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Round: 9 - Donington MotoGP
Circuit: Donington
Date: 25 July 2004
Crowd: 82000
Temp: 18ºC
Weather: Overcast
Gathering clouds overhead and a second or two of rain in the early laps of today’s British Grand Prix could not stop Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi from picking up his fifth win of the year in commanding fashion. In front of 82,091 spectators Rossi’s one-man charge at the Donington track and ultimate victory increased his championship lead to 22 points ahead of Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi. Rossi’s team-mate Carlos Checa made a determined ride to sixth place.
Rossi took an immediate lead from pole position into the first turn as he attempted an early breakaway. Passes from Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Sete Gibernau (Honda) prevented him from such a tactic until the second lap, when he managed to pull out a short gap of 0.7 seconds. The distance between Rossi and the rest of the pack increased until half race distance, and his cushion of time had grown to over two seconds. The Italian continued his race domination to build a four second gap which he guarded throughout the final laps, winning by a margin of 2.945 seconds having eased off to enjoy a victory celebration over the line.
Checa’s race start pushed him inside the group of top ten riders, and several aggressive moves during the 30-lap contest helped him to a final sixth place. This enabled him to hold on to valuable championship points and the Catalan rider now lies seventh overall in the standings with 72 points.
This was a weekend the long-suffering, yet hugely resilient Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team would rather forget. Marco Melandri did not start the race after suffering injuries during Friday practice, despite qualifying for the main event. And Norick Abe crashed out on the penultimate lap while fighting for seventh place – the Japanese was shaken but largely unhurt. This is the second consecutive race where both riders have failed to finish.
Marco opted to sit out this race after injuring his throttle hand (right thumb) in a practice crash. The only conciliation is that the tough Italian knows that with a three-weekend break until the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic on 22 August, he will then be fit and ready for a storming end to his season.
Norick was riding a storming race when he crashed at the super-fast, downhill Craner Curves. He was making ground on Ducati rider Loris Capirossi when he was launched high into the air. As a result he aggravated the rib injuries he received last weekend at the Sachsenring and he also complained of dizziness. Medical staff reported no serious injuries, but he will nevertheless undergoing some precautionary tests.
Rossi leads the championship by 164 points, 22 clear of his closest rivals Gibernau and Biaggi, who are tied on 142. After a charged performance to a second place finish, Colin Edwards (Honda) is fourth overall with 95 points.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) first “This was a great victory at an important race, and the bike was good to ride. I was a little worried about the tyres. I know it was possible to have a good rhythm through the race but at the start I did not have so much feeling with the rear-end because it was colder than yesterday. Slowly, slowly the gap came for me at the front. I had a little problem with the gentle rain that started falling, but everybody slowed down and then the weather got better and it was possible to win. This win was very important because today the bike worked very well. I have to say thank you to the team who worked very well all weekend and to Michelin because the tyres worked right to the end. I am happy because I have taken a small advantage in the championship and at some tracks we will not have the advantage in race conditions so it is good to have these extra points. I will sleep much better in the summer break. We have had problems with the rear at the last few races and we hope to be able to fix those on Tuesday when we test here.”
Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) sixth “At the start of the race I lost many places that took some time to recover. When it started raining I saw Capirossi put his hand up and I thought everyone else had so I rolled off the gas. Then I realised that nobody else had so I lost at least four seconds there. I did not have enough confidence in the brakes in the first few laps, plus the position of the bike and myself to push. The start of the race determined my finish in the race. If I had started higher up then I think it was possible to have finished fourth. But it is like it is, I’m not that disappointed because we have done a good job. Watching Valentino winning means that they are doing something better than us so I think it is time for us to go up.”
Jeremy Burgess (Valentino Rossi’s crew chief) “The bike has been working well over the weekend and we seem to be making inroads into some of the problems we have been experiencing each race. That’s very encouraging. It’s a different track and tyres to what we used last year, it was the tyre we ran on Friday and Saturday so we had put enough laps on it to know what should work in the race. The only unknown today was the weather and as long as that wind was blowing I felt confident that the rain would stay away. I think we did all we had to this weekend. Five wins out of nine is pretty good but nine out of nine would be better!”
Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3) – DNF Unavailable for comment.
Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3) – DNS “Having struggled through yesterday’s practice, I have decided not to race. I am really disappointed because the bike is really good here and I think I could have ridden a good race. I only live a few miles from this circuit and this is like my second home Grand Prix. With my injuries at best in the dry I might have been able to finish 11th or 12th, but with a big risk of hurting myself further. A wet race might have been less painful, but with an even higher risk of falling. I also have to think of my fellow riders. It is one thing for me to take risks, but quite another to put everybody else on the grid in danger. Now I’ll take some rest and hopefully come back to Brno fully fit.”
Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 team director “Norick didn’t deserve that. His ribs are hurting and he hit his head pretty hard, but he seems okay. We’re all so sorry for him. Otherwise it’s a pity to have a weekend like this. Norick was riding so well he almost made us forget about the issue with Marco. He went from 17th on the grid to eighth and almost beyond. His lap times at the end of the race were the same as the riders fighting for fifth place. Another weekend to forget. But we all get a break now and both riders deserve that more than anyone.”
Race classification MotoGP
Round: 9 - Donington MotoGP
Circuit: Donington
Circuit Length: 4023
Lap Record: 1' 29.973 (Colin Edwards, 2004)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 29.973 (Colin Edwards, 2004)
Race: 30 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 45' 30.473
2 C. Edwards Honda USA +2.945
3 S. Gibernau Honda ESP +4.426
4 N. Hayden Honda USA +6.096
5 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS +14.711
6 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +17.110
7 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +23.313
8 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +28.121
9 A. Barros Honda BRA +35.380
10 N. Hodgson Ducati GBR +44.468
11 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +47.490
12 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +54.004
13 S. Byrne Aprilia GBR +57.378
14 M. Tamada Honda JPN +1' 7.158
15 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +1' 15.795
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 C. Edwards Honda USA 1' 29.973
Championship standings MotoGP
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 164
2 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 142
3 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 142
4 Colin Edwards Honda USA 95
5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 86
6 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 83
7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 72
8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 64
9 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 57
10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 56
11 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 46
12 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 41
13 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 37
14 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 34
15 Kenny Roberts Suzuki USA 29
Manufacturers standings MotoGP
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 200
2 Yamaha 179
3 Ducati 83
4 Kawasaki 42
4 Suzuki 42
5 Aprilia 23
6 Harris WCM 8
7 Proton KR 7
8 Moriwaki 2
Race classification GP250
Round: 9 - Donington GP250
Circuit: Donington
Circuit Length: 4023
Lap Record: 1' 33.217 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2004)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.217 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2004)
Race: 27 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 42' 17.705
2 S. Porto Aprilia ARG +6.003
3 R. de Puniet Aprilia FRA +11.463
4 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +12.722
5 F. Nieto Aprilia ESP +30.430
6 A. West Aprilia AUS +33.007
7 F. Battaini Aprilia ITA +51.931
8 N. Matsudo Yamaha JPN +55.055
9 H. Aoyama Honda JPN +57.422
10 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +59.456
11 J. Olive Aprilia ESP +1' 6.270
12 A. Baldolini Aprilia ITA +1' 6.566
13 H. Marchand Aprilia FRA +1' 21.025
14 J. Stigefelt Aprilia SWE +1' 21.800
15 J. Smrz Honda CZE +1' 29.120
Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 33.217
Championship standings GP250
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 180
2 Randy de Puniet Aprilia FRA 146
3 Sebastian Porto Aprilia ARG 128
4 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 93
5 Toni Elias Honda ESP 86
6 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia ESP 86
7 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 71
8 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 67
9 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 65
10 Manuel Poggiali Aprilia SMR 63
11 Alex Debon Honda ESP 53
12 Franco Battaini Aprilia ITA 46
13 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 29
14 Alex Baldolini Aprilia ITA 27
15 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha JPN 23
Manufacturers standings GP250
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Honda 205
2 Aprilia 200
3 Yamaha 23
