FIM MotoGP World Championship Losail International Circuit, Qatar April 8 Race Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, Michelin, 22 laps, 43:22.229 2. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, Michelin, -0.900 second 3. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, Bridgestone, -1.494 seconds 4. Sete GIBERNAU, Ducati, Bridgestone, -4.638 seconds 5. Casey STONER, Honda, Michelin, -7.575 seconds 6. Dani PEDROSA, Honda, Michelin, -10.820 seconds 7. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, Michelin, -11.784 seconds 8. Toni ELIAS, Honda, Michelin, -19.481 seconds 9. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, Michelin, -22.920 seconds 10. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, Roberts/Honda, Michelin, -34.286 seconds 11. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, -35.316 seconds 12. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, Dunlop, -49.245 seconds 13. James ELLISON, Yamaha, Dunlop, -61.469 seconds 14. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, Michelin, -70.778 seconds 15. Alex HOFMANN, Ducati, Dunlop, -82.051 seconds 16. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Ducati, Dunlop, -93.818 seconds 17. Chris VERMEULEN, Suzuki, Bridgestone, -15 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, Bridgestone, -18 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Randy DE PUNIET, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, -22 laps, DNF, crash FIM MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (After 2 of 17 races): 1. CAPIROSSI, 41 points 2. HAYDEN, 36 points 3. PEDROSA, 30 points 4. ROSSI, 27 points 5. TIE, ELIAS/STONER, 21 points 7. MELANDRI, 20 points 8. TIE, NAKANO/ROBERTS, 14 points 10. GIBERNAU, 13 points 11. EDWARDS, 12 points 12. TAMADA, 8 points 13. TIE, HOPKINS/CHECA, 7 points 15. VERMEULEN, 4 points 16. ELLISON, 3 points 17. HOFMANN, 2 points More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006 KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE NAKANO SCORES POINTS IN HARD FOUGHT QATAR RACE Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano rode a determined race at the Losail International circuit today, overcoming the traction problems that have plagued him all weekend to take a hard fought eleventh place in the Grand Prix of Qatar. A fast start from ninth place on the grid saw Nakano lying fourth into the first corner, but the Kawasaki rider was quickly swallowed up by the chasing pack as he struggled to get his Ninja ZX-RR to hook up out of the turns. By the halfway point Nakano looked set to secure a top ten finish, but was unable to hold off a determined attack by Kenny Roberts, who drafted past the Kawasaki rider on the short straight at the back of the circuit. Nakano immediately fought back, but was unable to close the gap sufficiently to mount a challenge on Roberts to retake tenth place. The 28-year-old Japanese rider tried one last charge towards the end of the race, but was eventually forced to settle for eleventh place, and five championship points, at the chequered flag. Randy de Puniet’s run of bad luck continued today, with the Kawasaki rider again failing to notch up his first MotoGP race finish, after crashing out of the Grand Prix of Qatar on the opening lap. The MotoGP rookie was forced to retire through injury from the opening race of the season in Jerez two weeks ago, but arrived in Qatar determined to make amends with a points scoring finish in today’s race. But, after a lightning fast start, that saw him make up three places in the run to the first corner, the 25-year-old Frenchman race ended prematurely when he lost the rear of his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR on the entry to the relatively slow, left-hand turn six. Although small consolation after such a bitter disappointment, de Puniet was uninjured in the crash, and will be fighting fit for the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul on 30th April. Shinya Nakano: 11th “We just ran out of time to fix the problems that we have been experiencing all weekend, so all I could do this afternoon was go as hard as possible and try and salvage some championship points. Our main problem seems to be a lack of traction out of the turns, mainly because the power delivery off the bottom is just too aggressive and this is causing the rear tyre to break contact and spin up. So, it was difficult to accelerate hard out of the turns, which reduced my speed along the straights. Even on the short straight between turns three and four, people were just riding past me on the throttle, while I was struggling to get the bike to hook up through the gears. It must be something about this circuit, because the bike has worked well throughout winter testing and at the first race in Jerez. After a difficult weekend I’m just happy we ended today with a points scoring finish.” Randy de Puniet: DNF “I got a good start and I felt comfortable on the bike, but after overtaking Alex Hofmann going into the slow left hander the rear just came round on me. I don’t know why yet; hopefully the telemetry will tell us something when we get the bike back to the pit box. This is the worst possible end to a difficult weekend for me. My hand injury was a problem on Thursday, but this improved throughout the weekend and I was looking for a good result today. Obviously I am disappointed to have crashed out on the first lap, but the only thing I can do is look at why it happened, learn from it, and then put it behind me so that I can concentrate on preparing for the next race in Istanbul.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “It is a bitter disappointment to finish outside the top ten as a factory MotoGP team. Our main aim now needs to be to go away from here and work hard to improve power delivery, driveability and top speed, so we can come back stronger for the next race in Istanbul.” MOTOGP RACE RESULT 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 43’22.229; 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.900; 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.494; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +4.638; 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +7.575; 6. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +10.820; 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +11.784; 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +19.481; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +22.920; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +34.286; 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +35.316; 12. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +49.245; DNF. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +21 Laps More, from a press release issued by Dorna: Rossi returns to form with hard-fought win in Qatar Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar – Saturday 8th April Valentino Rossi was the delighted victor of the 2006 Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar today, amidst strong winds and high temperatures at the Losail Circuit. The win is his second at the track, putting him on level terms with MotoGP legend Mick Doohan on 54 premier class victories. Starting from sixth, the reigning World Champion got off well and worked his way through the field. He finally made his move on pole-man Casey Stoner on lap ten, passing the young Australian for first place whilst coming into the first corner. After a hard duel with Rossi for the lead, Nicky Hayden extends his run of podium finishes to six, a record which started at the Losail Circuit back in October. He briefly led Rossi having pulled off an exciting overtaking manoeuvre on lap 19, only to see the Italian retake the position in the same place a lap later. Loris Capirossi still leads the championship, having added to his win in Jerez with a third place in Qatar. The Ducati rider headed his team-mate Sete Gibernau, who had an inauspicious race but diligently went about his work to earn his first points of the season. Casey Stoner couldn’t quite maintain the speed which had seen him continually fastest at the Losail Circuit over the practice sessions, but led the race for a third of its duration. The Honda rider held out for a fifth place finish, still improving from his impressive debut place in Jerez. A fierce battle raged behind the Australian, with Dani Pedrosa and Marco Melandri involved in a back-and-forth shootout for sixth place. After a series of thrilling exchanges, the Honda factory rookie Pedrosa eventually took the position. Toni Elias started on the front row, but didn’t start well and eventually finished eighth. The Spaniard had been suffering from gastroenteritis during the week, which made racing difficult for the young rider. Two Americans completed the top ten, Colin Edwards coming in ahead of Kenny Roberts Jr, who had been fastest on Thursday in free practice. Both Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen were forced to retire with mechanical problems, whilst a first lap crash for Randy de Puniet gave him an early exit from the race. 250cc GP The lower cylinder classes were something of a repeat from the season curtain-raiser in Jerez, both having the same winners in Qatar. Jorge Lorenzo took victory ahead of a determined challenge from Andrea Dovizioso, in a near repeat of the tightest ever Grand Prix finish in 2004’s 125 race at this track which featured the same two riders. Roberto Locatelli had a phenomenal race, during which he took the holeshot, crashed his bike and then came back to earn third. He moved through the 250cc pack like a man possessed, and stepped onto the podium for the first time this season. Hector Barbera came home fourth ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama, Sylvain Guintoli and Sebas Porto, whilst Marco Simoncelli and Yuki Takahashi snatched eighth and ninth spot on the last lap from Jakub Smrz, who was perhaps unlucky not to maintain the positions so close to the line after a steady ride. 125cc GP Alvaro Bautista took his second victory in a row, with a video finish for second place between Mika Kallio and Sergio Gadea with the wind seriously affecting the 125 riders. The Spaniard broke the circuit record to add to his fastest pole time from yesterday. It is the first time that a rider has put together consecutive victories in the class since 2002. A last lap battle between Kallio, Lukas Pesek and Pasini gave Gadea a chance to get away, but disaster struck for Derbi rider Pesek as he crashed onto the run-off area and lost the chance to repeat his podium finish from Jerez. Mattia Pasini came in fourth, ahead of Pablo Nieto and Hector Faubel. Angel Rodriguez was ahead of a resurgent Thomas Luthi, who continues on the road to full recovery. Simone Corsi and Julian Simon completed the top ten. MotoGP 1st, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) : “I’m very happy, it is a pleasure to equal Mick Doohan’s record of wins, the numbers are always important. We came out of this difficult situation with the chattering problem so I need to thank Jeremy Burgess, all my mechanics and the Japanese engineers, who helped fix the bike. Today is for me the first race, after what happened in Jerez. Today the M1 was very good and I could push hard like I wanted. I was able to come back from a lower position on the grid and battle with Stoner and Nicky. Nicky had a great race, and I also saw Loris coming on strong so I thought I’d really have to push for the last two laps” 250cc 1st, Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) : “I thought I wasn’t going to do it. Being in front for so many laps is not good because the rider behind can watch you and decide what he wants to do. I tried to shake off Dovizioso but I could not manage it which worried me as he is a very clever rider who can take advantage at any moment. But I have won here again, just as I did in the 125s two years ago although the level is a bit higher this time. The wind made it difficult for us but the important thing is that we have two wins and have a little advantage in the championship already. The team is working together perfectly and now we just have to keep it up.” 125cc 1st, Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) : “It was very difficult, as it was so windy and hard to control the bike. I found a good rhythm and took the lead, getting used to the wind and I knew the others weren’t going to catch me and I’m really pleased to have broken the record for back to back wins in 125cc, but the record wasn’t my objective.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Losail Grand Prix, Qatar Race Day, Saturday April 8 2006 DUCATI MARLBORO MEN THIRD AND FOURTH AS CAPIROSSI MAINTAINS OVERALL LEAD Loris Capirossi continued his great early season form to take third place at Losail, keeping his name at the top of the championship table after a strong ride in high winds. Sete Gibernau overcame his third row start to take an assured fourth place, and earn his first points of the year; his first score as a Ducati Marlboro rider. Capirossi was part of the leading group throughout the 22-laps, conserving his tyres for a late push to ensure third, and finished only 1.494 seconds from the winner, Valentino Rossi. For Gibernau, one particular section of the circuit proved difficult in race conditions, but still he improved his qualifying result by three places. Capirossi, the race victor in the opening race of the season at Jerez, now sits on 41 points, in a five-point lead over Nicky Hayden, second in the race as well as second overall. Ducati also continues to lead the Constructors’ Championship, by a single point. LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “I am very happy for the team and for Bridgestone. We were last here for the race in October, just a few months ago, and compared with then they have made an unbelievable step forward. So we must really thank them. Loris rode perfectly so thanks to him as well. When he is in a good mood he is incredible! I am very happy for Sete too. After the delusion of Jerez he kept his nerves under control and made a very good race. Tomorrow we stay here to test, because we never stop development. To start the season in such a good way, and when we see the potential we have, we must work hard to keep the potential at a high level. I want to thank our technical partner Shell Advance, for their big support”: LORIS CAPIROSSI, third, 41 points “I am very happy and this is a great weekend for the team, because for sure this circuit was not one of the best for us. Bridgestone made a good job during the winter tests and we have made great improvements. For us, this was a difficult track and last year we had big problems. But this year we managed to fight for the victory right to the end, and took a very good result. The first part of the race was difficult because of the wind, but I adapted my style and made a good rhythm. Big thanks to everyone in the team and Ducati Corse. This is going to be a very interesting championship and if we can keep on like this we will be there for the whole season. I think we are in good shape, and have great confidence in the bike and the tyres.” SETE GIBERNAU, fourth, 13 points “I think we did a good job. We only lost time in the race at the slow hairpin. Right there I was getting a lot of chatter at the front of my Desmosedici, and in this one corner I lost half a second. In all the rest we were OK. Also, on the main straight, I was moving from side to side in the wind too much, which made it very physical. But we needed to finish this race and I look forward to the next one. The wind was the same for everyone and I would like to say thanks to Bridgestone and Ducati, they did very well.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Double disappointment for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP suffered a double setback at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar as both John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen were forced to retire early in the race. Hopkins had made his intentions known in the morning warm-up as he stormed to the fourth quickest time in near gale-force winds. In the 22-lap race he got off to a great start and was soon up to eighth place from his 13th position on the grid. But, as he was rapidly catching the riders in front of him, disaster struck and the 22-year old Anglo American was forced to retire from the race with a cooling system fault. Vermeulen also made a good start and was starting to close on others riders when he too had to retire from the race with a similar fault to his team-mate. Today’s race was held in very windy conditions with temperatures reaching only 26°c. The second round of the MotoGP World Championship was won by reigning World Champion and last year’s winner, Valentino Rossi. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now re-group before the next round of the championship is held at Istanbul in Turkey on Sunday 30th April. John Hopkins: “It’s a really big shame with what happened to me and Chris – I know that he is as frustrated as I am. I got a great start and I felt extremely good during the first couple of laps and made a lot of passes. I felt like I could have got past the guys in front of me but then the bike gradually lost performance and that was it it was all over. I am really disappointed, all my team and everyone here at Rizla Suzuki have worked hard all weekend and it’s such a shame for all of us that it has happened like this.” Chris Vermeulen: “I got a better start than I did at Jerez. I was baulked a bit on the first lap and then I lost a bit of time when another rider crashed. I passed Kenny Roberts Jr and I was up with the group in front of me, but then it looked like John’s bike started to leak fluid. This made the track slippery and we all dropped back. I was doing ok and was in the 1 minute 58 seconds lap-time bracket but then I had a problem of some kind and the bike slowed down I realised how slow it had become when another rider passed me doing about 100kph more than I was! So I just headed for the pits and that was the end of my race. We’ve all worked hard in Qatar and it was a big disappointment.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “John, Chris and the whole Rizla Suzuki team deserved so much more than this. The effort that the crew and riders have put in this weekend has been incredible. Without going into detail, it has been an extremely difficult weekend. For John in particular today was very disappointing as his bike felt so much better than it had done all weekend. He made a good start and he was sure that he could catch the riders in front of him. Unfortunately, the performance of the bike tapered off to a point where it finally stopped. John was obviously visibly upset and after the weekend that he has had I don’t think it would be human not to let some of that frustration out and nothing more will be said on the subject. “Chris’ bike suffered a similar problem to John’s and I know that Suzuki will be working night and day to find out what it is exactly and rectify it – we will certainly have much better days than this. “I would like to thank Rizla’s guests from the Middle East region for attending the event today and despite the result I hope they enjoyed their first taste of MotoGP. We will be working hard for Rizla and all our other sponsors to get some rapid improvements in place for Turkey in three weeks time.” Temperatures: Ambient: 26 degrees C. Track: 41 degrees C More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda/Gresini Racing: FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS TAKE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH IN QATAR FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias today took seventh and eighth placed finishes respectively in the second race of the 2006 season held at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Melandri, runner-up in last year’s championship, endured some set-up problems but rode a fine race in which he staged an intense battle with Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. After struggling in qualifying, the Italian adapted well to the windy conditions and put in a much-improved performance. Team-mate Toni Elias, who did not make a good start, was involved in an incident of his own, along with Pedrosa, when the pair were behind John Hopkins early on. The American’s bike began to lose oil and both Spaniards were forced to slow right down to ensure they did not skid. It meant they lost important ground on the leading riders, which they were not able to make up. Despite their mixed weekends, the FORTUNA HONDA riders are looking forward to the next round of the championship in Turkey on April 30. MARCO MELANDRI – 7th; 43’34.013 (+ 11’784) 5th in the championship on 21 points: “It was a really difficult race. I got a good start and tried to make up some positions but I made a mistake towards the end of the race that cost me a position. I had a really good battle with Dani Pedrosa, he was passing me in the straight but I was able to get him back on the brakes. I’m still not riding as I would like to – tomorrow we’ll stay for a day of tests and hopefully it can help us take another step forward.” TONI ELIAS – 8th; 43’41.070 (+ 19’481) 7th in the championship on 20 points: “We’ve done a great job over the two days of practice and I was hoping for more than this today. I didn’t get a good start and I paid the price for that. Then Hopkins’ engine began to drop oil and I had to shut off the throttle, sending me even further back. My visor was covered in oil and after losing contact with the lead group it became a really hard race for me. I’m disappointed because I know I could have had a nice race today.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: 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 brings 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 in 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 vibration completely disappeared, so I was able to go fast at the end. Also I set the fastest lap of the race on lap three, so this shows how well my M1 was working. 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.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone continue positive start in desert classic Bridgestone’s impressive start to the 2006 MotoGP world championship continued today when Loris Capirossi finished a hard-fought third place in the Qatar GP. Capirossi’s podium finish was his 31st in the premier class and not only preserved his status as the world championship leader after two rounds, but maintained Bridgestone’s 100 per cent podium record in 2006. The Italian continued his own purple patch in the premier class as his third place made it four podium finishes in his last six races, but more significantly today’s result highlighted the dramatic development steps made by Bridgestone last winter. The demanding 5.38km Losail circuit has provided Bridgestone with one of its most severe tests of the season. Bridgestone’s best result at last year’s Qatar GP was Carlos Checa’s sixth place, 31.4 seconds behind the race winner. Today Capirossi was only 1.4s adrift of eventual winner Valentino Rossi, while his overall race time was an impressive 42 seconds faster than Checa’s best in 2005 Full of confidence after his victory in the season’s opening race at Jerez last month, Capirossi settled into fourth place for the opening half of the 22-lap clash, the Italian keeping a watching brief on world champion Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner in front of him. He clocked his fastest lap of the race on lap 11 and just two laps later his surge was rewarded when he passed impressive rookie Stoner to grab third. He then went into full attack mode and with just four laps remaining the 33-year-old closed to within 0.5s of the lead, but settled for a safe third place and 16 valuable points to keep him top of the rider standings. Marlboro Ducati team-mate Sete Gibernau finished his first race for Bridgestone, taking a battling fourth place. Today’s race was run in typically hot conditions, though significantly cooler than temperatures usually seen in Doha with the race switched from its traditional October slot on the calendar. Conditions though were no less demanding with a fierce wind blowing off the surrounding barren desert landscape, and while the air temperature was almost 15 degrees cooler, track temperatures were only four degrees lower than the 2005 race. Loris Capirossi Ducati Corse Team 3rd position “It’s fantastic for us because this track has never been the easiest for Ducati and Bridgestone but today we were able to fight for the victory. It took me a bit of time to overtake Casey because he was riding very fast and I lost the contact a little with Valentino and Nicky. They both pushed very hard and then I tried to go down, but when I got close I started to have more problems with the grip of the tyre. Third is a fantastic result though and really good for the championship. I think this is the start of a really interesting season for us. The bike and the tyres are working very well. Bridgestone made a great job in the winter and I really want to thank them because we know we had problems here last year, but now we are competitive.” Hiroshi Yamada – Motorcycle Racing Manager Bridgestone Motorsport “I am very, very happy to finish third and fourth because this track was one of the worst last year for us. Last year our tyres didn’t work so well and we were not competitive. Our best rider was 31 seconds behind the winner. But today the gap was less than two seconds and Loris got third for a very good result. This result again shows our big step forward during the winter season. Our tyres and also our team made a great job and our potential for the tyres at this track improved a lot. The character of this surface is very slippery compared to other tracks and also the temperature is very high so we needed good grip and durability. We concentrated on this for our development in these conditions. Our weak point last year was when we got to a track with a slippery surface. Our tyres didn’t work, but today you can see we are competitive in all conditions and we can show our potential.”