MotoGP 2005

Australian motorcycle racers Anthony West and Casey Stoner have scored a historic double podium finish in the British 250cc Grand Prix.

In torrential rain at the Donington circuit, West, 24, and Stoner, 19, carved through the field from 15th and 10th on the grid respectively, to finish second and third – the first time two Australians have stood on the podium together in 250cc Grand Prix history.

West was just 1.236 seconds behind the winner, Frenchman Randy de Puniet, with Stoner a further 15 seconds back.

It was West’s race debut aboard the new KTM machine, having waited out the first half of the season for the bike to be race ready.

It was Stoner’s fourth podium of the season, including two victories, and consolidates the teenager’s second place in the 250cc title chase, 34 points behind Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who was fourth at Donington.

“I can’t believe it, I didn’t expect it at all,” West said.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this bike to be ready, but at least I was waiting for something that was pretty good.

“I was only hoping to finish the race and score some points, so second is a huge bonus for the team and myself after being out for so long.”

West stormed up to sixth place on the first lap and by the half-way mark was swapping the lead with de Puniet and Stoner as the trio battled for victory in the rain.

Stoner lost his chance at a third win this season when he went straight on at turn one on the penultimate lap, while West survived a major slide, allowing de Puniet to take the chequered flag.

“I’m happy with the way the team worked all weekend. We had some small problems but the rain helped us a little bit,” West said.

“The first few laps the track was so slippery. I was a bit surprised that I was so close to the front. I felt like everyone was going a bit slow, so I started to pass a few people and was trying not to push too hard.

“I just wanted to finish, so to be out in front was quite a surprise. I just tried to keep calm, but I think I had a good race.”

West has made a total of 80 GP starts since his debut as a wildcard in the 1998 Australian 125cc Grand Prix at Phillip Island, including 65 starts in the 250cc class from 1999 to 2005 and 14 in the premier 500cc class in 2001.

He scored his maiden GP win in a rain-soaked Dutch 250cc GP at Assen in 2003 while riding an uncompetitive privateer Aprilia, and finished on the podium four times that season, including second in the Australian round.

After a difficult second season on the Aprilia, he signed with Austrian manufacturer KTM for a long-awaited factory-backed ride, also picking up two “one-off” rides for privateer Honda and Aprilia teams this season while waiting for the KTM’s debut.

Riding a works Aprilia for Italian Lucio Cecchinello’s team, Stoner confessed he was disappointed at missing out on victory at Donington, but admitted he was lucky to have finished the race at all after his off-track excursion.

“I lost the front of the bike two or three times, but I didn’t think I could lose it in a straight line,” Stoner said after missing turn one.

“I’m a little bit disappointed as I was planning to sit and wait for an opportunity to take the lead. It ended up I was incredibly lucky to finish at all.

“It was a difficult race and I had some visibility problems with my visor fogging up as well.

“Anyway, third place is very important for the championship and I’m happy that Pedrosa and (Italian Andrea) Dovizioso finished behind me.”

Pedrosa leads the championship on 156 points followed by Stoner on 122 and Dovizioso on 111. West is 16th on 20 points.

In the MotoGP class, Australian Troy Bayliss crashed out of the race while trying to avoid running over Italian Marco Melandri, who was one of many riders to slide out in the wet conditions.

“The whole place was tricky today, like a sheet of glass and it caught a lot of people out,” Bayliss said.

“I got a good start, and despite the conditions being awful, I felt comfortable in the front group, and I was right in there. Unfortunately when Marco crashed in front of me he was too close and I tried to avoid him but I touched him and I was forced out onto the grass where I couldn’t control my bike. There’s no point saying how disappointed I am, but it was just a racing incident.”

Italian Valentino Rossi was one of only 10 riders to stay upright in the accident-strewn 29-lap race, scoring his seventh victory in nine rounds this season and extending his championship lead to 104 points over Melandri.

With seven laps remaining, Rossi put on a massive burst of speed, leaving American Kenny Roberts Junior and Brazilian Alex Barros to battle it out for the remaining podium places.

“This was one of the most difficult races of my career,” Rossi said. “The conditions were incredible. It was very, very cold and the track was very slippery.

“Today was not like riding a bike, it was like riding a boat.

“I tried to understand the points where I could push more and said to myself: ‘Now I try and we see what happens’.”

Roberts finished second by 3.169 seconds to score his first podium finish for Suzuki since 2002, while Barros celebrated his 250th GP start with third place on his Honda.

Rossi’s teammate, American Colin Edwards, picked up fourth place to move ahead of Honda rivals Italian Max Biaggi and Spaniard Sete Gibernau into third in the championship, just one point behind Melandri in second.

Bayliss is 11th on 47 points.

In the 125cc class, championship leaders Italian Mattia Pasini and Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi crashed out of the two-part race leaving Spaniard Julian Simon to take his debut win for KTM followed by Frenchman Mike di Meglio and Italian Fabrizio Lai, both on Hondas.

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