Marknz
3rd May 2004, 06:30
MotoGP 2004 - Round 2 - Jerez - MotoGP Race
May 2nd, 2004 - By, Trevor hedge
Race Report
Gibernau led the field away in diabolical conditions at Jerez with Rossi, Checa, Biaggi, Barros and Hayden in tow. Biaggi moved past Checa in to third place while Nicky Hayden was shuffled back by Melandri and a swag of others. Shane Byrne went down hard late on the first lap but Gibernau continued to pull away while Checa got the better of Rossi for second early on the second lap while Ruben Xaus bit the dirt.
Bayliss got under Checa for second halfway through the second lap while Bayliss visited the kitty litter. Barros then moved up to fourth after moving past Valentino Rossi. Rossi got him back on the next lap though but Marco Melandri then took both of them to take fourth place.
Gibernau was still the leader on the third lap but Biaggi was determined to hunt him down and was the fastest man on the track during that second lap. But then Melandri signalled his intentions by recording the fastest lap on their third time around the circuit while Loris Capirossi took his turn to visit the kitty litter. Melandri had started to pressure Checa for third place while Biaggi had closed to within striking distance of Gibernau.
Melandri did get the better of third, Checa pushed down to fourth, Rossi fifth, Barros sixth, Kenny Roberts seventh and Neil Hodgson had put in an impressive early stint to move up to eighth place on his satellite Ducati with 21 laps to run.
Biaggi was searching for a way past Gibernau and was the fastest man on the circuit for three laps in succession but still could not find a place to make a safe pass on the Spaniard.
Rossi moved past Checa for fourth place as they passed one-third race distance while later in the same lap Barros pulled one of his trademark late braking moves to push Checa further down to sixth. Neil Hodgson had moved up to seventh.
Tamada had already came in to change his rear tyre and some of the other Bridgestone runners also seemed to be losing a little pace, some of the Dunlop boys also having dramas. Rossi got spat out of the seat big time on the next lap but somehow he landed back on his Yamaha to keep going and only lost one place in the process, he is surely blessed...
Nicky Hayden came back at Neil Hodgson to regain his seventh position. The race order with 15 laps to run was Gibernau, Biaggi, Melandri, Barros, Rossi, Checa, Hayden, Hodgson as the rain started to fall even harder. Biaggi was really looking for a way through on Gibernau and continued to pull alongside under brakes only to think better of the move and pull back. The leading pair had more than eight seconds over third placed Melandri who in turn had a comfortable gap over Barros in fourth.
Biaggi finally made a move with 12 laps to run but Gibernau refused to let him escape and took the lead back on the next lap. Rossi was 22 seconds down in fifth position at this stage of the race. Hodgson then had to park his Ducati seemingly through some mechanical gremlin, a shame for the Briton who had rode a good race prior to that unfortunate demise.
Melandri then threw away his safe third place with seven laps to run while Gibernau had pulled a handy few bike lengths out on Biaggi and then increased that gap by a full second on the next lap. Barros was running third with five laps to run, Rossi was fourth and being hunted down by Nicky Hayden. Edwards had got the better of Checa for sixth.
Gibernau took the win from Biaggi while a long way back was Alex Barros in third. Valentino Rossi just managed to hold off Hayden to secure fourth.
MotoGP Race Result
Gibernau
Biaggi
Barros
Rossi
Hayden
Checa
Edwards
Roberts
Nakano
Fabrizio
Abe
Capirossi
Hofmann
Aoki
Hopkins
May 2nd, 2004 - By, Trevor hedge
Race Report
Gibernau led the field away in diabolical conditions at Jerez with Rossi, Checa, Biaggi, Barros and Hayden in tow. Biaggi moved past Checa in to third place while Nicky Hayden was shuffled back by Melandri and a swag of others. Shane Byrne went down hard late on the first lap but Gibernau continued to pull away while Checa got the better of Rossi for second early on the second lap while Ruben Xaus bit the dirt.
Bayliss got under Checa for second halfway through the second lap while Bayliss visited the kitty litter. Barros then moved up to fourth after moving past Valentino Rossi. Rossi got him back on the next lap though but Marco Melandri then took both of them to take fourth place.
Gibernau was still the leader on the third lap but Biaggi was determined to hunt him down and was the fastest man on the track during that second lap. But then Melandri signalled his intentions by recording the fastest lap on their third time around the circuit while Loris Capirossi took his turn to visit the kitty litter. Melandri had started to pressure Checa for third place while Biaggi had closed to within striking distance of Gibernau.
Melandri did get the better of third, Checa pushed down to fourth, Rossi fifth, Barros sixth, Kenny Roberts seventh and Neil Hodgson had put in an impressive early stint to move up to eighth place on his satellite Ducati with 21 laps to run.
Biaggi was searching for a way past Gibernau and was the fastest man on the circuit for three laps in succession but still could not find a place to make a safe pass on the Spaniard.
Rossi moved past Checa for fourth place as they passed one-third race distance while later in the same lap Barros pulled one of his trademark late braking moves to push Checa further down to sixth. Neil Hodgson had moved up to seventh.
Tamada had already came in to change his rear tyre and some of the other Bridgestone runners also seemed to be losing a little pace, some of the Dunlop boys also having dramas. Rossi got spat out of the seat big time on the next lap but somehow he landed back on his Yamaha to keep going and only lost one place in the process, he is surely blessed...
Nicky Hayden came back at Neil Hodgson to regain his seventh position. The race order with 15 laps to run was Gibernau, Biaggi, Melandri, Barros, Rossi, Checa, Hayden, Hodgson as the rain started to fall even harder. Biaggi was really looking for a way through on Gibernau and continued to pull alongside under brakes only to think better of the move and pull back. The leading pair had more than eight seconds over third placed Melandri who in turn had a comfortable gap over Barros in fourth.
Biaggi finally made a move with 12 laps to run but Gibernau refused to let him escape and took the lead back on the next lap. Rossi was 22 seconds down in fifth position at this stage of the race. Hodgson then had to park his Ducati seemingly through some mechanical gremlin, a shame for the Briton who had rode a good race prior to that unfortunate demise.
Melandri then threw away his safe third place with seven laps to run while Gibernau had pulled a handy few bike lengths out on Biaggi and then increased that gap by a full second on the next lap. Barros was running third with five laps to run, Rossi was fourth and being hunted down by Nicky Hayden. Edwards had got the better of Checa for sixth.
Gibernau took the win from Biaggi while a long way back was Alex Barros in third. Valentino Rossi just managed to hold off Hayden to secure fourth.
MotoGP Race Result
Gibernau
Biaggi
Barros
Rossi
Hayden
Checa
Edwards
Roberts
Nakano
Fabrizio
Abe
Capirossi
Hofmann
Aoki
Hopkins