MotoGP 2004 - Round 15 - Phillip Island

Extract from our live transcript - It is time coded - Start from the bottom and read up

1729 - Krusty takes the overall Superbike win for the weekend over Giles with Johnson scoring 3rd overall and Cudlin 4th. Greedy 5th, Bugden 6th, Stauffer 7th, and Henderson 8th with that race two DNF
1726 - Krusty takes the win, who gets 2nd... It is Giles who takes the second rung and Johnson scores 3rd. Damian Cudlin got 4th by 1-hundredth of a second over Jamie Stauffer. Bugden 6th, Henderson 7th, Greedy 8th, Etheridge 9th, Wright 10th
1725 - Last lap now. Fergusson has 3 seconds on Giles who is coming under attack again from Johnson. Cudlin still 4th but virtually side by side and nose to tail with Jamie Stauffer in their battle for 4th.
1723 - Two laps to run. Fergusson with a 2.4 second advantage over Giles who has pulled a couple of bike lengths on Johnson. Damian Cudlin is still holding on to 4th by the slightest of margins over Jamie Stauffer
1719 - Cudlin pulled good ground on Jamie that time around for some reason. Krusty charging out in front but has eased the pace a little, his lead with four laps to run now 1.8 seconds. Johnson and Giles swapping positions
1718 - Krusty backs up that 1m35.7 with a 1m35.8 to make his lead now 1.5 seconds over Johnson and Giles. Cudlin still holding off Jamie but it's getting tense...
1717 - Fergusson makes a gap on that third lap after putting in a 1m35.7 to pull nearly a second over Johnson and Giles. Cudlin still holding off Jamie Stauffer to hang on to 4th while a little further back a battle is being waged for 6th between Nick Henderson, Robert Bugden and Judd Greedy
1716 - Krusty takes the lead at turn 1 and Johnson also goes through pushing Giles back to 3rd. Cudlin not bar behind in 4th trying to hold off Jamie Stauffer
1715 - Krusty slips inside Johnson at MG and leads him around turn 11 and 12 as they close on race leader Shawn Giles
1714 - Superbikes are away! Gilesy gets the jump this time around and leads them through turn 1 with Shannon Johnson and Adam Fergusson in hot pursuit
1712 - Warm up lap now
1710 - Superbikes out again next
1707 - Jamie Stauffer wins the Supersport weekend from Judd Greedy, Glenn Allerton and Adam Fergusson
1703 - Okay the video has been reviewed and third place goes to Judd Greedy ahead of Glenn Allerton and Brendan Clarke with O'Halloran taking 6th
1700 - While we are waiting for that decision check out the full results for the second Superbike race
1657 - Last lap, still Jamie from Adam up front and still anyone's game for 3rd between Clarke, Allerton, Greedy and O'Halloran.. Krusty goes inside at MG runs deep but brings it back on line, Jamie on his tail through 11 and then inside at 12 which baulked Fergusson a little they go nose to tail down the straight but Jamie gets it, while Greedy wins the battle for 3rd place, Allerton 4th, Clarke 5th. But hold the presses, it will be a video replay to decide who actually got 3rd as it was that close, stand by...
1655 - Two laps to run and still Fergusson right on Jamie's pipe. No quarter being given in the battle for 3rd which continues fiercely
1654 - Fergusson in behind Jamie but I think he is going to try and sit there as he knows he is never going to win a drag race to the line. Possibly planning on an inside at MG and parking it to slow Jamie's run through 11 and 12...
1652 - Fergusson got the better of Jamie Stauffer again around the back of the circuit but Jamie just slipped past on the straight and had pulled 20 yards by the time they got into turn 1. Fergusson inside line down to MG, keeps the leads on direction change, through 11 and then Krusty runs a little wide into 12, possibly to get in Jamie's slipstream rather than letting him fly past down the chute. Huge battle being waged for third between Allerton, O'Halloran, Greedy and Clarke with them going four wide at certain parts of the track
1648 - O'Halloran continues to defend 3rd position from Greedy while Brendan Clarke and Glenn Allerton try and chase them down
1647 - Jamie Stauffer got the lead from Krusty towards the end of the straight and didn't appear to need the slipstream to do it, the Kawasaki looks to have more top end here today
1646 - Krusty up to the lead and Jamie Stauffer pushes O'Halloran back to 3rd where Judd Greedy is climbing all over the back of him
1645 - Fergusson up to second now, O'Halloran leading the way. Jump start penalties for Crowe and Campbell
1644 - They are away now, Clarke got the jump and led them around turn 1 but then O'Halloran hit the front. Clarke up the inside at Siberia to take the lead back but O'Halloran gets him on exit to take the lead back while Jamie Stauffer and Adam Fergusson watch from just behind the young guns
1642 - Aussie Supersports on their warm up lap now
1635 - Aussie Supersport up next
1630 - Results after penalty applied to Krusty - Johnson, Giles, J Stauffer, Fergusson, Greedy, Cudlin, Bugden.
1628 - Fergusson takes the win on the track but after that ten second penalty I believe he will be placed 4th. Giles got Jamie Stauffer for what became 2nd after Fergusson's penalty, giving Greedy 5th, Cudlin 6th, Bugden 7th and McMartin 8th
1627 - Last lap now and still Fergusson from Johnson. A little further back Giles is climbing all over the back of Jamie Stauffer.
1626 - Fergusson has pulled a couple of tenths over Johnson now, it is possible that Johnson has been informed by pit board that Fergusson has a ten second penalty and thus battling for position with him will prove pointless. Jamie Stauffer still third and now coming under increasing attack from Giles. Fergusson the fastest man of the race so far with a 1m35.4
1625 - Henderson must have retired now.
1624 - Krusty gets him back at turn four and leads him around the back. Three laps to run and Jamie Stauffer is still 3rd and now maintaining a second advantage over Giles. Greedy is 5th, Cudlin 6th, Bugden 7th, Etheridge 8th and Henderson 9th. Hendo started great guns but must be struggling with something out there
1622 - Krusty makes a smooth inside move on the run down to MG to take the lead and leads on to the straight but Johnson nips inside him at turn 1.
1621 - Henderson now being caught by Bugden and Etheridge. Up front Fergusson and Johnson are going hammer and tong
1619 - Fergusson goes past Johnson but unbeknown to them Fergusson has a 10 second penalty for jumping the start. Shannon back in front now, five laps to run. Jamie Stauffer is running third but a couple of seconds behind the leading duo, Giles is in 4th but catching Jamie. Greedy has pushed past Cudlin for 5th, Hendo still with them also
1617 - Giles up to fourth pushing Hendo back to 5th, Cudlin then gets Henderson also and they go down the main straight three wide in a battle for 5th place. Cudlin crosses the line first followed by Greedy and Henderson. A jump start penalty for Fergusson by the look of it!
1616 - They start lap two and Shannon has again done a flyer on the opening lap, 1m41.7 from a standing start to have half a second on Fergusson. Jamie Stauffer third and Henderson a further second behind in 4th place and coming under attack from Giles, Greedy and Cudlin
1615 - Aussie Superbikes about to get away.. They are off, Hendo gets a flyer and nearly leads them through turn one but Shannon Johnson sweeps across from a better line on entry to take the lead. Krusty up inside Hendo under brakes for turn four to take 2nd place while Jamie Stauffer then pushes Henderson back t0 4th. Around the back of the circuit it is Johnson, Fergusson, Stauffer, Henderson, Giles
1602 - Just been doing some work for a while but here now as the 250 qualifying session just finished. Porto on pole with a 1m32.0, nearly a full second ahead of second place man De Angelis who with Poggiali qualifying on yesterday's time. Pedrosa rounds out the front row. Josh Waters looks to be the only wildcard to make the qualifying cut-off. Rowling misses the cut off by nearly 3 seconds, Taplin by 6 seconds while Ried did not participate in this session and his time yesterday was 10 seconds from the cut-off. I actually think Taplin's motor might have lunched in that session but not too sure
1521 - De Angelis did an amazing 1m32.9 yesterday and it will be interesting to see if they can get down to the 1m32s again today. Provisional pole at the moment from yesterday is nearly 7-tenths fastest than the previous pole record and about the same margin in front of Rossi's lap record
1518 - 250s on track now. Wildcard entrant Peter Taplin never got to put a time down in first qualifying yesterday as his throttle stuck ending his day very early. He is on track now though
1507 - 250 Qualifying next and then Australian Superbike Race 2
1502 - Grid order will be - Gibernau, Rossi, Capirossi, Edwards, Tamada, Barros, Biaggi, Hofmann, Bayliss, Melandri, Nakano, Xaus, Checa, Hayden, McWilliams, Lavilla, Hopkins, Abe, Hodgson, McCoy, Aoki, Haydon, Ellison, Ui.
1500 - Flag is out, end of session, everyone on their last lap now, looks as though Gibernau will have pole
1459 - Rossi on a quick one, but fails to beat Gibernau's time. Hold on Edwards on a flyer and fastest at the first split... Loses a couple of tenths in the middle of the lap and then goes across the line with a 1m30.6 to move into 4th
1458 - 8 men have done 1m30s now, in order from quickest back that is Gibernau, Rossi, Capirossi, Barros, Biaggi, Hofmann, Bayliss and Edwards. Edwards has just left the pits. Checa just picked himself up out of the gravel trap. Hayden went dirt tracking but stayed upright and is back on track and getting up to speed again
1457 - Gibernau on top of the charts now, 1m30.1. Rossi has come into the pits again, 2m30s remaining and the Italian just left pitlane again. Looks as though he will only get one go at it after his out-lap
1456 - Edwards sat in the pits and doesn't look like moving anytime soon. Biaggi, Barros, Tamada, Aoki, Abe, McCoy, Haydon, Ui, Hayden and McWilliams all on their out-lap after getting a qualifier in the back
1455 - Okay, looks as though Rossi might be getting set for a hot one... Hayden in the pits for a qualifying tyre... 5 minutes to go
1454 - Five riders have done 1m30s so far, in order of quickest backwards that is Rossi, Gibernau, Barros, Edwards and Capirossi. But Gibernau is fastest so far in this session.
1453 - Hopkins just pulled into the pits for a sticky tyre
1452 - Riders in the pits now include Bayliss, McCoy, Lavilla, Hodgson, Capirossi, Hofmann and Ellison
1451 - Gibernau just improved with a 1m30.5, nobody quicker than Rossi's 1m30.2 from yesterday yet though. Hold on Rossi just came into the pits got a new tyre and is now heading out of pitlane, standby for a 1m29s kids
1450 - Rossi still out there doing consistent mid 1m31s, testing a race tyre perhaps, I don't think he has a sticky one in the back just yet but he must be coming in for one soon as there is only 9 minutes of this session remaining
1449 - Capirossi on a quick one, 1-tenth down at first split but that stretched to 7-tenths by the third split, he should improve his standing though, that he does, Capirossi up to 3rd quickest with a 1m30.9.
1448 - Quite a few riders just left pitlane, most probably with a sticky qualifier in the back of their machines
1447 - Nakano make a big improvement, the Kawasaki rider just found a full second to move up to 6th on the combined charts
1446 - Biaggi improves his placing with a 1m31.3, 4th quickest on combined time now.
1444 - Still nobody setting the world on fire yet, 15 minutes to run, things will start happening soon. An interesting side note, a quick lap around here for these boys equates to a 175 km/h average speed for the lap. With two very slow corners like turn 4 (Honda) and 10 (MG) it makes you realise how fast the rest of the track is to bring that average up so high
1440 - Hopkins sat in the pits, probably not too happy. Lavilla has improved his time down to a 1m31.9 which places him 3-tenths quicker that Hopkins' time from Friday and 1.1 seconds quicker than what Hopkins has put down in this session
1439 - 20 minutes left in this session now. Rossi heading out of pitlane again, after the regular adjust crotch and pull leathers out of bum routine
1436 - McWilliams just improved his position with a 1m32.5. McCoy sitting in the pits while on the timesheets he is nearly a second behind McWilliams.
1433 - Rossi went back to the pits a couple of minutes ago.
1432 - Tamada moving up the order now, up to 8th with a 1m31.5
1430 - Barros has moved up the table, 1m31.3 promoting him to third place on combined time.
1427 - Rossi starting to pick up his pace now, not far off at the splits but he is not going to go faster than yesterday this time around
1424 - John Hopkins really seems to be struggling here this weekend. Maybe those injuries are still giving him some trouble. This is a track that requires plenty of courage to be fast at, and courage is something that I wouldn't accuse Hopkins of lacking. His team-mate for this round is Gregorio Lavilla and the Spaniard is half a second quicker than him around here so far this weekend.
1422 - Checa and Bayliss still the only improvers at this stage out of the top 15. Still 36 minutes remaining in this session though and things will start really hotting up with about 10 minutes to go
1421 - Rossi is leaving the pits now
1419 - Bayliss just improved on his time to move in to 10th place. Went through the speed trap 10 km/h slower than Capirossi's speed trap numbers that time around even though his lap time was quicker
1415 - Checa the first big improver, he went 6-tenths quicker than yesterday to move up to 5th quickest, none of the other top ten men have improved on yesterday's time, yet... Rossi in the pits talking setup with Burgess and his mechanics
1414 - Capirossi just went through the traps at 329.2, getting close to his record now. His team mate Bayliss still outside the top ten in the speed stakes while Ducati satellite team pilots Ruben Xaus is second fastest through the traps and Hodgson on another satellite Ducati is 6th in the top speed standings
1409 - Capirossi on top of the speed charts with 326 km/h, next best is Xaus on 324.8 km/h then Biaggi, Hayden, Barros, Hodgson, Tamada, Melandri, Gibernau and Edwards round out the top ten speedsters. The fastest speed recorded here by a motorcycle is 329.9 km/h by Capirossi last year. Reasonable headwind for them here today, but that's better than the wind blowing across the straight which causes them all sorts of dramas down at turn 3
1408 - Now Carlos Checa is effectively unemployed no doubt he will be going all out for top performances to try and ingratiate himself with other teams.
1407 - Rossi and Gibernau down to 1m31s, hold that Rossi just went through with a 1m30.7
1404 - Down to 1m32s now.
1403 - Okay they will be on their first flyer now, and they are all straight down to 1m35s and 1m36s. Best time yesterday was 1m30.2 but I think we will see 1m29s before the end of this session
1400 - They are heading out now, Hodgson first one out obviously eager to try and make up some ground on his team mate
1358 - MotoGP bikes out shortly for their final qualifying. Interesting that Colin Edwards has signed for Yamaha but could be under team orders to allow Gibernau more points than himself come race day to try and prevent Yamaha from winning the championship. Room for plenty of conspiracy theories in there if you're that way inclined
1353 - Full Results from 125 GP Final Qualifying
1345 - Locatelli's under at the second split, he could be about to get pole... Yes he does it, 1m37.417 and that is going to get him pole. Lorenzo will take 2nd spot on the grid, Stoner 3rd and Jenkner 4th. Kuhne will be the top qualifying wildcard with a 1m41.7, then Staring with 1m41.8. Rigoli, Esler and Simmonds are all just outside the 107% qualifying cut-off and will not make the grid tomorrow. They missed out by only a couple of tenths
1344 - Dying seconds off this session now and that 1m37.5 still stands, Dovizioso just makes it past the line before the flag comes out to signal the end of the session so he will get one more flyer to improve from his current 5th on the charts
1342 - A group of fast boys are about to take Staring around turns 11 and 12 so he might be able to get a bit of a tow.
1341 - Stoner down to 1m37.5 no also but a few hundredths off Lorenzo.
1340 - Borsoi topping the speed charts now with 233.5 km/h. Pretty much everyone is on track now so lots of slipstreaming and mild baulking cases going on as the battle for pole heats up.
1339 - Lorenzo fast at the splits, there we go a new pace setter, 1m37.5, I reckon they will go quicker...
1337 - Jenkner's 1m38.1 still on top but I can't see that holding for much longer, I expect them cut at least half a second off that in the dying minutes of this session. 7 minutes left now
1336 - Kuhne currently the fastest wildcard after just putting in a 1m42.2, Staring on 1m42.7
1334 - All but 7 riders have already gone quicker than they did in yesterday's qualifier. Jenkner dropped two seconds to be on top of the charts right now with 10 minutes to run. Staring, Kuhne and Rigoli all inside the qualifying cut-off at this stage. Esler and Simmonds just outside
1331 - Jenkner on top now, 1m38.1. Stoner still tops the speed charts with that 231 km/h. As a comparison in yesterday's qualifying Stoner also topped the charts with 227.4 km/h. In contrast to the Australian wildcards which hit the following speeds during QP1, Kuhne - 221.1 km/h, Staring - 216.9 km/h, Esler - 210.6 km/h, Rigoli 209.7 km/h and Simmonds 201.2 km/h
1325 - Barbera, Lorenzo and Dovizioso straight down to quicker times than yesterday. Stoner is fastest down the main straight, 231.1 km/h on a 70kg 125cc machine, WOW! Still well down on the record 125 speed though which belongs to Cecchinello from 2002 when he recorded 243.2 km/h down the main straight
1315 - 125 Final Qualifying getting underway now
1301 - Colin Edwards to join Valentino Rossi at Yamaha for 2005, that is official and straight from the horse's mouth so to speak.
1251 - Full Results from Aussie Support 125 Race 2
1247 - Kelly takes the win by 0.05 of a second over Galvin, Willy slipped back on the final laps to finish 2.45 seconds adrift while next best was Peter Scott a further 30 seconds behind
1242 - Kelly back to the lead now and Galvin pushes Willy back to 4th, 2 laps to run
1239 - Back to the lead around the back of the circuit but Galvin gets him early on the next lap. Then Kelly back to the lead at turn 4, a little wide in 5 but holds it together. Galvin hits the lead again at the Hayshed, Kelly takes a wide entry into MG which didn't seem to work for him, as they came onto the main straight Galvin had a couple of lengths on Kelly but the Mildura rider used the slipstream to squeeze past Galvin before turn 1 but outdoing them both was Willy who came from third at the beginning of the straight to blow past both of them as they tipped into turn 1
1238 - Willy leads on to the straight but Galvin slipstreams well and slips past before they tip into turn 1 with four laps to run
1237 - Galvin gets the lead at Southern Hairpin but Willy gets him back between turns 4 and 5
1236 - Kelly slots it up inside of Galvin on the run down to MG and holds him out on the change of direction which has him lead onto the main straight but there both Galvin and Willy stormed past him to push him back to third place, Willy's machine looks particularly quick down the chute
1235 - On the next lap Willy and Galvin closed right on Kelly and the trio swapped positions a few times before Galvin made the lead his
1231 - Mick Kelly away to a flyer from Willy and Galvin, not far behind Galvin and trying to hang on was Peter Scott. As they ended the first lap Kelly had a full second over Willy and Galvin and then around Southern Hairpin Galvin took second place from Willy.
1227 - Aussie 125 Support race up shortly
1215 - Porto just blitzed it with a 1m32.9 as the session was coming to a close. A full second faster than De Angelis and Pedrosa. Elias survived a high speed run off the track and remained upright after doing some motocrossing across the infield. Sessions ended now. Josh Waters now down to a 1m38.7, Rowling on 1m41.0, Taplin 1m43.8, Ried 1m47.0
1208 - I just had a bit of a break there to grab some lunch and talk to a few friends but back on deck now. Porto on top with 5 minutes remaining, 1m33.8, Pedrosa on a 1m33.9 then De Angelis on 1m34.0
1125 - De Angelis, Porto and Pedrosa the only men in the 1m34s so far
1115 - 250 GP bikes heading out on track now
1105 - Full Results from MotoGP Free Practice 2
1100 - Session ending now, everyone on their last lap, Rossi was on a quick one and under time at the first split but then marginally over at the next two splits and as a result failed to beat his earlier 1m31.06, so the order of the charts at session end is Gibernau, Rossi, Biaggi, Hayden, Barros, Edwards, Checa, Bayliss, Melandri, Tamada, Hofmann, Capirossi, Nakano, Lavilla, Xaus, Hopkins, McWilliams, Hodgson, Abe, McCoy, Haydon, Aoki, Ellison, Ui
1059 - McCoy not having fun, McWilliams is a full second quicker than him at the moment
1057 - Gibernau and Biaggi both on quick ones, both under the current top time at the first split, Gibernau also under at second split, and again at the third split, he goes quicker but only by a couple of hundredths to 1m31.046. Biaggi in third now with a 1m31.2
1055 - Rossi just came in and maybe is going to swap bikes and head back out
1053 - 6 minutes left in this session so most riders on track now and trying to put down some reasonable times, Biaggi just pulled his finger out and put in a 1m31.3, the only man to have done more laps in this session is Hodgson who has so far put in 27 laps
1052 - Troy is out and trying again and again having major troubles trying to keep the rear wheel in some slight semblance of being in line with the front wheel...
1043 - Gibernau back on track now and Rossi also heading out, 16 minutes left in this session
1041 - But people can say what they like about the crash king, his speed this year has been good and he has comprehensively proved himself above Hodgson on the MotoGP bike. In this session for example Xaus is a full second quicker than Hodgson
1039 - Xaus just went down the road but as per normal the big Spaniard dusts himself and walks away, he needs to be studied by medical science for his amazing ability to be able to slide, bounce and roll around the worlds racetracks without ever breaking anything!
1038 - Most riders are currently in the pits and only 7 riders circulating
1033 - Huge black lines being laid all the way around turn 3 on what is a very scary corner
1032 - Hayden picking up his pace now, down to a 1m31.3, still Gibernau and Rossi on top with those flat 1m31.0s
1025 - Troy is out there and trying, fairly sideways under the bridge at turn 3, big darkie out of Siberia, did not look comfortable through the hayshed, picks it up onto the middle of tyre between turn 11 and 12 and it was still spinning anyway, the result a 1m32.0 for 7th quickest
1024 - Gibernau is back on track now too. Bayliss just nearly got spat from the Ducati, the rear end was wriggling away and tying the whole thing in knots
1022 - The Aprilias and WCMs are confirming their positions as the NAILS of the grid, they are lapping slower than Aussie PRODUCTION Superbikes which are quite limited as to their modifications from standard and a long way from World Superbike specification... Rossi pulling his leathers out of his bum now heading out of pitlane
1019 - Both Rossi and Gibernau in the pits making changes, wind is from a different direction than yesterday and certainly not as strong
1013 - Rossi on a quick one... Doesn't go faster, lost a little time in the last sector
1011 - Rossi just got down near Gibernau's time and is out putting in some good laps, Gibernau is still stringing in lap after lap down around the low 1m31s mark
1008 - Gibernau down to a flat 1m31 now, just put in three laps down around that mark
1006 - Gibernau in the 1m31s, who is going to be the first man into the 1m30s this morning?
1005 - Hofmann first one into the 1m32s bracket this morning
1004 - Full Results from 125 Free Practice 2
1000 - MotoGP bikes heading out of pitlane now for their morning practice session
0950 - That session has finished now with Locatelli on top, full times shortly
0940 - This session winding up now and Locatelli is fastest on a 1m38.0 with only a couple of minutes remaining
0927 - 16 minutes left in this session and Dovizioso on top of the charts with a 1m38.7, then is is Barbera, Lorenzo, Giansanti, Locatelli, Borsoi and Stoner
0913 - Stoner on top now, first man in the 1m39s this morning
0909 - This second 125 practice session is up and running with Barbera and Locatelli leading the way early on. Pasini has already gone for a slide down the road but got up seemingly unhurt
0859 - Okay we are just getting set up here this morning and the big news is that the sun is shining, well sort of, but it is a hell of a lot brighter than it was yesterday. If it remains fine for the afternoon I am fairly sure we will see the first ever sub 1m30s lap around here today. 125s out soon. Just below you can find links to all yesterday's content including the blow by blow live transcript, team reports and all the results and notes from each practice and qualifying session along with all the results from the Australian Support Events.