Loris Capirossi’s first victory of the season for Ducat Marlboro in the Japanese Grand Prix gave the Italian rider’s points total a welcome boost, as a spectacular crash saw Valentino Rossi miss out on his first chance to secure the 2005 championship.
Loris Capirossi’s first victory of the season for Ducat Marlboro in the Japanese Grand Prix gave the Italian rider’s points total a welcome boost, as a spectacular crash saw Valentino Rossi miss out on his first chance to secure the 2005 championship.
Marco Melandri lead the pack during the opening laps at Motegi, trailed by Capirossi who was later joined by Max Biaggi. Melandri slipped down to third place as current champion Rossi made his way up the field. held a commanding advantage leading up to the race, and a win at the Japanese circuit would have ensured him victory in the 2005 championship.
But with Biaggi leading ahead of Capirossi, a botched overtaking manoeuvre on lap 13 sent both Rossi and Melandri tumbling into a gravel pit. However, Rossi still only needs to secure a fourth-place finish at Malaysia next week to retain his championship title.
Meanwhile, Capirossi continued to tail his compatriot for another six laps before making his move to take a clear victory by 1,4 seconds in Sunday’s race. Last year’s winner and home favourite, Makoto Tamada, crossed the line in a distant third place.
“It is good to have taken the win today,” said Capirossi, who recently renewed his contract with the Italian team for another year. “I had a good rhythm in the race but sometimes I was over the limit when I tried to pass. When I took the lead I knew I was faster than Max and I knew it would be my race.”
Team-mate Carlos Checa finished fourth, ahead of John Hopkins, who recorded his best ever grand prix finish in fifth.
Colin Edwards (sixth), Nicky Hayden (seventh), Kenny Roberts (eighth), Toni Elías (ninth), Rubén Xaus (tenth) and Franco Battaini in eleventh position, were the only other riders to complete the collision-marred race.
Apart from the Rossi/Melandri incident, Alex Barros and Sete Gibernau also crashed out, while Alex Hofmann broke his ankle in a collision that will certainly rule him out for the rest of the season.
