MotoGP Race

Hayden and Barros jumped out of the blocks well while Gibernau stuttered slightly but through the first turns it was Hayden from Barros, Rossi and Capirossi while Shakey Byrne and Alex Hofmann picked themselves up out of the kitty litter.  Hayden quickly started pulling away from Barros and Rossi quickly realised this and decided to slip past Barros late on lap one while Hayden had already managed to build a 0.8 of a second buffer over his pursuers.

On lap two Gibernau got the better of Capirossi for fourth place and Rossi used that second lap to good effect to close right onto the tail of Nicky Hayden and Barros was also not far behind while Gibernau was on a charge to try and join the leading trio after pulling away from Capirossi.  Troy Bayliss ended his race in the kitty litter in yet another disappointment for the Australian.

Rossi started having a sniff up the inside on lap three but Nicky wiped across and kept his line as his ex team-mate piled on the pressure around the tight and testing Sachsenring layout. Late on the fourth lap Hayden made some ground on Rossi but under brakes from speed Rossi seemed to have an advantage over the Honda man.  John Hopkins then came down extremely hard after getting flicked into orbit from his GSV-R and was left lying on the track which brought the red flag out.  Hopkins was moving but obviously in plenty of pain as the young American had already started this race with broken bones and considering the wow factor of the launch over the bars it was unbelievable to see him walking around the pits only minutes later, gingerly, but walking all the same.

As only five laps were down the decision was made by race direction to re-run the complete race with a reduced 25 lap distance.

Hayden got a flyer out of the blocks again and again Rossi makes up a heap of ground under brakes to move up to second place and nearly passed Hayden on the entry to turn 1 but Hayden swept across again and if Rossi had pushed the issue an inch further both of them would have been down and out there and then but thankfully both made it through safely while Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros gave chase.  Rossi right on the tail of Hayden on lap one and the Yamaha man takes the lead under brakes into turn one.  Gibernau put a nice inside move on Hayden to take second place late on lap two and the Spaniard then took position right on Rossi's tailpipe.  Barros was still running fourth but the fastest man on that second lap was Max Biaggi in fifth place and closing on the leading quartet.

Gibernau got Rossi with a nice move under brakes late on lap three to take the lead while Nicky Hayden also sat in station just behind the pair while Barros was running fourth a couple of bike lengths behind and being closed down by Biaggi and Capirossi.  Carlos Checa was running in the top ten before losing the front end of the Ducati to end his race in the kitty litter.

Biaggi arrived on the back of the leading quarter with 19 laps to run after putting in some very quick laps.  Hayden was right on Rossi but trying ever so hard to do so.  Rossi's Yamaha looked beautifully composed under brakes and under power while Hayden's Honda looked quite nervous on the anchors and the American was laying darkies through plenty of the turns with the back end of his RC211V twitching away nervously. Hayden certainly saving no level of effort as he put in maximum commitment to stay with Rossi and Gibernau while fending Barros off his tailpipe.

A couple of laps later Rossi's Yamaha also started to struggle for traction as he tried to prevent Gibernau from escaping out in front.  Biaggi was still right there in fifth but not yet making an impact on Barros or any of the leading quartet. The big mover was Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano who had closed to within striking distance of Biaggi and looked to possibly have the speed to join the leaders.

As they hit the halfway mark Hayden made his move on Rossi for second place into turn one with a great move up the inside under brakes to take second place. Maximum aggression from Hayden today, spinning his Honda up from the apex and then drastically picking the bike up into upright through the pegs and getting on the gas hard, certainly more of a 500cc two-stroke riding style from a previous era but it was working for him and he managed to pull a couple of lengths out on Rossi to close the gap to race leader Gibernau down to the matter of only a bike length.  Rossi, as always, right on his tail and ready to pounce on the slightest mistake with Barros in turn also right on Rossi's tailpipe and ready to take advantage of any error by the Italian. Biaggi and Nakano not much further behind and running fifth and sixth respectively.

Hayden was riding with the rear stepped out sideways around half the circuit it seemed as they entered the final third of the race. The American certainly running a fine edge with the rear stepped out finely on the throttle all the way around even some of the slower turns in an impressive display of bike control which made for absolutely fantastic footage for the television cameras.

Rossi also had to up his risk level a little in order to make a pass on Hayden with six laps to run in order to take second place from the American and then set about chasing down race leader Sete Gibernau who had eked out a half second advantage. All four of the top runners on medium compound Michelins at both ends but some of the riders had slightly different medium compounds on one side or the other.

Barros had lost touch a little with the leading trio and was really starting to come under attack from Biaggi.  Nakano was still running sixth only a second behind the battle for fourth place.

With three laps to run Rossi closed a number of bike lengths on Gibernau into turn one and nearly parked it underneath the Spaniard but both riders made it through safely and Rossi took station on Gibernau's tailpipe where he remained for the rest of that lap.  Hayden remained in third place half a second over the antagonistic duo fighting over the lead.

Gibernau took a glance over his shoulder early on the second last lap to see his arch nemesis right there behind him.  Hayden had stepped up a little too and did pull a couple of tenths on that lap back on the leading duo.

Rossi must have had a chuckle into his helmet as he entered turn one on the last lap to see Gibernau run it wide and leave the barn door swinging wide open for him and Rossi gladly went through and banged the gate shut behind him and bolted away to ten bike lengths almost immediately and ran off to take the race win.

Gibernau managed to fend off Hayden's challenges on the final lap to take second place ahead of the American while Biaggi had got the better of Barros for fourth place.

Rossi now has an unbelievable 120 point advantage in the race for the title which is almost certainly his again this year saving any form of disaster befalling the Italian.  The real championship race was now set to be run over second place and that battle was tightly packed with only three points covering second placed Melandri (116), third placed Sete Gibernau (115), fourth placed Colin Edwards (114) and fifth place Max Biaggi (113).

A break from MotoGP for four weeks will let the circus rest and recuperate after a busy few weeks.

Race Result

1. Rossi
2. Gibernau 0.6secs
3. Hayden 0.8secs
4. Biaggi
5. Barros
6. Nakano
7. Melandri
8. Edwards
9. Capirossi
10. Tamada
11. Roberts
12. Elias
13. Xaus
14. Rolfo
15. Battaini

Championship Points

1. Rossi 236
2. Melandri 116
3. Gibernau 115
4. Edwards 114
5. Biaggi 113
6. Barros 101
7. Hayden 101
8. Capirossi 72