Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jerez MotoGP Race Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 27 laps, 46:50.345
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, -6.333 seconds
3. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -12.077 seconds
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, -16.183 seconds
5. Alex Barros, Yamaha, -18.630 seconds
6. Makoto Tamada, Honda, -24.153 seconds
7. John Hopkins, Suzuki, -30.959 seconds
8. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, -31.218 seconds
9. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, -36.002 seconds
10. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, -37.566 seconds
11. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, -43.753 seconds
12. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, -43.894 seconds
13. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, -48.891 seconds
14. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, -52.128 seconds
15. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, -68.179 seconds
16. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, -68.372 seconds
17. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, -91.010 seconds
18. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, -1 lap
19. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, -15 laps, DNF, crash
20. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -19 laps, DNF, crash
21. Sete Gibernau, Honda, -21 laps, DNF, crash
22. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -24 laps, DNF, retired


MotoGP World Championship Point Standings:

1. Rossi, 70 points
2. Biaggi, 56 points
3. Bayliss, 40 points
4. Gibernau/Barros, TIE, 38 points
6. Ukawa, 23 points
7. Nakano, 20 points
8. Hayden, 18 points
9. Capirossi, 16 points
10. Hopkins, 15 points
11. Norick Abe/Checa/Jacque, TIE, 13 points
14. Edwards/Tamada, TIE, 12 points
16. Aoki, 11 points
17. Haga, 9 points
18. Roberts, 6 points
19. McWilliams, 4 points
20. Pitt, 1 point


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

PROBLEMS FOR UNLUCKY CHECA; GRITTY RETURN FOR MELANDRI

Marco Melandri made a gutsy MotoGP race debut aboard the Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1 at the third round of the MotoGP World Championship, held today in Jerez, Spain. The young Italian, who missed the opening two races of the year due to his Suzuka crash where he suffered a double fracture to his ankle and a chipped femur, made an impressive start to the 27 lap race – filtering through the field to feature well within the top ten before fatigue took its toll just after mid-race distance.

Melandri, who was 15th after the first lap, showed maturity that belied his minimal MotoGP experience. The young Italian was in ninth position by the 10th lap, before making a mistake by under braking and running off the circuit. Although the 20-year-old kept the bike upright he had lost seven places before he rejoined the race and eventually finished the day 17th.

Melandri’s team-mate Carlos Checa had a disappointing day at his home MotoGP race when his YZR-M1 suffered electrical problems and stopped on the third lap, only moments after the Spaniard had confidently taken sixth place from John Hopkins (Suzuki) while chasing, at that time, the fifth-placed Max Biaggi (Honda).

The race win initially looked set to be a six way encounter between Loris Capirossi (Ducati), Sete Gibernau (Honda), Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Valentino Rossi (Honda), Max Biaggi (Honda) and Checa. But as fate would have it both Capirossi and Gibernau crashed, following the demise of Checa, leaving Rossi to stamp his authority on the race with a 6.333 second win over Biaggi and third-placed man Bayliss.

“I am quite pleased with today,” said Melandri. “I enjoyed the start of the race for the first few laps, although I did knock my ankle again when I fell in this morning’s practice session. I then got into quite a good position but when I was in ninth place my back started to hurt a bit so I had to slow down slightly. I tried to get in front on the outside corner but I went too wide and went off the track at the first curve. Even though I dropped right back to almost last position I was determined to finish the race. If I can do the next races as I did at the start of this one, I think I can do okay.”

Carlos Checa was understandably disappointed with the day’s outcome, having put in a strong start to the race. The Fortuna Yamaha Team rider hopes to continue that good form at the team’s forthcoming Mugello test (May 14-15) and at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans in two weeks.

“We lost a big opportunity to get a good result today,” lamented the Spaniard. “The race was going pretty well for me. The bike felt good, I had passed a few people and I felt comfortable with the pace. I really believed I had a chance to get a good result and I just could not believe it when the engine just died.

“I feel very sorry for everyone in the team because we had worked very well here. Even though my grid position was not good, the times were very tight and we had worked well to get the bike feeling good. But there is no point talking about what might have been. I have to remain positive and concentrate on carrying on all that good work to Le Mans. We need to keep going in this direction and I believe we can be competitive there. It’s amazing to have a problem again in Jerez. Last year it happened on the last lap and this year I couldn’t believe it happened again. Last year it was the only bike failure we had in the season so I hope that’s true again this year!”

Fortuna Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio said, “We’re very happy to have Marco back and for him to finish his first race. He made a small mistake and lost time when he ran off the track but until then he was fighting with riders who have a lot of MotoGP experience. Of course he is not at his best, physically, but he did a good job.

“It’s a great shame for Carlos and I’m very sorry for him because I think he could have been on the podium. His preparation this weekend has been very good and he got away well. We found a good base for the bike and he’s riding well. So we’re hoping for a good result in Le Mans. We are going to test in Mugello on Wednesday and Thursday. We have a few new things to try as well as preparing for Le Mans and Mugello. We have to check on Marco’s condition during the next couple of days to see if he should test or whether it will be better for him to rest.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MAN BAYLISS SCORES FIRST MotoGP PODIUM

Troy Bayliss crowned a great weekend for the Ducati Marlboro Team with a brilliant third-place finish in today’s Marlboro Spanish GP, one day after team-mate Loris Capirossi scored the factory’s first-ever pole position in the premier GP class.

Unfortunately Capirossi was less lucky in the race, tumbling out of third place shortly before half distance. The Italian was riding with some difficulty, having collided with Bayliss during the warm-up lap.

Today’s result, plus yesterday’s one-two qualifying performance, with Bayliss second and just one hundredth down, continues an amazing run of results since the Ducati Marlboro Team started its MotoGP GP adventure last month. So far the team has led all three races, scored podiums at two and taken two front-row starts including one pole.

“Overall it’s been a fantastic weekend,” said Ducati Motor Holdings CEO Federico Minoli, who watched the race along with another 130,000 fans. “Maybe we might’ve expected more from today after yesterday’s performance, but we take things day by day, and before we started racing in MotoGP we never dreamed we’d obtain such results so soon. I feel sorry for Loris, but Troy was amazing. His progression of results – fifth in Japan, fourth in South Africa and third here – means we can dream of him winning at Mugello! But really, this year’s goal was always to learn for next year, and so far I think we’re learning okay!”

Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli added: “I think this is our best weekend so far – pole position and a podium. Loris was unlucky, Troy rode a great race – very consistent with the same lap times as Biaggi, even though the race pace was slower than we expected.” The Ducati Marlboro Team stay at Jerez to test the Desmosedici on Tuesday.

BAYLISS LEADS AGAIN, FINISHES THIRD
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a superb race today, scoring his first MotoGP podium in front of a massive and appreciative Spanish crowd. Racing for the first time at Jerez, the former World Superbike champion dived into the lead at the start, then quickly settled into second place behind team-mate Capirossi. Relegated to fourth at one point, he regained third place when Capirossi fell and spent much of the race rather alone.

“It was a long day for everybody, but I was aiming for the podium and that’s what we got, so it’s been a very good weekend,” smiled Bayliss, now third in the points chase. “I got a good start and got into a rhythm, but I just couldn’t go any faster. I was slipping and sliding around the place, so I couldn’t make better progress. We’ll keep working on the bike, doing this and that, and take it from here.”

Bayliss rode in some pain following his warm-up-lap collision with Capirossi, the Italian’s left handlebar making contact with the Australian’s right leg at speed on the back straight. “Everyone in front was suddenly going slower,” he explained. “So I slowed, then all the guys behind came past on my left, except Loris and another guy. I’ve done something to the leg, but nothing too bad.”

CAPIROSSI LEADS THEN TUMBLES
Loris Capirossi had high hopes of another podium finish today after riding the fastest-ever lap of Jerez during yesterday’s qualifying session. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider, who finished third at the season-opening Japanese GP, led the first three laps but then slipped to third, crashing out of the action on lap 13. Capirossi had hurt his left hand on the warm-up lap and bent his bike’s left handlebar, making his machine difficult to control.

“What happened on the warm-up lap was quite scary,” he said. “I was doing maybe 250kmh when two riders just ahead of me suddenly moved apart and I found myself racing towards Troy, who seemed to be going much slower. I tried to brake but it was too late to avoid him – I hurt my arm, bent the ‘bar and damaged the fairing. I got a good start but after a few laps it became difficult to ride the bike, because the riding position was a little strange, so maybe I had some tendon problems. I really hurt the arm in the crash, I thought it was broken but it’s not, it just needs a lot of ice.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Hopkins Takes First Top Ten for New Suzuki at Jerez

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain – Sunday, May 11, 2003: Team Suzuki rider John Hopkins claimed the best result of the year so far in today’s Spanish GP, consolidating a second-row starting position with a fast and determined ride to seventh place on the all-new 2003 Suzuki GSV-R.

Team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr. put a difficult two days or qualifying behind him to move through to 13th place from near the back of the starting grid, putting both Suzukis in the World Championship points again for the third race of the 2003 season.

Hopkins’s result equalled his personal best, achieved last year in his first GP season. More impressive still was that the 19-year-old rider from Ramona, California, rode for all but the first of the 27 laps of the 4.423km Jerez circuit with his left footrest assembly loose. One of the two bolts holding the footpeg and gearshift unit sheared on the second lap, and Hopkins had to find a way to shift gears while also holding the assembly in place with his left foot.

Hopkins qualified seventh, and took a flying start, third in the brawl into the first corner, and was still fourth at the end of that lap. As the capacity crowd of 130,000 basked in baking sunshine, Hopkins dropped a few positions as he came to terms with his loose footrest, putting him at the back of a four-bike group disputing fifth position. Another problem early in the race was a jagged three-inch hole in the exhaust tail pipe, probably caused by contact in the early laps, taking the edge of the powerful V4 990cc engine.

From there to the finish he ably defended his territory, giving no inkling of the difficulties he was experiencing.

Roberts ran into set-up problems in the final practice session, and was condemned to a fifth-row starting position. This left him boxed in from the start, and he finished the first lap 16th, already out of touch with the front runners. Roberts rode fast and consistently for race distance, catching and overtaking old American 250 rival Colin Edwards to lead him over the line by better than three seconds. Roberts was 500cc World Champion in 2000, Edwards won a second World Superbike title in 2002.

The race was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi, with his fellow-Italian Max Biaggi second and Australian Troy Bayliss third. The next race is the French GP, at Le Mans in two weeks.

John Hopkins – Seventh Position
My footpeg came loose on the second lap. Normally I take my foot off the peg to shift up, but I had to keep my heel planted, and it took a few laps to get used to that. Apart from that, everything went pretty much to plan. I wanted to get a good start, and I got a good start. Then I did what I had to do to maintain position. A couple of people came by, but that gave me something to chase. Overall I’m pretty happy with the result. I wanted to improve, and we did.
Finally, happy birthday to my Mom, and also happy Mothers Day to her and to Desiree’s mom.

Kenny Roberts Jr. – 13th Position
I had a tentative start. I wasn’t really sure where I needed to be to stay out of trouble in the first couple of turns, and I slipped the clutch a bit too much off the line, so we were a little bit slow away. Basically I just tried to ride my own race and stay out of everybody’s way, because I still don’t feel comfortable on the bike, especially under braking. The only real interesting part of the race for me was getting up to Colin, and then I was able to get by him. That was about it.

Garry Taylor– Team Manager
John managed to keep his concentration through a difficult weekend – we had far more problems than you could expect. He rode a great race, with very consistent times despite a loose footrest and an exhaust with a three or four-inch hole, probably the result of contact in the early laps. Kenny’s day was messed up by having to start that far down the grid. His race times were very reasonable and consistent, but after getting hung up in the early laps he really had no chance to make a big impression. Now we are going testing in Barcelona, with factory riders Akioshi and Ryo joining Jean Michel Bayle and our two regular riders.


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

Pitt Claims Kawasaki’s First Points

Jerez, Spain– Sunday, May 11, 2003: Andrew Pitt claimed Kawasaki’s first point of the 2003 season after a tough scrap with fellow ZX-RR rider Alex Hofmann in this afternoon’s sun-drenched Spanish GP. The Australian scored a hard-earned 15th position and beat determined wild card Hofmann by just 0.2s after the pair had been locked together for most of the 27-lap race. It was Hofmann, racing in his first GP for 10 months, who held the upper hand from laps 17 to 25, before Pitt made his decisive move in front of 130,000 fans. Pitt’s result confirms the potential of the ZX-RR and with more intensive development to come in the next few months, starting in Barcelona later this week, Kawasaki is confident of mounting a regular challenge for points. Pitt and Hofmann certainly benefited from a range of new generation Dunlop tyres. Although there is ample scope for improvement, the new rubber meant grip levels were more constant, allowing the riders to run at a consistent pace despite the tough track conditions caused by high temperatures. Garry McCoy endured a long and lonely race to finish 18th.

Andrew Pitt – 15th
“It was good to get some points on the board for Kawasaki for the first time this season. Even though I made a good start I lost three places at the first corner after Jeremy McWilliams T-boned me. Once I got going I tried to stay with the group in front and I probably used the tyres up a bit early in the race. Even so I was able to run consistent lap times throughout the race. I picked a slightly different rear to tyre to Garry and Alex which helped my lap times so we made some progress there. I had a good battle with Alex but when he got past I let him lead some laps and waited until the end of the race and with three laps to go I just put my head down and concentrated on pulling a gap to the finish.”

Alex Hofmann – 16th
I’m almost happy. I really wanted to be in the points today at my first race in such a long time. It wasn’t easy from the start. I lost a lot of time with Nicky Hayden and it took me about ten laps to catch up to Andrew whose bike was running a different throttle body than mine which I think helped him. It makes it more difficult going into the corners under braking. I’m sure if I had tried to pass him for one more time we would have touched. But it was a good racing with Andrew, we came close a couple of times, especially in the final laps. I was able to run consistent lap times with him and it was great to be back racing.

Garry McCoy – 18th
I’m very disappointed, I don’t really want to get used to finishing at the back like this. It was a pretty lonely race, I just couldn’t get any forward speed going. My set-up and style is different from the other guys and as in qualifying I was getting wheelspin which was probably a good show for the crowd. On one bike in the morning warm-up I felt like I had too much engine braking so I switched for the race. Now I’m just looking forward to making some progress at the Barcelona test next week. At the moment for me testing is better than racing.”

Harald Eckl – Team Manager
This is our first point and that is a pretty good result for us in terms of development. We’ve made a step forward and come closer to our competitors. Alex had a very good race and a good battle with Andrew. We definitely made an important step with the tyres. We had new front tyres and compared to the last race in South Africa, the loss of grip from the rear was much less. I think we are heading in the right direction and hopefully we can challenge for the points again in Le Mans.


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Barros takes a respectable fifth in tough Jerez MotoGP

Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team) made up for a poor qualifying performance to finish the third round of the MotoGP World Championship, held in Jerez, Spain (May 11), in a respectable fifth place. The Brazilian, who’d qualified 15th for the 27 lap race, was understandably cautious on the first circuit before cutting through the 22 bike field at a steady pace. He was fifth by lap seven, and then fourth by lap 13th. As the race progressed Barros found himself in a three-way tussle with Tohru Ukawa (Honda) and Makoto Tamada (Honda) before Ukawa made the most of the situation on the final lap and clinched fourth place by 1.5 seconds.



Marco Melandri made it a gritty MotoGP race debut aboard the Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1. The young Italian, who missed the opening two races of the year due his Suzuka crash where he suffered a double fracture to his ankle and a small fracture to the femur, produced an impressive start before filtering through the field to feature well within the top ten. Soon after, however, fatigue took its toll. Melandri, who was 15th after the first lap, showed maturity that belied his minimal MotoGP experience to be ninth by the tenth lap, before making a mistake under brakes and running off the circuit. Although the 19-year-old kept the bike upright he’d lost seven places before he rejoined the race and eventually finished the day 17th.

Shinya Nakano (d’Antin Yamaha Team) finished the day eighth, while Carlos Checa (Fortuna Yamaha Team) had a disappointing home MotoGP when his YZR-M1 suffered an electrical gremlin and stopped on the third lap. Adding insult to injury, the technical problem occurred only moments after the Spaniard had confidently taken sixth place from John Hopkins (Suzuki) while chasing down Italian Max Biaggi (Honda).

The race win initially looked set to be a six way encounter between Loris Capirossi (Ducati), Sete Gibernau (Honda), Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Valentino Rossi (Honda), Max Biaggi (Honda) and Checa. But as fate would have it both Capirossi and Gibernau crashed, following the demise of Checa, leaving Rossi to stamp his authority on the race with a 6.333 second win over Biaggi and third-placed man Bayliss.

Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros 5th: “I made quite a good start, but then in the second corner some riders touched in front of me, forcing me to brake and lose four or five places. After that everyone settled down and I was able to concentrate on racing back towards the front, eventually getting up to fourth place. For a while I was catching Bayliss but then I started to run into problems with grip. Ukawa and Tamada were able to get past me, though; fortunately for me Tamada made a mistake and I managed to pass him back. Later I tried to take Ukawa back but eventually I had to back off and settle for the points. The last ten laps were really hard. Now we are going testing in Mugello next Wednesday and Thursday, where we will have lots to do. We need to work on grip, power and stability under brakes. Hopefully we’ll find some solutions that will allow us to be more competitive at Le Mans.”

Olivier Jacque 10th: “The start of the race wasn’t too bad and I could fight hard, but our set-up, which worked fine in practice, turned out not to be suited to the race conditions. After a few laps the rear tyre was spinning everywhere and I couldn’t attack for lack of grip. Then towards the end, when I rode less aggressively, my times actually improved as I spun less. It is the same problem as we had at Welkom and we need to sort it out in Mugello this week.”

D’Antin Yamaha Team
Shinya Nakano 8th: “Overall I am happy with this result. My start was pretty good, even though it was very difficult in the beginning to set a good pace with so many riders bunched up. Then as the field thinned out, and my rear tyre settled in, I was able to improve. Once I managed to pass that group I caught up to Hopkins and we had a good race before we touched, and I nearly crashed. Once that had happened I thought it better to finish a safe eighth than end up falling on my rear.”

Fortuna Yamaha Team
Marco Melandri 17th: “I am not too disappointed with today. I enjoyed the start of the race for the first few laps, although I did knock my ankle again when I fell in this morning’s practice session. I then got into quite a good position but when I was in ninth place my back started to hurt a bit so I had to slow down slightly. I tried to get in front on the outside corner but I went too wide and went off the track at the first curve. Even though I dropped right back to almost last position I was determined to finish the race. If I can do the next races as I did at the start of this one, I think I can do okay.”

Carlos Checa DNF: “We lost a big opportunity to get a good result today. The race was going pretty well for me. The bike felt good, I had passed a few people and I felt comfortable with the pace. I really believed I had a chance to get a good result and I just could not believe it when the engine just died. I feel very sorry for everyone in the team because we had worked very well here. Even though my grid position was not good, the times were very tight and we had worked well to get the bike feeling good. But there is no point talking about what might have been. I have to remain positive and concentrate on carrying on all that good work to Le Mans. We need to keep going in this direction and I believe we can be competitive there. It’s amazing to have a problem again in Jerez. Last year it happened on the last lap and this year I couldn’t believe it happened again. Last year it was the only bike failure we had in the season so I hope that’s true again this year!”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

BRAVO MAKOTO!

A great day for Makoto Tamada at Jerez The Japanese ace who is making his debut this year in the MotoGP clearly showed today how determined he is to make his mark in the world’s most demanding championship. Slightly slow off the mark after ending the first lap in 17th place, Makoto embarked on a thunderous battle up through the ranks that took him up towards the head of the race. Then he started a struggle against two great “official” riders, Ukawa and Barros, and forced his way through to fourth place, which he kept for three laps.

Loss of grip on his rear tyre forced him to give way to the two riders he had overtaken a short time before. Makoto ended the race in sixth place, an extremely important result that will spur the team on in their most taxing development work.

The Bridgestone team came away with great satisfaction. “We opted for medium-hard front and rear tyres, and it proved to be the ideal choice,” said Hiroshi Yamada, director-general of the Japanese giant’s Motorcycling Division. “The tarmac conditions weren’t easy for anyone today, and Tamada’s loss of grip towards the end of the race was just one part of a day that has been very important for us. Today’s result gives us great encouragement to continue working as we have been doing so far – if anything, we’re even more motivated than before.”

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM): 6TH – 47:14.498

“A real uphill race, with a fight to reach the head of the pack. When it was time to make my attack, I was no longer able to deliver all the power down to the ground because I was losing grip at the rear. I got past Barros and Ukawa by shutting down the throttle at the very last moment and braking harder. Two fine duels. But then, after three laps in fourth place, I had to let them by. When I’m decelerating, I still get vibrations that make the saddle painful and riding extremely difficult. But if we can solve these little snags, we’ll be able to go even faster. But I’m very satisfied as it is. A day like this really pumps up the motivation. This is what we need to go forwards and get better and better. Now I can look forward to the Le Mans race with real confidence, even though I know we mustn’t overdo things: we’ve got to take one step at a time.”


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Brilliant Aoki Takes Proton from last to Ninth


Nobuatsu Aoki: Ninth
Jeremy McWilliams: 12th

Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki overcame a first-lap shoving match that put him in last place at the first corner to pull the lightweight 500cc two-stroke through the field of more powerful 990cc four-strokes, fighting his way through a pack of factory riders to lead his group over the line by well over a second, in spite of a top speed disadvantage of more than ten mph.

Team-mate Jeremy McWilliams might have done much the same, but for a gearshift problem that meant he lost touch with the same group in the later stages of the race, leaving him little chance to exploit the Proton’s better braking and cornering performance over the faster machines.

Aoki’s ride thrilled the crowd of almost 130,000, enjoying blazing sunshine on the hills and grandstands of the 4.423km circuit outside the sherry capital of Jerez – but it went unnoticed by the millions of worldwide TV viewers. Cameras lingered on long-time race leader and eventual winner Valentino Rossi and the riders following him at regular intervals, ignoring the fine fighting ride by the Japanese star.

He had regained three places by the end of the first lap, and then moved steadily forward to 12th by the mid-point of the 27 lap race. In the heat, all the riders’ tyres were losing grip, and now was his chance to attack, and he set about the factory machines around him with a vengeance, moving through to ninth by lap 20, and then continuing to outpace the pursuit.

McWilliams had been ahead of him, but a false neutral at the hairpin meant he lost contact, and though he did catch Haga’s factory Aprilia, in the end he was just over a tenth of a second behind.

Now both riders hope to test Proton’s own powerful new 990cc V5 four-stroke before the next race, the French GP in two weeks time. The machine is undergoing almost continual bench testing in England, and should be ready for rolling tests and then track tests within days.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I put more than 100 percent effort into the race, but I think we took the wrong tyre for the conditions. I chose a medium-hard front and rear, but they were still too soft, and they didn’t work well. That made it even harder to pass the four-strokes. We have to do it under braking and into the corners, but I lacked the confidence I needed, so I had to wait for my opportunities. After half distance, I could see the others were starting to struggle with grip, and I thought that now was the time to pass them. I was also struggling with tyres, but basically we had such a good race settings for chassis and brakes, so I could get by. I’m really, really happy with that top ten.

Jeremy McWilliams
This is a very difficult way to make a living! Sometimes you ask yourself if it’s worth it. But we beat a lot of guys we were not supposed to beat, and I did my best and got points. I had a problem getting a false neutral beyond first. It happened going into the hairpin, and then there was an almighty crunch, and I thought my race was over. It wasn’t, but that was when I lost touch with the group fighting for ninth. My other problem was tyres … my choice wasn’t what Bridgestone recommended, and they were too soft. Nobu did a great job. He was faster than me all weekend, and he deserved the top ten finish.

Kenny Roberts– Team Owner
Our team did really well today – but you couldn’t tell that from the TV. But there’s nothing we can do about that. Nobu did a fantastic job. We’ll never be able to make the four-stroke go round the corners like this bike, but we will be able to give them some more speed. We hope to test at an airfield in England tomorrow, and then with both riders at a circuit during the weekend – but the plans are day by day. We have a problem with the oil pick-up during acceleration, but we hope to fix that with sump baffles, and if possible bring the bike to Le Mans.