It was yet another close finish MotoGP race on Sunday, with Valentino Rossi snatching victory from Sete Gibernau in the last seconds at Brno.
It was yet another close finish MotoGP race on Sunday, with Valentino Rossi snatching victory from Sete Gibernau in the last seconds at Brno.
Rossi and Gibernau fought for position with the Ducatis of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi, with Bayliss getting off to the best start and leading for the first third of the race.
Capirossi looked solid in third place when he developed mechanical problems on lap 13 and was forced out of the race for the fourth time this season.
It was left to Bayliss to battle the Hondas and stay in the hunt, just a second off the pace of Rossi and Gibernau.
Rossi made a number of mistakes during the race, running wide at one point and dropping back to fourth. But he fought back again.
The Italian made an aggressive move towards the end of the race and won the race a second ahead of Gibernau. Bayliss finished third.
“I think today, for me and for everybody, is one of the best races of the year. We were fighting without tactics and without thinking; giving 100 per cent and wanting to be at the front,” said Rossi.
“I had a lot of fun on the bike. I lost the race in Germany with bad tactics and did not want a repeat. On the last lap I ran wide and lost half a second but then Sete made a mistake and I could take some ground. I attacked around the back of the circuit and although Sete tried to come back I could hold on for the win; this is like a dream.”
Gibernau said it was good to be fighting so hard with Rossi. “Every race we have this year just seems to get better than the last one. We were all giving 100 per cent from the start. Troy did a good job by pushing hard from the first corner, but when Valentino hit the front I knew I had to go with him or he would be gone.
“It was exciting throughout the race, but on the last lap I made a small mistake and it’s easy to do this when you are on the limit. It was fun out there today and I must congratulate Valentino again because he was the better rider today.
“I want to win more races but it is nice to see that when Valentino is pushing so hard we can fight with him.”
Carlos Checa was fourth. Max Biaggi, who won at Brno last year, was not much of a threat, finishing fifth.
Randy de Puniet won the 250 cc race while Daniel Pedrosa triumphed in the 125 cc race.
Results:
1 Valentino Rossi (Honda)
2 Sete Gibernau (Honda)
3 Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
4 Carlos Checa (Yamaha)
5 Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons)
6 Nicky Hayden (Honda)
7 Alex Barros (Yamaha)
8 Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons)
9 Makoto Tamada (Honda)
10 Marco Melandri (Yamaha).
World championship standings:
1 Valentino Rossi (Honda) 212 points
2 Sete Gibernau (Honda) 178
3 Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons) 141
4 Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 97
5 Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 96
6 Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 78
7 Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons) 74
8 Alex Barros (Yamaha) 71
9 Nicky Hayden (Honda) 67
10 Shinya Nakano (Yamaha) 65.
