MotoGP 2005

Australian Casey Stoner has hung on to second place in the 250cc title chase after the Dutch round of the MotoGP world championship despite posting his worst finish of the season when he thought there was still two laps to go in the race.

Stoner, 19, finished sixth at the historic Assen circuit but was disappointed not to have scored more valuable world championship points after botching the timing of his final overtaking move.

Importantly, he outperformed his closet rival, Italian Andrea Dovizioso, who finished seventh, and increased the points gap between them.

With his Aprilia machine back on the pace with lower fuel levels after early race problems, Stoner didn’t brake late enough to pass fourth and fifth-placed riders Hiroshi Aoyama and Alex De Angelis on the final lap, but mistakenly thought there would be another opportunity on the next lap to make the move stick.

“I am very disappointed about today because I thought we could have a much better result,” Stoner said.

“All weekend we have been quite consistently fast and at least I thought we could stay with the front group and make a good race. Unfortunately in the beginning of the race my bike was not perfect and it was difficult to stay with the front riders so I didn’t try to push too much because I had a couple of front-end losses and some slide in the rear. So I just did the pace I was comfortable with.

“At 10 laps to go I found a good feeling with the bike again when the fuel had gone down and began to make some better lap times to come back through some of the riders and to try to reach the front. But by then it was impossible because they were too far in front and too fast.

“So I just tried to set a good lap time every lap but unfortunately in the last lap I didn’t realise that it was the last lap: I thought there were still two laps to go and made a mistake and did not brake late enough to pass Aoyama and De Angelis.

“I think fourth place would have been possible for sure if I didn’t get it wrong in the last lap.”

Argentinean Sebastian Porto claimed his first victory of the season by just 0.381 seconds after a thrilling battle with Spaniards Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

Riding with a plate and seven screws in the collarbone he cracked just 13 days ago at Catalunya in Spain, Lorenzo led for most of the race from pole position, but was unable to hold off Porto and Pedrosa is the closing laps.

Australian Anthony West was forced to retire from the race with an oil leak on his Honda after qualifying 23rd at the track where his took his sole GP win in 2003.

In his second appearance on a privateer machine while he awaits the readiness of his new KTM factory bike, West withdrew after 12 laps of the 18-lap race and coasted into the pits.

“This was always going to be a tough weekend on a privateer bike, but I got some track-time and that’s what I need before I start racing the KTM,” West said.

“I made up some places at the start, and I felt I was quicker than a lot of guys through the corners. The main problem was the bike was down on top-end speed and I kept getting passed on the straights. After eight laps oil started spilling onto my foot and it started slipping off the footpegs. I was worried the oil might get on the tyre so I decided it was safer to stop rather than risk crashing.

“This is only my second race of the season and I feel ‘rusty’ with my riding. The laps I did here will help me once the KTM is ready to race. It was interesting to compare the Honda I rode today with the Aprilia I raced at Le Mans a few weeks ago. The Honda frame feels stable, but it’s harder to get the feel you need to push the tyres to the limit.”

Pedrosa’s fifth podium of the season has increased his lead in the 250cc championship to 37 points over Stoner, 143 to 106, with Dovizioso third on 102.

In the MotoGP race, Italian superstar Valentino Rossi clinched his sixth win of the season and his fifth in a row for Yamaha – the longest winning streak by a Yamaha rider in the history of the premier class.

His compatriot and Honda rival Marco Melandri was second by 1.583 seconds, despite setting a series of fastest laps in the closing stages of the race as he threw everything he could at the defending world champion, while Rossi’s teammate, American Colin Edwards, was third.

Australian Troy Bayliss continued his troubled season with Honda to finish 11th at Assen, just behind Ducati pair Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi who were ninth and 10th respectively.

“What can I say about this race, it was average considering recent races, and despite giving everything once more I was unable to ride as well as I can,” Bayliss said.

“I’m obviously not happy, because there’s not much difference for me between 11th and 20th, but there’s not much else I can do apart from continuing to work hard with my head down and bring and end to this situation.

“I’m happy to be going to Laguna Seca (California) now, a track I really like, and where I hope we can make some much-needed steps forward.”

American Nicky Hayden was fourth at Assen ahead of fellow Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi.

Rossi’s historic victory extended his lead in the championship to 63 points over Melandri, 170-107, with Biaggi third on 87 and Gibernau fourth on 84.

Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi shares the lead in the 125cc world championship with Italian Mattia Pasini after taking his second victory of the season at Assen.

Talmacsi escaped from a frenetic front group of up to nine riders when Italian Marco Simoncelli and Switzerland’s Thomas Lüthi collided on the last lap.

He was joined on the podium by Spaniard Hector Faubel and Pasini, who recovered six places on the last six laps to cross the line in third and ensure a share of the series lead, with both riders on 100 points.

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