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MotoGP
2005 - Round 2 - Estoril MotoGP Race Report April 17th, 2005 - By, Trevor Hedge
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MotoGP
2005 - Round 2 - Estoril MotoGP Race Report April 17th, 2005 - By, Trevor Hedge
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Alex Barros has been quick in every session here this weekend and starts as firm favourite if only looking at practice and qualifying times. But of course anything can happen and with rain overnight and this morning it looked as though it would be a wet race today but things fined up a couple of hours before the race start and thus the riders get a dry track for the race. Checa got a great run off the line but Gibernau had the line into turn one and took the lead and both Rossi and Biaggi pushed Checa back to 4th a couple of turns later and Biaggi then took 2nd place off Rossi. Race order, Gibernau, Biaggi, Barros pushes Rossi down to 4th then Melandri right behind them as they finish the first lap but Gibernau takes a huge 1.7 second lead out of them on that opening lap while the others fought over that 2nd place. Barros then up to 2nd place at the end of the main straight and immediately starts to pull a couple of tenths back in on Gibernau. Barros the fastest man on the track but Gibernau still with a handy gap over Barros, Biaggi and Rossi. Rossi up the inside of Biaggi for 3rd under brakes at the start of lap four. Gibernau and Rossi on medium slicks front and rear, Barros has a hard front and medium rear. Melandri is running a hard rear tyre and battling over 5th place with Colin Edwards and John Hopkins. Gibernau said that he will struggle with his shoulder during this race and can probably not sustain a top pace for the full duration but a few laps into the race and he is maintaining a 1.7 second lead over Barros with 23 laps to run. Bayliss running 10th. Barros isn't catching Gibernau at any great rate but he has broken away from Rossi and Biaggi and is easing closer to Gibernau slowly and the Brazilian is running under lap record pace in the less than perfect track conditions. Third of the way through the race and Barros has the gap down to 1.4 seconds. The white flags have been waved which means that a couple of spits of rain may have appeared at certain parts of the circuit and this year the race will not be stopped under the new rules but riders can, if they choose, enter pit lane to change to a spare machine set up for wet conditions. Anybody running well down the order may be smart to take the risk and head straight to the pits to grab a wet bike and pray for the rain to start proper if they feel they have nothing to lose. 17 laps to run and Barros has the gap to Gibernau down to 0.9 of a second then it is a huge 7 seconds to Rossi in 3rd who has Biaggi still on his tail, albeit not quite as close as before. Running a little further back is Melandri in 5th, Edwards 6th and Hopkins 7th. Gibernau pulling away from Barros out in front now and the Spaniard has stretched the gap back out to two seconds, not sure if Barros made a mistake or has a problem or whether it is the varying sporadic drops of moisture showing themselves every now and then. But Barros ups it again on the next lap and gets the gap back down to 1.4 seconds. Biaggi has closed right up onto the back of Rossi again with 12 laps to run. Gibernau down and in the kitty litter to throw away a 1.2 second lead after losing the front. He tried to get it up and going again but to no avail, possibly a little bit of moisture the cause. Hopkins down a few seconds later, crashing out of 8th place. Barros out in front on his own with a huge 8.6 seconds over Rossi and Biaggi who continue to tussle over 2nd position. The pits on tenterhooks and riders thinking about whether the moisture is going to increase and thus should they enter pit lane to grab a machine with intermediates or even full wets... Who is going to be the first man to take the plunge? Barros still 8 seconds in front of Rossi and Biaggi who in turn have 4 seconds on the 4th placed Melandri who is managing to hold off a threatening Colin Edwards. The drizzle has eased again now. Edwards underneath Melandri into the chicane to take that 4th place. Biaggi still right on the tail of Rossi but Barros still way out in front. Bayliss had progressed up to 7th place but then slipped off in to the gravel trap but digs his way out to give it another crack. Edwards managed to pull quite a gap over Melandri on the next couple of laps and with 7 laps to run the Texan running a good pace. Rossi has stretched a few bike lengths out over Biaggi but Barros looks safe out in front. Carlos Checa is closing on Melandri as the drizzle picks up once again and just as I had typed that Edwards added credence to the statement by sliding off into the dirt before remounting and Rossi also very nearly suffered a similar fate only seconds later. Edwards managed to rejoin the race in 6th place. The track really getting damp now but only a few laps to run... What a dilemma... The precipitation a steady drizzle but things could better or worsen at any stage. 3 laps to run and Barros with a 5 second advantage over Rossi... 2 laps to run, Barros still maintaining a 5 second lead over Rossi as they comparatively tiptoe their way around the Estoril circuit in the risky conditions. They couldn't be described as wet but things are a little damp. Melandri 4th and Checa 5th, this pair more than 20 seconds behind 3rd placed Biaggi. Last lap board, Barros still maintains the advantage but more than likely going to be very careful on this final lap, things are touch and go and his Honda spins up and goes very sideways out of turn 2 as he touches the ripple strip, another wobble comes a couple of corners later, then a little untidy under brakes. Checa has a go at taking 4th from Melandri but runs wide. Barros takes the win with a fine victory wheelie and takes his first win since 2002. Rossi 2nd, Biaggi 3rd, Melandri another good ride for 4th, Checa 5th. Edwards salvaged 6th after picking himself up off the ground and likewise Bayliss brought home 11th after picking himself up out of the kitty litter earlier on. Two weeks until the next round which will be held in China.
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MotoGP Championship
2005
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