a bit now – it was a fast place to fall.”

250cc race:
Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda, 2nd: ” We are starting to get somewhere with the engine, it was not so bad today. But we need more acceleration. The team worked really, really well here and the chassis was near perfect. We continue to improve all the time. In the race could ride around the outside of the Aprilia’s in the corners but couldn’t get in front of them. The difference is only the lack of acceleration. I had to concentrate at 100% all through the race. When the rear tyre started to go off in the middle of the race I was a ittle worried but I stayed with them and it paid of at the finish.”

Sebastien Porto, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Junior Team, 6th: “This is the worst weekend of my racing life. I am happy it’s over. We have been having problems with the engine and then my crash when the bike ran over my neck. It was very painful and uncomfortable in the race, I couldn’t turn my head at all. Still, it was important to race as hard as I could and finish with some points. I’m happy with sixth position, and the 10 points. That is the important thing, take points for the championship classification.”

Alex Debon, Troll Honda BQR, 9th: “I am happy with my race and thank my team for this good result, they did a great job. The bike was almost perfect, despite the hot conditions it only lost a little power. I hope this result is the first in a line of good results for us.”

125cc race.
Daniel Pedrosa, Telefonica Movistar Junior Team, 4th :”I am not happy at all with this race, not just with the result but with the real reason for it, which was the attitude of Perugini. I know that you have to fight to the maximum in the races, but not in this way. It was in both our interests to push hard and make sure the lead three didn’t escape, and maybe try something on the last lap – not try and pick impossible lines with three laps still remaining and risking a crash for both of us. At the start I tried to escape but when I saw it was not possible I dropped back to try and control my rivals. The bike was going well and I thought I had a chance. But I wasn’t counting on the actions of Perugini. The result is that I have lost the leadership and I was unable to fight for the victory as I would have liked”.

Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Racing Honda, 9th: “I chose a hard compound tyre for the front and rear. The front was perfect but the rear started sliding early in the race and I could do nothing to stay with the leaders. Aprilia have been here testing several times and it helped them in the race. Still, the main problem today was the sliding rear tyre.”

Masao Azuma, Ajo Motorsports Honda, 11th: “We changed many things on the suspension for the warm up. In the race I tried to follow the top group but they had too much acceleration and I could not. It was very hot today and that was the problem, my engine was just not quite perfect. It was a very hard race in these conditions.”

Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda, 12th: “My start was perfect I caught four guys on the first lap. Later in the race I ran wide and let three of them back passed me but fought back to lead the group. On the last lap I knew Azuma was right behind me so I chose a line that would keep him there but I had a big slide and he got passed.”

Mika Kallio, Ajo Motorsports Honda, 16th: “My start was not so bad but I got hit by another rider on the first lap and he pushed me wide. A lot of guy’s came passed me and I just lost too much time. I was sliding really badly Lorenzo was in front of me and he was not having the same problem so I tried to use his lines but it made no difference.”

Simone Corsi, Scot racing Honda, 21st: “I didn’t have a good feeling at all in the race. I was in some pain from my crash in practice and decided not to push too hard.”

RESULTS RACE :

MotoGP

Race Classification MotoGP: (27laps=119.421)

Pos/Rider/Nation/Team/Motorcycle/Time/Km/h

1/Valentino ROSSI /ITA /Repsol Honda /HONDA/46m50.345/152.976

2/Max BIAGGI /ITA /Camel Pramac Pons /HONDA/46m56.678/152.632

3/Troy BAYLISS /AUS /Ducati Marlboro Team /DUCATI/47m02.422/152.321

4/Tohru UKAWA /JPN /Camel Pramac Pons /HONDA/47m06.531/152.100

5/Alex BARROS /BRA /Gauloises Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/47m08.975/151.968

6/Makoto TAMADA /JPN /Pramac Honda /HONDA/47m14.498/151.672

7/John HOPKINS /USA /Suzuki Grand Prix Team /SUZUKI/47m21.304/151.309

8/Shinya NAKANO /JPN /d’Antín Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/47m21.563/151.295

9/Nobuatsu AOKI /JPN /Proton Team KR /PROTON KR/47m26.347/151.041

10/Olivier JACQUE /FRA /Gauloises Yamaha Team /YAMAHA/47m27.911/150.958

11/Noriyuki HAGA /JPN /Alice Aprilia Racing /APRILIA/47m34.098/150.630

12/Jeremy McWILLIAMS /GBR /Proton Team KR /PROTON KR/47m34.239/150.623

13/Kenny ROBERTS /USA /Suzuki Grand Prix Team /SUZUKI/47m39.236/150.360

14/Colin EDWARDS /USA /Alice Aprilia Racing /APRILIA/47m42.473/150.190

15/Andrew PITT /AUS /Kawasaki Racing Team /Kawasaki/47m58.524/149.352

Fastest Lap: Valentino ROSSI /1m42.788 /154.909 km/h

World Championship Positions:
1 ROSSI 70, 2 BIAGGI 56, 3 BAYLISS 40, 4 GIBERNAU 38, 5 BARROS 30, 6 UKAWA 23, 7 NAKANO 20, 8 HAYDEN 18, 9 CAPIROSSI 16, 10 HOPKINS 15, 11 ABE 13, 12 CHECA 13, 13 JACQUE 13, 14 EDWARDS 12, 15 TAMADA 12.


250cc

Race Classification 250cc: (26 laps = 114.998 km)

Pos/Rider/Nation/Team/Motorcycle/Time/Km/h

1/Toni ELIAS /SPA /Team Repsol Telefonica Movistar /APRILIA/46m10.793/149.413

2/Roberto ROLFO /ITA /Fortuna Honda /HONDA/46m11.314/149.385

3/Randy De Punet /FRA /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/46m11.332/149.384

4/Manuel POGGIALI /RSM /MS Aprilia Team /APRILIA/46m11.400/149.380

5/Anthony WEST /AUS /Team Zoppini Abruzzo /APRILIA/46m22.841/148.766

6/Sebastian PORTO /ARG /Telefonica Movistar jnr Team /HONDA/46m24.997/148.651

7/Fonsi NIETO /SPA /Team Repsol Telefonica Movist /APRILIA/46m33.256/148.211

8/Naoki MATSUDO /JPN /Yamaha Kurz /YAMAHA/46m48.633/147.400

9/Alex DEBON /SPA /Troll Honda BQR /HONDA/46m53.613/147.139

10/Joan OLIVE /SPA /Aspar Junior Team /APRILIA/46m59.614/146.826

11/Franco BATTAINI /ITA /Campetella Racing /APRILIA/47m02.978/146.651

12/Alex BALDOLINI /ITA /Matteoni Racing /APRILIA/47m05.497/146.520

13/Eric BATAILLE /FRA /Troll Honda BQR /HONDA/47m06.882/146.448

14/Christian GEMMEL /GER /Kiefer Castrol-Honda Racing /HONDA/47m08.501/146.364

15/Dirk HEIDORF /GER /Aprilia Germany / APRILIA/47m14.226/146.069

Fastest Lap: Manual POGGIALI / 1m45.350s / Lap2

World Championship Positions:
1 POGGIALI 63, 2 ROLFO 40, 3 DE PUNIET 36, 4 PORTO 36, 5 ELIAS 33, 6 BATTAINI 32, 7 NIETO 28, 8 MATSUDO 22, 9 WEST 21, 10 AOYAMA 20, 11 TAKAHASHU 16, 12 GUINTOLI 13, 13 DEBON 12, 14 OLIVE 9, 15 BALDOLINI 8.


125cc

Race Classification 125cc : (23 laps = 101.729km )

Pos/Rider/Nation/Team/Motorcycle/Time/Km/h

1/Lucio CECCHINELLO /ITA /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/41m52.177/145.779

2/Steve JENKNER /GER /Exalt Cycle Red Devil /APRILIA/41m52.265/145.774

3/Alex De ANGELIS /RSM /Racing World /APRILIA/41m52.555/145.757

4/Daniel PEDROSA /SPA /Telefonica Movistar jnr Team /HONDA/41m53.562/145.699

5/Stefano PERUGINI /ITA /Abruzzo Racing Team /APRILIA/41m53.684/145.692

6/Casey STONER /AUS /Safilo Oxydo-LCR /APRILIA/42m03.579/145.121

7/Hector BARBERA /SPA /Master-MXOnda-Aspar Team /APRILIA/42m03.673/145.115

8/Youichi UI /JPN /Sterilgarda Racing /APRILIA/42m07.754/144.811

9/Andrea DOVIZIOSO /ITA /Team Scot /HONDA/42m10.781/144.708

10/Mirko GIANSANTI /ITA /Matteoni Racing /APRILIA/42m11.074/144.691

11/Masao Azuma /JPN / Ajo Motorsports / HONDA/42m15.709/144.426

12/Thomas LUTHI /SWI /Elit Grand Prix /HONDA/42m15.777/144.422

13/Gino BORSOI /ITA /Racing World /APRILIA/42m15.987/144.410

14/Marco SIMONCELLI /ITA /Matteoni Racing /APRILIA/42m.16.385/144.388

15/Jorge LORENZO /SPA /Caja Madrid Derbi Racing /DERBI/42m17.316/144.335

Fastest Lap: Stefano PERUGINI / 1m47.766s / 147.753 Km/h /Lap6

World Championship Positions:
1 JENKNER 52, 2 PEDROSA 46, 3 CECCHINELLO 46, 4 DOVIZIOZO 38, 5 PERUGINI 36, 6 UI 31, 7 GIANSANTI 27, 8 DE ANGELIS 26, 9 NIETO 20, 10 STONER 16, 11 KALLIO 14, 12 BORSOI 14, 13 BARBERA 12, 14 AZUMA 12, 15 LUTHI 11.