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From our LIVE page,
unedited transcript of how we called proceedings - Start from the
bottom and scroll upwards
- 1723 - We believe the
results are going to stand
- 1657 - We believe
organisers are now reviewing video to see if Rossi passed
Stoner under a yellow flag
- 1632 - Rumours here that a
protest might be lodged concerning a rider passing under a
yellow.... Possibly Rossi involved.... Details are slight
and nothing but whispers and more than likely nothing will
come of it but talk is circulating....
- 1600 - Championship
standings still has Hayden on top but his lead has been
trimmed to 21 points over Rossi and Marco Melandri's
fantastic win sees him draw into equal third place with Dani
Pedrosa with that pair 11 points behind Rossi. One of
the most enthralling races of all time I would have to say
and Melandri's celebration one of the best of all time.
- 1558 - I have to say
Melandri's winning celebration was absolute trouser
stretching stuff.... Through turn 12 completely sideways at
well over 200kph with smoke pouring from the rear tyre and
all this with only one hand on the bars and his other hand
raised in triumph. That will be replayed throughout every
corner of the globe countless times in the years to come
- 1556 - A brilliant win
from Melandri, he out classed them here today, simple as
that. A fantastic performance from Vermeulen to
take second place. A brilliant performance also from
Rossi to claim third at the line from Gibernau, also great
rides from Hayden and Stoner.
- 1554 - Last lap and Rossi
all over Gibernau.... Melandri smokes his way on to the main
straight sideways one handed to take the win.... Vermeulen
second.... Rossi gets third from Gibernau in the run to the
line, Gibernau fourth, Hayden fifth, Stoner sixth, Capirossi
seventh, Nakano eighth
- 1554 - Lapped traffic
coming into play, they are about to lap Hopkins...
- 1553 - Hayden now only a
few bike lengths behind Rossi... Rossi, Hayden and
Stoner the fastest men on the circuit now......
- 1552 - Rossi is going to
come under attack from both Hayden and Stoner before this
race is out..... Two laps to run..... The game is one for
fourth and that may even become a game for third as they
will be on Gibernau shortly....
- 1551 - They are about to
lap Dani Pedrosa....
- 1550 - Melandri has un
unassailable 8.6 second lead over Vermeulen who in turn has
a strong 3 second buffer over Gibernau.... Hayden closing on
Rossi and the pair of them closing in on Gibernau
- 1549 - Gibernau really
struggling for drive and Rossi closing on him.. The gap down
to 3.2 seconds and Hayden has the gap to Rossi down to
7-tenths... Stoner on a charge too and might go with
Hayden....
- 1549 - Hayden is going to
get up to Rossi within the next lap or so, I am sure of
it....
- 1547 - Melandri now an
incredible 5 seconds in front of Vermeulen who in turn has a
3 second buffer on Gibernau. Rossi just went a second
quicker than Gibernau to narrow the gap down to only 4
seconds.... Hayden only a second further behind..... Only 4
laps to run now... Hayden the quickest man on the track on
that last lap.... Can he get Rossi?
- 1546 - Was Hayden smart
enough to be really nice to his wets rather than charge
through to the front with a view to the full race
distance....? Is he that quickly calculating....?
It is not out of his reach to perhaps close down Rossi
before this race is out if Rossi has been rough on his
tyres...
- 1545 - Vermeulen has
perhaps destroyed his wet..... The Suzuki man really
struggling for drive now by the look of it....
- 1544 - Stoner and Hayden
tussling over fifth place, the pair only a second behind
Rossi. This time around Melandri puts down a 1m40.1,
Vermeulen a 1m41.6, Gibernau a 1m42.4, Rossi a 1m41.7,
Hayden a 1m41.5, Stoner 1m41.9, Capirossi 1m41.9...
- 1542 - Melandri now leads
Vermeulen by 3.9 seconds. Melandri still the fastest man on
the circuit but Rossi only a tenth slower on that last lap
and eating in the significant gap forward to third placed
Gibernau... I think he has enough laps to do it but I can't
see him getting Vermeulen....
- 1541 - Rossi got to the
front of that battle for fourth and is now pulling away from
them..... So Rossi now a clear fourth place but he is eight
seconds behind third placed Gibernau.... Pedrosa is stone
last in the tricky conditions.... Could be the end of his
championship charge if Hayden and Rossi stay upright...
- 1540 - Nakano and Rossi
are past Stoner, pushing the young Aussie back to sixth
place... Ellison back in the pits...
- 1539 - The battle for
fourth has intensified and is now a four-way affair closely
fought between Stoner, Nakano, Rossi and Hayden.
Checa's gamble on going back out on slicks on the drying
track resulted in him going down the road at turn four... He
has remounted and rejoined the race however
- 1539 - Vermeulen up to
second place now.... Melandri is doing an escape act though,
already two seconds in front and running away...
- 1538 - 10 laps to run and
it is Melandri, Gibernau, Vermeulen with half a second
between each place. Stoner is 7 seconds back in fourth
and under threat from Nakano, not much further behind Nakano
is Rossi and Hayden.... Checa came back in the pits.... And
out again.... Perhaps taking a gamble on dry tyres....
- 1537 - Melandri through to
the lead now and pulling away immediately....
- 1537 - Nakano is closing
on Stoner and has pulled away from Ross and Hayden....
- 1536 - Melandri up to
second and immediately closing on Gibernau, the gap now only
1.2 seconds with 11 laps to run.
- 1535 - Melandri all over
the back of Vermeulen now. Rossi had gone with Hayden
as the American made his charge and now he has decided to
slip past the American to move up to sixth place as they
both hound Nakano...
- 1534 - Vermeulen and
Melandri inching a little closer to Gibernau now.... Just a
tenth here and there but then the Spaniard seems to be able
to respond to stretch it back out to around two seconds....
And Vermeulen is about to have his hands full with one Marco
Melandri....
- 1532 - Vermeulen pulling
in Gibernau again now.... The gap back down to 1.9
seconds.... Melandri within a couple of tenths on
Vermeulen..... Hayden working his way forward, now all over
Nakano in a challenge for fifth, only a matter of time
before he gets him... Stoner in fourth
- 1531 - Melandri the mover
now, quickest man on the track now and closing on Vermeulen,
Gibernau has increased his lead to 2.4 seconds now after
responding to the challenge from Vermeulen....
- 1531 - The rain has
cleared off to a degree now.... The riders will destroy
these wets in no time if a dry line starts to appear....
Hayden past Rossi now for 7th place...
- 1530 - Gibernau has
responded to Vermeulen's challenge after seeing him closing
on his pit board.... Will he have the speed to hold off the
charging Queenslander on the Suzuki...?
- 1528 - Gibernau had 2.5
seconds on Vermeulen that last lap around but is taking a
couple of tenths out of him at each split... Down to 1.8
seconds now at the third split, he comes across the line 1.9
seconds behind Gibernau. Vermeulen the quickest man on the
circuit that time around...
- 1527 - The order is
Gibernau, Vermeulen, Checa, Stoner, Melandri, Nakano,
Hopkins, Rossi, Hayden, De Puniet rounds out the top ten.
The quickest man on the circuit now is Nicky Hayden!!!!
- 1527 - Gibernau has a
handy lead but Chris Vermeulen is having a massive charge
and is closing!
- 1526 - Gibernau leads by
3.8 seconds, Checa second, Vermeulen third, Stoner fourth,
Hopkins fifth, Melandri sixth, Rossi seventh, Hayden
eighth...
- 1525 - Checa is 45 seconds
behind Nakano who I think is the only rider to have not come
in for wets... now he is in....Next time around we will have
a better idea of the state of affairs...
- 1524 - Most of the field
has now entered the pits and swapped to a wet bike....
Nakano still slithering around on slicks, his last lap a
1m49... With 18 laps to go the guys on wets will smoke him
in no time...
- 1523 - Riders tip toeing
their way around on slicks.... Nakano stays out.... Who will
go in....
- 1522 - The pace has
slackened into the 1 minute 40s now, nine seconds
slower than the pace they were running earlier....
Edwards crashed out of the race....
- 1522 - Checa into the pits
for his spare bike.... Out again he goes...
- 1521 - It is pissing down
now!!!!!!
- 1520 - Hopkins another
rider on a charge and making ground on them....
Ellison has gone to the pits, perhaps gambling on the wet
set up to take a surprise...If it works out he could make an
incredible result..... Championship backmarker Cardoso
taking the same gamble..... The bookies will be having
puppies...
- 1519 - White flag has been
shown which means rider are allowed to come in the pits and
swap to a bike set up for the rain... Who will take the
gamble.... The riders have slowed by around four seconds a
lap now.... Gibernau came back at Rossi and the two are
trading places all the way around the circuit...
- 1518 - Rossi into second
now, up the inside of Gibernau at turn four, this is
unbelievable, he is making him look as though they are on
minibikes.... Rain has increased and this has turned the
race on its head...
- 1517 - Rossi is on a
mission now. Has picked off Edwards, Roberts, Pedrosa,
Melandri in the space of a few corners.... This is going to
be a cracker of a lap....
- 1516 - Gibernau edging
closer to Nakano, the gap now 2.8 seconds.... Pedrosa
closing on Melandri and running a good pace but fastest man
on that last lap was Gibernau... Hayden starting to
gain a little speed now but still well down in 14th place...
- 1516 - Stoner tussling
with Capirossi and the pair have been dusted by Rossi who
has moved up to take 8th place
- 1515 - Looks as though
Bridgestone have the right rubber recipe for these
conditions.... But perhaps not.... Melandri and Pedrosa
picking up pace... Nakano leads by 3.1 seconds, Gibernau
closed a little on that last lap...
- 1514 - Hayden in 15th...
Is this the turning point of the championship for the
America.... He must gain some places here today...
- 1513 - Nakano a 1m31.18 on
lap two to blitz the field, his lead an incredible 3.5
seconds ahead of second placed Gibernau who heads Melandri,
Pedrosa, Edwards, Hopkins, Roberts, Stoner then Rossi...
- 1513 - A little drizzle
perhaps strengthening now.... Hard to tell..... Gibernau up
to second place ahead of Melandri...
- 1512 - Nakano is doing a
runner! 2.5 second lead on the first lap! Rossi
in 10th.... Hopkins is looking strong and up to seventh...
- 1511 - Nakano, Edwards,
Melandri into third ahead of Roberts now...
- 1511 - Hayden got a
shocker of a start and was down in 14th place, Rossi 9th...
- 1510 - Nakano leads them
into turn one, Roberts in third place ahead of Colin Edwards
who got a flyer of a start
- 1509 - Mechanics and team
personnel running every which way including loose....
Readying spare bikes for a possible downpour....
- 1508 - Warm up lap now, a
tiny bit of moisture around... Anything could happen...
- 1501 - The rain is on its
way.... It seems to be more of a when rather than an if
now.... Nothing like Phillip Island to throw up a
surprise meteorological curve ball... I might go find a
betting sight to see what odds they are giving Kenny Roberts
or Chris Vermeulen....
- 1500 - Start has been
delayed.....
- 1459 - MotoGP men coming
into their grid positions now ready for a start.... Clouds
very threatening...
- 1443 - MotoGP up
shortly... Just as dark clouds start to gather over Phillip
Island..... Think we should be safe from precipitation but
gazing out some windows of the media centre it is starting
to look very dark and threatening on the horizon...
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