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MotoGP
2005 - Round 6 - Catalunya MotoGP Race Report June 12th, 2005 - By, Trevor Hedge
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MotoGP
2005 - Round 6 - Catalunya MotoGP Race Report June 12th, 2005 - By, Trevor Hedge
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While Sete Gibernau started from pole position for the second time this year and the Spaniard is hoping for his first race win since the Qatar GP lat October. Rossi makes his 100th front row start, 59 of which have been in the premier class. Marco Melandri is also on the front row which is the fourth front row start for the young Italian this year. Melandri got a great run off the line but Gibernau took the lead as they peeled into turn one with Biaggi and Hayden in tow. Halfway around the first lap Rossi split between the two Repsol men to move up to third position. Melandri had taken the lead from Gibernau but the Spaniard got him right back and Rossi then pushed Melandri back to third and Nicky Hayden was running fourth. Melandri then went through on both Rossi and Gibernau on the entry to one corner in an impressive move. Alex Barros then went past the Repsol men to move up to fourth position and then with 23 laps to run Barros pushed his way in front of Rossi but the Italian got him back at the next turn to regain his third position. Gibernau then touched the back of Melandri and Gibernau had to stand his machine up and run wide but somehow only lost a single position in the incident. As they started lap four it was Melandri, Rossi, Gibernau, Hayden, Barros, Tamada, Biaggi. Tamada was the quickest man on that preceding lap. Rossi took the lead into turn one on the next lap and Barros then pushed Melandri back to fourth place. It briefly looked as though Rossi might escape but Gibernau put his head down to ensure that was not going to happen just yet and the pair ran down the main straight side by side with 20 laps to run and the Spaniard took the lead in turn one. Gibernau running a medium front and hard rear while Rossi is running hard compound at both ends of his Yamaha. Hayden running a soft front and hard rear and put in a new lap record on that lap which eclipsed the previous mark by over a full second. Tamada was looking good for a few laps before sliding off into the gravel and out of the race. As they started lap 8 the race order was Gibernau, Rossi, Hayden, Melandri, Barros, Biaggi, Edwards, Nakano, Capirossi, Checa, Xaus, Roberts, Hopkins, Hofmann, Bayliss, Rolfo, Checa, Byrne. Sete Gibernau then went under the lap record set earlier by Nicky Hayden as he tried to break away from Rossi and that lap stretched his lead out to half a second and retained that gap for the next couple of laps. Rossi closed a couple of tenths back on Gibernau with 13 laps to run as the Spaniard had the rear step out a little while at full lean angle early in a turn which he did a great job to save, this pair really riding on the limit and Gibernau soon had the gap back out to around half a second. Half race distance and the race order was Gibernau, Rossi, Hayden, Melandri, Barros, Biaggi, Edwards, Nakano, Capirossi and Troy Bayliss had progressed up to tenth place just ahead of Checa and Xaus. It was around this stage of the race that Alex Hofmann and John Hopkins pitted for new rear rubber as the Bridgestones failed to have the pace. Rossi then closed right onto the tail of Gibernau and started applying the pressure but the Spaniard responded and managed to eke out a couple of tenths on the next lap. Hayden not out of the running either with only a couple of second between himself and Rossi. A few bike lengths behind Hayden was the battle for fourth still being waged by Melandri and Barros with the pair going at it hammer and tong while Biaggi was a further three seconds back in sixth. Melandri and Barros then caught up to Hayden to turn their two-way battle for fourth into a three-way battle over third place and it didn't take long for Melandri to move past Hayden for that third spot and was the quickest man on the circuit that lap around and there was less than three seconds between him and the race leader and with eight laps to run it looked possible that the young Italian could maybe chase down Gibernau and Rossi if he kept that pace up. Hayden had got back up to third place but that battle far from over as Melandri and Barros still all over him and the trio running three wide at times. Rossi took the lead with three laps to run at the end of the main straight and Gibernau makes no attempt to prevent the move and Rossi set a new lap record on that lap but Gibernau was only a few tenths down and with two laps to run he was certainly not out of the game just yet. As they got the last lap flag the gap between the two was half a second and it looked as though Rossi had it under control and unless he made a mistake the win was his. But the Italian did not make any mistakes and went on to take the win from Gibernau while Melandri won the battle for the final podium spot over Barros and Hayden. Biaggi a distant and lonely sixth.
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MotoGP Championship
2005
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