2000 South African GP - Welkom
| Roberts got away to a great start followed
by Checa, Okada, Capirossi, Gibernau, Abe. Checa started attacking Roberts
immediately. Rossi had a terrible start and was back in thirteenth. Checa took
Roberts on lap 2, Capirossi took Okada for third. Criville was in seventh, Rossi
moved up to eleventh and set the early fastest lap in doing so. McCoy in ninth. Capirossi stuck it underneath Roberts early in the third lap and set out after Checa. Rossi took McWilliams for tenth. On lap 4 Rossi took ninth and McWilliams followed through to push McCoy back to eleventh. Checa set the fastest lap but Capirossi was still hot on his heels. Rossi set the fastest lap on lap 5 and was lining up Criville for seventh. Capirossi took Checa for the lead and immediately pulled 4 tenths on him, but Checa was not letting him get away. On Lap 7 Checa was right on the heels of Capirossi and had started hassling him everywhere. This let some of the field close the gap slightly. Biaggi was languishing in twelfth. Okada was sizing up Kenny Roberts for third. Criville took Barros for sixth on lap 8 and McWilliams crashed out. Rossi took Barros for seventh on lap 10. As they went across the line to commence lap 11 the race order was Capirossi, Checa, Roberts, Okada, Gibernau, Rossi, Criville, Barros. The NSR of Loris Capirossi looked to be having some wiggles from the rear tyre on the exit of the corners indicating maybe some early tyre wear. Biaggi parked his bike on lap 12, Rossi lost the rear on his NSR and dropped it, he was okay though and walked off to an early shower. The leading five were still very tight and started having to deal with back markers from lap 13. Race order - Capirossi, Checa, Roberts, Okada, Gibernau, Criville, Barros and McCoy had worked his way up to eighth. A blanket could be thrown over the leading quartet - Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda. Roberts started having some rear grip problems with around 12 laps to go and seemed to slow slightly. McCoy took Criville for seventh and set out on the leading pack. Capirossi was starting to show some serious rear wheel steering but Checa squeezed past him nonetheless, McCoy was up to his sideways tricks and stuck it around Gibernau for fifth and was looking like a man on the mission, as I typed this sentence he took both Okada and Roberts for third. With 10 laps to go he looked to be aiming for a win. McCoy was the only man in the field who had elected to use a 16.5" rim and it was starting to look like a great choice, even though both his wheels never seemed to be pointing in the same direction as each other but with in a couple of laps he seemed to come from nowhere to start hassling Capirossi for second. Gibernau headed off in to the grass but managed to keep the show upright. On lap 21 the incredible McCoy stuck it in under Capirossi for second, and immediately started harassing race leader Checa, with 6 laps to go it looked as though McCoy had the goods to beat any one. I can hardly keep the typing up as he now sticks it under Checa and takes the lead, sideways everywhere, he thinks he is back on his speedway bike. Lap 24 and McCoy had a 4 tenth lead and looked to be in control of the race. This man is insane, I have never ever seen a 500 that loose and all over the track but still somehow he managed to keep it together. Awesome. Checa was right on his tail but I think he was too scared to get close to McCoy who was in all sorts of tangled shapes everywhere. McCoy somehow kept the show on the road to take the win. I am flabbergasted, that was the most totally insane display of sideways road racing. I am going to be happy all week. If that race was a sign of things to come this season, we are in for an awesome treat. 500 Result
Quotes McCoy - "I felt good right from the start and when I got into third place I knew I just had to keep my pace and get past as soon as I could. I started the race just wanting the best result possible so to win is fantastic. Last year we couldn't really test the bike as I came in mid-season, but this year we've done a lot of testing and tried a lot of different settings. I'm really confident with the bike especially now I have it set-up how I like it." Criville - "I didn’t get a good start and then Abe got in my way. He gave the others an opportunity to pull away. After that, it was hard to come back as the tyres started to fade quite quickly. For me, this race was really a test of my own potential. I’ve just come off the worst winter I’ve ever had. On Friday, I was really uncomfortable on the bike and I had to run-in a new bike during practice for this Grand Prix. So all in all, I’m satisfied with the way things have gone, even though I would have hoped for a better position. For me, it was very important not to make a mistake. I’m not at 100% yet but I’m getting better. In theory, those riders who finished in front today should not be dangerous for the championship". Kenny - "I'm not happy. I had to work the tyres and suspension so hard to keep my position that by the end of the race there just wasn't enough left. I guess I should be glad that none of the other main guys did too good either, but that's really not much consolation. We knew starting out the year that we'd improved our engine power, but we also knew the other guys would do the same, and that we need to do more. I know Suzuki will work a hundred percent to give me more motor, and you can be sure I'll be doing the same from my side. It's a long season ahead - but I expected a better start." |
250 Report & Results
| Westy got some wheelspin off the line and
went in to the first corner in fifth place. Nakano, Katoh, Ukawa and Melandri led the way.
West was pushed back to sixth by Battaini halfway around the first lap.
Nakano was stretching away from Katoh and Ukawa and went over to complete the second lap
with a 1.2 second lead while Katoh and Ukawa were fighting hard for second. British rider Adrian Coates bit the dirt on lap 4. Nakano was clearing off in to the distance and had 3.1 seconds on Katoh and Ukawa by the end of lap 7. Anthony West was holding off Jacque and Waldmann to keep his fourth position but the group of three were 11 seconds behind the leaders. Jamie Robinson was 24 seconds back in thirteenth at this stage of the race. Jacque took West on Lap 9 and started trying to chase down Katoh and Ukawa. Yamaha mounted Nakano was still streaking away in the lead and had a 4 second lead by lap 14, another 15 seconds back was Jacque in fourth position. West was still fifth - 24 seconds back from the leader, but had 2 seconds on Waldmann in sixth. Jamie Robinson was maintaining his thirteenth position but was now 46 seconds back. As they went across the line to commence lap 16, Katoh and Ukawa had closed the gap to race leader Nakano, down to 2.7 seconds. Ukawa took Katoh on lap 17 as they negotiated some back markers but the two remained stuck together, as they had been all race. On Lap 19 Nakano stretched his lead back out to 4 seconds to Ukawa and 5 seconds to Katoh. Jacque was 23 seconds back in third, Westy 37 seconds behind the leader in fourth, leading Battaini by a second and Waldmann by three seconds. With 5 laps to go Katoh took Ukawa again for second, back markers everywhere. Melandri was struggling back in thirteenth position as Jamie Robinson moved up to twelfth. Jacque was continuing on in his very lonely fourth place 25 seconds back from the leader. Ukawa had a moment somewhere on the track with 3 laps to go which gave Katoh a clear second position and with 1 lap to go Katoh had closed the gap down to only 2 seconds from the leader, Nakano as he eased up on the pace a little. Nakano ended up taking the win from Katoh by 8 tenths of a second. Ukawa was 13 seconds back in third after suffering a loss of power, Jacque a lonely fourth and West 'JUST' managed to hold off Battaini as they crossed the line, and in doing so kept his fifth place. Nakano set an awesome pace throughout and the 250 race this year was nearly 24 seconds faster than the 1999 total race time. 250 Result
Anthony West - "I'm happy with the result because I just wanted a top 10 finish and to learn the bike (Honda NSR250) in my first race on it. The engine felt good, more power than I've had before and the only problem I had was with the rear tyre toward the end of the race. It was a bit slippery at the back. With the suspension for this race, I had a problem braking for the fast turns banked over at angle. It was 'no worries' in a straight line, but we really didn't have much set-up time. I had never done a race start on an NSR250 before so I bogged it down a little and got bumped in Turn One. The over at the hairpin at the end of lap one someone tried to outbrake me down the inside and hit me really hard. I nearly fell off, and I lost a place. It was good racing with (Ralf) Waldmann and (Franco) Battaini. I just need a bit more experience running with those guys. With a few more races I will be more comfortable on the bike and right with them." |
125 Report and Results
| Scalvini got the jump at the start and
immediately started opening a gap back to Giansanti and Jenkner while Ui crashed out. As they crossed the line for the start of lap 2, Giansanti and Locatelli had closed the gap to race leader Scalvini. Locatelli took the lead and Scalvini had been pushed back to third by Giansanti. Giansanti took the lead early in Lap 3 but Locatelli took him back a few corners later. Vincent took Scalvini for third and a couple of laps later had the lead. The battle was being fought hard between Vincent, Locatelli, Giansanti and Alzamora and lap times were constantly around pole position pace by lap 7. Alzamora slowly worked him self up from back in the field to be in third by lap 8. On Lap 10 the race order was constantly changing but as they crossed the line to commence Lap 11 the race order was Giansanti, Locatelli, Vincent, Ueda, Alzamora. By Lap 13 the order was Locatelli, Giansanti, Ueda, Vincent but position changes were occurring so often it was nearly impossible to keep track of who was leading ! Half a second covered the top 5 on lap 15 and all comers were working hard to try and bridge a gap and break away with Vincent in the lead. With 6 laps to go Vincent had stretched a little gap back to the chasers and Alzamora was setting himself up for a charge from fifth place by setting a new lap record. Shortly after he shifted himself up in to third place and set out to chase down Giansanti for second. On lap 19 Alzamora was right on Giansanti's tail but Vincent still had a few tenths on his pursuers. Towards the end of the lap Alzamora put an awesome move underneath Giansanti for second and started trying to close down the 8 tenths of a second to the leader. On lap 21 Alzamora tried a bit too hard and nearly lost the rear allowing Giansanti back through for second. This allowed Vincent to stretch his lead further. Vincent broke the lap record on the second last lap and left the battle for the rest of the places to be fought out between Giansanti, Alzamora and Locatelli. Alzamora was trying everything to get under Giansanti but didn't manage to make a move stick. 125 Result
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Saturday - Qualifying
| Gibernau took pole position on the very
last lap of the final qualifying session. Honda's Loris Capirossi had been sitting on pole at that moment and it looked like Gibernau had left it too late to dislodge him from the top of the time sheets. But Gibernau, who had come in with only minutes to go for a fresh set of tyres, put in a stunning effort and brought the fastest time down close to the circuit's outright lap record, set last year by Tadayuki Okada. In doing so, he scored the first pole of his career. "For me, this is really fantastic. Last year, things had worked out well for me here and I'm still doing my best now. But I know that I still have a hell of a lot of things to learn. I know full well that things won't always go this well. Tomorrow, if I feel I can win then of course I will go for it but I'm not obsessed with winning. The team has been doing a really good job and it's paying off. The bike is good, we just need to fine-tune the suspension a little more. The track has improved but there are still some dirty sections where you have to be careful. Yes this is the best possible way to start the season but that's really all it is the start of a long season". Biaggi would be spitting chips at languishing back in tenth while his fellow Yamaha rider, Checa, is sat on the front row. In the 250s Anthony West had put in as many laps as
possible in every session and this obviously paid dividends for the young Aussie. On
his newly acquired NSR he has scored a front row start with 4th on the grid. Ahead
of such notables as Waldmann, Jacque & Melandri. Final Qualifying Results |
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Saturday - Free Practice
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The Repsol team have got off to a great start to the weekend in South Africa. Sete Gibernau and Tadayuki Okada have taken the first two places on the provisional grid, with reigning World Champion Alex Crivillé eighth. The afternoon session was run in extremely hot conditions. Along with Suzuki's Kenny Roberts, Gibernau and Okada were the only riders to dip under the 1'38 mark today. Rain has disrupted the start of the new season and made the Welkom asphalt particularly slippery, so it was with extreme caution that the 500 riders completed their first laps of the year in this mornings free session. Italian sensation, Rossi, showed he has come to terms with the 500 quite well by posting the 5th fastest time, well ahead of countryman Biaggi who is 9th which I am sure would please Max no end, NOT. Checa was fastest Yamaha in 6th. The MCNEWS.COM.AU vote for the dark horse of the year, Loris Capirossi, was 4th fastest. A brief shower fell just before the session started, so wet tyres were called for. As the session progressed, a dry line appeared and the final minutes were run with slicks. Sete Gibernau was third fastest after fighting for the
fastest time until the very last lap when he took the provisional pole. |
| SETE - "I made a small mistake in the last lap. Without that, I reckon I could have gone a little faster but this is okay. I'm happy. Physically I feel good. We've done some good work over this winter during our tests. To do well at this level means getting so many small details right, but this is only the first day of the first GP so it's a good start. There is still a lot for us to do, however. The bike is working well, but there is always room for improvement". |
Friday - Qualifying
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Garry McCoy completed the most laps and was fastest in the very damp first timed free practice session at Welkom today. Valentino Rossi was second fastest and Gibernau third. Free Practice for the 250s on a drying track ended up with Ukawa finishing fastest from Jacque and Katoh. Melandri was 7th, West 9th and Jamie Robinson 10th. |
