MotoGP 2005

Kenny Roberts Jr produced one on the best rides of his career at today’s British Grand Prix, to storm to a stunning second place in torrential conditions.

Roberts Jr started the race in 16th position and by lap three had moved up to fourth place. He then became involved in a five way tussle for the victory - at the rain-soaked Donington Park in England – with Valentino Rossi, Alex Barros, Suzuki’s own John Hopkins and Colin Edwards. The lead changed hands between all the riders before a break away from World Champion Rossi gave him the victory, leaving Roberts Jr to battle it out with Barros for second.

As the rain continued to fall heavily, Team SUZUKI MotoGP racer Roberts Jr made a fearless last-lap overtaking manoeuvre to seal a fantastic second place at the end of the exciting 29-lap race. Over 75,000 fans braved the sodden conditions to witness one of the best races of the season.

Hopkins made a great start to the race and was leading by lap three, but a serious misting problem with his helmet visor caused him to run off the track and fall from his Suzuki GSV-R.

The brave Anglo-American re-mounted his bike and forced his way back to the pits to repair the damage before re-joining the race and finally finishing in a courageous and points scoring 11th place.

Team SUZUKI MotoGP now travels to Sachsenring in Germany for round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship next weekend, hoping to build on today’s result.

Kenny Roberts Jr:

“This was a tough race today, but when you’re up front it’s a lot easier than where we’ve been recently. I had a fun day and it’s nice to be able to ride with these guys and to cross the chequered flag with them just behind or just in front of you.

“Today was one of those days when you really had to concentrate and not get ahead of yourself and start thinking about winning. I looked at my pit-board and it said 20 laps to go so I made an effort not to look at it again until later in the race. I didn’t want to see what was happening behind – if I’d made a bit of a gap – because it’s easy to lose concentration and run wide. Today was so easy to fall down and I just wanted to be there at the end – not to necessarily win the race but to have a good race and be up there with these guys.

“It’s been a long time since we have been on the podium and this is great for all crew and I hope that we can build on this and get something underneath me to be competitive next time out.”

Stuart Shenton – John Hopkins’ Chief Technician:

“Today was a great day for the team. A fantastic result from Kenny’s side. It was very unfortunate for John, he felt the bike and the tyres were working well. Unhappily for him his visor misted up. He thought if he got in front it would clear – but it didn’t – so he dropped back and then ran off the track.

“The guys did a good job to get the bike fixed and get him back in the race and 11th was as good as we could have hoped for – but it could have been an awful lot better. Both riders could easily have finished in the top three or four today!”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“This result is nothing less than the whole team – by that I mean Kenny’s crew, John’s crew and all the Factory staff – deserve. The work-rate that everybody has put in so far this year, the motivation and the pro-active attitude to improving our position has finally resulted in an extremely positive position and a fantastic podium for Kenny.

“The way Rossi has been going this year I almost think it’s fair to say we won the race and that Valentino doesn’t count!

“Bridgestone did a great job with the wet tyres that it put under the guys and on a weekend where we were struggling a bit with grip in the dry this made it even more an achievement.

“John is massively disappointed with 11th place but then again there are so many positives for him to take away from this race. It wasn’t his fault that his visor fogged and cost him his rhythm, causing him to run off the track. He showed such great pace in the wet, he was able to get back to the pits and repair the bike, and for the rest of the race he rode a rather bent and battered GSV-R at similar times to the lead group and collected points. This also shows the strength and reliability and improvements that the bike has made.

“As for Kenny I am somewhat lost for words. The Shanghai result stayed with us for all the wrong reasons and this will stay with us for all the right reasons. It’s his birthday tomorrow and this was a great present for him and all the team. He rode as well today as he did when he won the World Championship. I hope that Kenny and John can take all the positives forward from this weekend to Sachsenring next week and build on this result.”

Search the site - Late Braking News - Forum

Bike Tests - Features - Wallpaper - Race Calendar

MCNEWS.COM.AU