Valentino Rossi powered to his second victory of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, and former World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss earned his first podium finish.
Valentino Rossi powered to his second victory of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, and former World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss earned his first podium finish.
Max Biaggi finished second, with Bayliss in third. It was Rossi’s third consecutive victory at Jerez. Rossi has now taken 13 wins in 19 races since the inauguration of the MotoGP class at the start of last year
Tohru Ukawa took fourth after battling with Alex Barros and Makoto Tamada recorded his highest GP finish in sixth. John Hopkins on a Suzuki was seventh.
Loris Capirossi and Bayliss completed a Ducati front-row in qualifying with the Italian on pole. Rossi was seventh after the first lap. He lost ground after almost hitting Tohru Ukawa when they both went for the same space, but the world champion moved up the field quickly to second behind Capirossi. The Ducati rider then ran wide at the end of lap three and Rossi took charge.
Only 18 riders finished the race. Spain’s Carlos Checa retired on lap four with electrical problems and Sete Gibernau fell out on lap eight.
This track is very good for me,” Rossi said. “But even more important than the win are the 25 points because the championship is a very long one.
“We worked hard mentally on the race during practice and this meant that I did not have time to make a quick lap. I was having some tyre and traction problems like everybody but we set the bike up so that it would slide and be manageable.”
Despite a podium finish, Bayliss said it was not the most exciting race. “I have to say what a real pleasure it is to be up here with these riders and I’m happy with the success we have had so far which is a big credit to the team and their hard work,” said Bayliss. “The race was pretty tough because I was by myself and it was a bit boring to be honest!”
Toni Elias won his second ever 250cc GP and Lucio Cecchinello triumphed in the 125cc race.