MotoGP Race

Loris Capirossi started from pole position for the second time in as many races which was a first for the Italian. The Ducati man also had the chance to set some new marks if he could also make it back to back race victories which would be a first for him, Ducati and Bridgestone.  His pole time was the fastest ever motorcycle lap at Sepang and the top twelve all qualified inside the previous lap record set by Valentino Rossi in 2004.

Bridgestone had proven to have the best rubber at Motegi and the Japanese tyre manufacturer also looked to have the right selections for Sepang with two Bridgestone runners on the front row, Capirossi and Hopkins, while the sole Michelin runner on the front row was Telefonica Honda man Sete Gibernau enjoying his tenth front row start for the season, a tally better than any other rider in the MotoGP class. 

Kenny Roberts had been on the pace all weekend at Sepang, qualifying fifth, his best qualifying result of the year.  With Hopkins on the front row Sepang also marked the best qualifying performance for the Suzuki squad since the Portuguese GP back in 2000, when Roberts and Nobuatsu Aoki both qualified in the top five.

Valentino Rossi had failed to make the front row for the fourth successive race. The Italian superstar had won three times in the premier class at Sepang previously, including the past two years when he also took pole position and the fastest lap of the race.

Max Biaggi was the only rider who could stop Rossi winning the world title in Malaysia. If Biaggi won the race then Rossi needed to finish in fourth place or better to clinch the crown. If Biaggi finished second then Rossi only needed finish no lower than eighth. If Biaggi finished third then Rossi needed to finish twelfth or better. If Biaggi finished fourth then Rossi needed to score only a single championship point to lift the title. If Biaggi finished lower than fourth then Rossi would take the title in Malaysia no matter what result.

Max Biaggi had finished on the podium for the previous three years at Sepang, including a race victory in 2002 when riding a Yamaha.

2005 marked the 15th consecutive year that a GP had been held in Malaysia. Kicking off in 1991 with the first seven events were held at Shah Alam, followed by a single year at Johor. 2005 was the seventh year at Sepang.  Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha had each scored two victories in the premier class at Sepang.

All riders got away from the line cleanly. Capirossi and the Ducati powered in to the first turn while Gibernau and Hayden rubbed fairings and only just managed to remain upright. Melandri was in second place just ahead of Shinya Nakano and Nicky Hayden, Sete Gibernau and Kenny Roberts were right there also. Nakano got the better of Melandri early on that first lap to move into second place and then closed right onto the tailpipe of Capirossi and started to look for an opportunity to pass. That was until the main straight when the Kawasaki got blasted by the Ducati, Melandri also easily powered past on the Honda but Nakano was certainly holding his own once they arrived at the corners. Melandri was riding with a significant injury to his foot from an impact with Valentino Rossi the previous weekend that had left him with over 30 stitches.

Nakano then went down with Sete Gibernau after the two came together while vying for the same piece of tarmac. That debacle promoted Nicky Hayden into third place ahead of Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts, Carlos Checa, Max Biaggi, Alex Barros and John Hopkins. 

Nicky Hayden then got the better of Melandri for second place and started to close on Loris Capirossi.  Rossi got the better of Melandri for third place and put his head down in an effort to chase down Hayden and Capirossi. Most of the front runners were running medium compound rubber with Capirossi the only one of the leading quartet to have a hard compound hoop.

Hayden got very close to Capirossi and was looking ready to mount a challenge for the lead but the American then ran a little wide into one of the right handers which lost him time and dropped him back into the clutches of Valentino Rossi. Hayden picked things up again after that small mistake and managed to again close back onto the tail of Capirossi. However Rossi had also come along for the ride, closing the leading trio right up once again. Rossi got a little untidy at the end of the main straight and had his foot down on the tarmac for a good twenty yards or more, it looked as though he might again take out another rider for the second week in succession but thankfully it never got that far.

Rossi did get the better of Hayden a lap later when the American ran wide. With 13 laps to run Rossi started to hound Loris Capirossi for the lead. Hayden lost some more ground but came back strongly on the next lap to close on Rossi once again. Carlos Checa was putting in one of his best rides for the season to move up into fourth place only a few seconds adrift of the leading trio, he was running a pace strong enough to join the trio before the laps would run out.

Rossi took the lead from Capirossi on lap 11 of 21 but ran wide a few corners later, allowing the Ducati back through but again he took the lead a couple of corners later. This time he managed to maintain his line and hold on to the advantage. A little further behind though was a charging Carlos Checa who was the fastest man on the track and looking to join the party.

With eight laps to run Capirossi snuck under Rossi into turn one and immediately pulled a couple of bike lengths on the Yamaha man. His hard compound Bridgestones perhaps starting to come into their own on the slippery Sepang surface.  Carlos Checa was starting to close down Hayden in order to challenge for a podium position in the closing laps.

Checa went up the inside of Hayden but both riders made a mess of their lines and the advantage shifted back to the American but it was clear that battle was far from over. The pair learnt nothing from their mistake as they both repeated exactly the same mistakes again on the next lap.  Capirossi had managed to pull another couple of bike lengths on Rossi but it was clear that battle was also far from over, even though the Ducati man had more than half a second over Rossi with five laps to run.

Checa managed to make a pass stick on Hayden the next time around while Capirossi stretched his lead over Rossi out to a full second as they commenced lap 18 of the 21 lap encounter.

Carlos Checa managed to pull away from Hayden in the closing laps to secure his spot on the podium while Hayden was left to settle for a safe fourth.  Likewise Capirossi had pulled away from Rossi, the Yamaha man settling for second place, more than enough to secure his fifth MotoGP World Championship.  As they started the last lap however Checa closed to within half a second to challenge Rossi for second place and a possible Ducati 1-2...

Checa certainly tried hard on the last lap to try and secure that Ducati 1-2 and pulled alongside the Yamaha man in the run to the penultimate corner, but Rossi held on to take that second place and with it the World Championship after only 13 rounds of the 17 round series.

Race Result

1. Capirossi
2. Rossi
3. Checa
4. Hayden
5. Melandri
6. Biaggi
7. Roberts
8. Barros
9. Hopkins
10. Edwards
11. Elias
12. Tamada
13. Rolfo
14. Byrne
15. Xaus
16. Battaini

Championship Points

1. Rossi 281
2. Biaggi 159
3. Capirossi 142
4. Edwards 139
5. Melandri 137
6. Hayden 134