MotoGP 2006 250cc Race Report Results Championship Points Standings

Jorge Lorenzo started from pole position for the third successive race but that came to no avail in Turkey as the championship leader went down at the first turn along with a number of other riders. That left Dovizioso, the second placed man in the championship behind Lorenzo, to lead the field around the first lap. A perfect chance for the Honda man to claw back the 14 points he trailed behind Aprilia rider Lorenzo.

Dovizioso was not going to have it all his own way though as Barbera soon moved through to the lead while Alex De Angelis was close by in third place in what was his 100th GP start. De Angelis also took his turn at the front in the opening laps and with 16 laps to run the tightly knit order at the front was Barbera, De Angelis, Dovizioso, Aoyama, Takahashi and Locatelli.

Even as the race entered its second half still nobody had managed to make a break and De Angelis led the race by 3-tenths of a second over Barbera who had a similar buffer over third placed Dovizioso. Takahashi, Locatelli and Aoyama were also still right there in the hunt. Anthony West, the star of the wet second qualifying session, had worked his way past Porto for tenth place with nine laps to run.

With six laps to run the fight up front spiced up much further with the top six starting to change place at nearly every turn and less than a second covering the whole six riders.

With three laps to run De Angelis led the pack but with two to run Dovizioso was back in front but had Aoyama right on his tail. Aoyama sneaked in front with one and a half laps to run but Dovizioso came right back at him. It looked as though it would be a miracle if the whole top six all made it home without any of them punting each other off the track or running off into the gravel.

Early on the last lap Aoyama again hit the front and was doing his best to give KTM their first ever win in the 250cc category. De Angelis stole third place from Barbera with two-thirds of a lap to run. Four wide they went down the straight but Barbera and De Angelis touched and De Angelis miraculously managed to stay on his Aprilia and keep it upright for what seemed like hundreds of metres on the grass before running up a slip road. It was near a complete disaster that must have put the San Marino based rider's heart and various other appendages in his mouth as it could have been very messy. That was cold comfort for him however as he struggled to get going again only to salvage a few points by coming home in 12th position.

Aoyama went on to take a deserving first victory for KTM while Barbera took second place by the narrowest of margins over Dovizioso and Locatelli only a couple of bike lengths further behind in fourth place.

Dovizioso now leads the 250cc Championship on 52 points from the unfortunate Lorenzo who had taken his 50 points with victory in the first two rounds of the season. Aoyama's brilliant victory promoted him to third in the standings on 46 points, two points ahead of the fourth placed Hector Barbera.

That race has to go down as one of the best 250cc races of all time and De Angelis' miraculous saves one of the most amazing escapes in the history of racing.

Dovizioso blamed Aoyama for his early exit from the race, “I did not get away very well and tried to make up some ground at the first corner, but I felt a huge hit from behind and just saw myself hit the floor. I am very annoyed because I wanted to win the race and extend my lead in the championship. As it was I didn’t score any points and lost all the advantage I had earned myself from Jerez and Qatar. I have seen the crash on television and think Aoyama was to blame. I am angry and physically hurt, but I will be ready for the race in China when I demonstrate my potential again.”

Team-mate Hector Barbera was understandably happy with his best result thus far in 250 GP, "I've had to wait for my first 250 podium, but now it’s here it’s a very happy moment in my career. Lorenzo’s fall means that the championship is very close now, as if we had just started. The contact with De Angelis on the last lap disrupted my plans as I intended to get to the front, but it was not to be. I almost got away but the collision meant the bike did not work as well as I hoped over the final few corners. It was a hard race, but also very enjoyable. I took a few risks but knew I could not let the opportunity pass today. I wish Jorge well and hope he can recover like I did after the blows I took in the first two races of the season.”

But of course the happiest man of them all was race winner Hiroshi Aoyama, "This was a fantastic race. Telling the truth I was not expecting this result today. All the guys in this leading group could have won. I was always pushing hard for first, but the others were very fast and could pass me. I thought if they pass me in the last lap I wait and try again in the last corner. So I was lucky to make it possible. My KTM bike was running really very well today, after we did work very hard in the past and also through the weekend. But I also need to thank Harald Bartol, KTM, my chief mechanic Alfred Willeke and of course my team for doing the best effort for that speedy development. I’m so happy today."

Aoyama is understandably justified in his elation as his team-mate and previous front runner in Grand Prix racing Manual Poggiali could manage only 15th place.

Anthony West has had his share of ups and downs but proved that he is the fastest man in the wet yet again when he dominated the final wet qualifying session. His dry weather results have not been great of late with a myriad of problems setting him back on his privateer level Aprilia, "Rain was my best chance of a good result this weekend, but the track was dry today. In the morning warm-up I ran in some new pistons. On the first lap bikes started going down and spinning across the track. Luckily I got through, but I had to slow down to miss everything and it cost me time and track positions. After that I settled into a rhythm and did some consistent lap times. I was catching (Alex) Baldolini near the end, but I couldn’t get close enough to make a pass before the race finished. It was important to finish this race and to get some (championship) points.” And get some points he did, the Australian took home ninth place earning him seven points for his efforts. The first points the Queenslander has scored all season. His team-mate Dirk Heidolf has had less machinery dramas and has managed to finish all three races thus far this season but only has a total of four points to his credit and has not been able to match the speed of West on equal machinery.

Andrea Dovizioso's third place in Turkey promoted him past Jorge Lorenzo for the championship lead, "I'm happy to be the leader of the Championship, but I'm not satisfied with today's third place. At the beginning, I thought I could go away, but I didn't feel at 100% on the bike and I didn't have the same feeling I had during practice. Maybe the track was slower today. I lead the first two laps but then I've been overtaken. It's hard to choose the right strategy when you have less horses-power. Also, I used a tyre that I tested only this morning in the warm up and at the end it was sliding a bit. Anyway, I'm happy to lead the World Championship and I like the circuit of Shanghai, in China, where next GP takes place. I'm quite constant in terms of results and I know I can stay in front, but I want to win and at the moment we are not in the conditions to do it."

Dovizioso was in the perfect position to summaries that last lap altercation that sent De Angelis off into the grass, "The collision between De Angelis and Barbera has been unbelievable. I saw De Angelis' bike in front of me sideways, I closed my eyes and braked hoping that nothing happened. Luckily, then, the bike went on the right side, but this is not the way to ride. It is not possible to do that kind of change of directions at that speeds".

Aoyama's win was KTM's first ever victory in the 250cc class. Team Technical and Managing Director Harald Bartol was understandably pleased with the breakthrough, “You know what makes it possible to win a race with a new developed bike is, to have the same team around at the race track like at home. A team that gives it the very best and doesn’t mind working day and night. We can do this development from one race to the other as we have very direct contact to our CEO Stefan Pierer within KTM plus the full support of our partner Red Bull and many specialized supporters. That the bike is strong enough to win a race Hiroshi Aoyama had told me before. But he made a very clever race today to make that result possible.”