From a press release issued by FGSport:

2004 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

11th round Magny Cours, 1-3 October 2004

Tyres Check on 2005 SBK and WSS World Championships machines

In the 2005 World Superbike and World Supersport Championships a new tyre check system will be implemented. Under the supervision of the Technical Director, immediately before the start of the event, each team will be given a set of stickers. These stickers will be equal in number to the number of tyres allowed. It will be the duty of the teams’ mechanics to place these stickers on the side of the tyres before they are used on the track. These stickers will be made using an exclusive type of technology specifically realized for this purpose. The stickers will bear a number that identifies the rider (different to his official starting number) and will be changed for each race.
FIM checks will take place both in the pit lane and at the single tyre supplier technical area..

Magny Cours, 3rd October 2004

From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

2004 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

11th round Magny Cours, 1-3 October 2004

TOSELAND TAKES CROWN, SHARES RACE WINS WITH HAGA

TOSELAND THE NEW SBK KING: Thanks to a first race win and second place in race two, 23-year-old Briton James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F004) secured the World Superbike title for 2004, after a rollercoaster season of disappointment and elation. His crown is an early birthday present, as James turns 24 on 5 October. Heaping fulsome praise on his team and family, Toseland is the third British rider to take the World Superbike crown, after four-time winner Carl Fogarty and last year’s champion Neil Hodgson. The final points gap to Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila), who secured two third places in front of his home crowd, was nine – Toseland on 336 to Laconi’s 327.

RACE ONE: James Toseland (Ducati Fila) enjoyed a win in the first race, after some tough times in qualifying and the partisan support for the local hero Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila). Toseland had to keep the charging Noriyuki Haga at bay, maintaining a good race pace right to the flag, after 23 laps of unbridled tension. Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati Koji) was second while Regis Laconi eventually rued his tyre choice to take third, and lose his championship lead. Chris Vermeulen’s retirement for technical reasons put the Ten Kate Honda rider out of the championship challenge. Local wild card Sebastien Gimbert gave the crowd something else to cheer about, finishing fourth.

RACE TWO: With Vermeulen once more out of the running in the later stages, the race for podium places was a tense three rider affair, with Haga and Toseland swapping places at the front, as Laconi struggled to get to grips with the speed of the other main Ducati protagonists. Haga pushed hardest at the end, earning third place in the series from the double non-finisher Vermeulen, after securing his sixth win of the season. In third, Laconi could not improve his pace to stay competitive with the leading two, over two seconds down at the flag.

VERMEULEN AND TEN KATE DOWN, BUT NOT OUT: After some astonishing race wins in their combined rookie seasons in SBK, the Ten Honda team and rider Vermeulen were in with realistic championship chances at Magny Cours. Finishing neither race, due to electrical problems, was a blow to them but Vermeulen’s overall fourth is an impressive entry to the premier class of production-derived racing.

GIMBERT TIMES TWO: Local Wild Card rider Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha France) took a fourth place double at his home track, rewarding the faith in those who agreed that he should race at Magny Cours, rather than at the final round of World Endurance at Vallelunga. He finished the series overall 18th.

CHILI GOES FIFTH: Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998RS) went sixth and fifth to secure fifth place in the championship, after two races spend heading up fights in the group immediately behind the leaders.

PRIVATE PARTY: Steve Martin ripped his DFX Ducati to fifth in race one, an ultimately lonely affair, bit his big twin suffered a technical DNF in race two, dropping out on lap 11. Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati Koji) was a fine seventh and sixth, heading up a Petronas rider each time. He was voted rookie of the year in the SBK class, and finished the year ninth overall. Garry McCoy could only manage a ninth, times two, but nonetheless was sixth in the series.

THREE KINGS: Superpole winner Troy Corser could only score a DNF and a seventh in what may be his final Petronas ride, while Chris Walker (Petronas FP-1) was eighth in each race. Corser was the top three-cylinder rider of the year, finishing ninth overall.

SUPERSPORT: Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) had another close race with is team-mate Broc Parkes but nonetheless he triumphed yet again, taking his seventh race win of the season (a full status WSS championship record). Parkes could not quite take his first race win, and in third place Sebastien Charpentier was once more defeated by the combination of Muggeridge and Ten Kate power.
Lorenzo Lanzi was a fighting fourth, ahead of lead Yamaha rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh. The final rundown of places in Supersport shows Muggeridge on a towering 207 points, from Parkes on 135, van den Goorbergh on 130, Charpentier on 120 and Lanzi with 82.

SUPERSTOCK. The European Superstock championship went to Lorenzo Alfonsi, after an often-close fight with the Yamaha Motor Germany duo of Didier Vankeymeulen and Kenan Sofuoglu. The race was completed two minutes ahead of the scheduled 14 laps, after a crash on the last corner, but after being relegated to third at one stage, Alfonsi had the pleasure of winning the race and the title on one day. Gianluca Vizziello, Alfonsi’s team-mate thus lost his chance of the title after missing the race due to injury. He finishes his season second overall, with 160 points to Alfonsi’s 169. Vankeymeulen was second in the race, fourth in the title chase, with Sofuoglu’s third at Magny Cours making him third in the series.



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

World Supersport Championship, Round 11, Magny Cours, France

1 – 3 October 2004

Track: Dry, 25°C
Air: Warm, Sunny 19°C
Attendance: 61,000 (three days).

HONDA RIDERS TAKE ANOTHER PODIUM CLEAN SWEEP

The record-breaking year of Karl Muggeridge in World Supersport continued apace in the final round of the 2004 season at Magny Cours. The Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider was fourth in qualifying but took his seventh race victory in a single World Supersport season, a new record for the class. It was also an unprecedented fourth straight win, to add to a three-in-a-row from earlier in the season. Muggeridge thus ripped the 200-point barrier asunder, ending his year with a whopping score of 207, fully 72 more than his nearest rival, his own Ten Kate team-mate Broc Parkes. Honda won the Manufacturer’s championship by an impressive 36 points, 212 to Yamaha’s 176.

The lead in the Magny Cours race was monopolised by the Ten Kate riders, with Parkes and Muggeridge exchanging the role of pacemaker. Parkes attempted a front running break but as the laps timed out, Muggeridge attacked for the last time on the last lap and took the lead and race win number seven.

Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) continued his strong form but could not quite get into contention after some moments of concern and a less than perfect tyre selection pre race. His third place race finish gave him overall championship fourth, and gave Honda its third Podium clean sweep of the year.

Charpentier’s team-mate, Max Neukirchner finished his rookie SBK season with an eighth in the race, and an overall ninth – a noteworthy achievement for the 21-year-old German. He won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ Trophy for his efforts.

Team Italia Megabike CBR600RR Honda riders Michel Fabrizio and Denis Sacchetti had a difficult culmination to their impressive final race weekends, each posting a non-finish. Fabrizio had to retire from a strong fourth place for safety reasons with a cracked and leaking oil pressure sensor on his machine, while Sacchetti crashed out of contention on lap three.

Muggeridge was modest in his thoughts about his historic victory. “I was going pretty well and then I started to lose some grip in the rear and my times got worse,” said Muggeridge. “Then Broc came through and started edging away so I had to try really hard to keep with him. Then finally he slowed a little bit and I could lift my pace. I worked my way up and passed him and then tried to keep him behind for the whole lap. It was good to win another one before the year ended.”

Parkes tried his best, but could not reclaim the lead he had enjoyed for 15 of the 22 laps, with all other laps headed by Muggeridge. “It was tough,” explained Ten Kate’s second Aussie rider. “I got a good start and as quickly as I could I got onto the back of Karl. I thought about the last race so I reckoned I should go as fast as I could to drop them off the lead. I got past Karl, then he took me at the end and I saw Charpentier really close behind me. I really wanted to go out and race for the win today but I thought in the final lap it was better to take second in the race and earn second in the championship.”

Charpentier regretted not being able to get into contact with the leaders, but nonetheless paid tribute to his opponents. “Broc and Karl were very fast today and for myself third was a good job, because my choice of rear tyre was not perfect, even though my bike has gone well all weekend,” he stated. “I slid a lot and it was difficult to keep contact. I finished forth in the title and that’s not so bad. I’m happy for my team and for me. I have pushed hard very hard in race after race.”

Rookie rider Max Neukirchner was happy with both race and season results. “Yeah, that was OK. I got a good start, fast away but then I had some problem with the rear, lots of spinning and slides at the end. But I finished well inside the top ten in the race and ninth in the championship. In my first year on four-strokes and my first in a World Championship, that is pretty good. I’m happy.”

For Fabrizio, it was a particularly disappointing day in the office, after such a good ride. “I started so fast and was riding comfortably in fourth place. I decided to stay quiet until the finish. The bike was in good shape the tyres were still in good condition. I think I could have tried for the podium in the last few laps but I hit one of the cones on the edge of turn one, that broke the oil pressure sensor, and the oil pressure dropped. Changing gear was a problem after that so I had to retire.”

Sacchetti was in fine form until his crash. “My start was quite fast and I was inside the top 15 positions. But after a few laps I crashed at the Adelaide corner and my race was finished.”

World Superbike Championship – Round 10

James Toseland (Ducati) retook the championship lead after the first of the season ending races at Magny Cours, beating Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) for the top podium slot. Regis Laconi (Ducati) scored third in a race of attrition for many top riders while Chris Vermeulen, on a ten Kate Honda Fireblade, was forced to retire, and was subsequently ruled out of contention for the overall title.

In race two Haga took the win but with Toseland running to a strong second place he took the World Championship from third place rider Regis Laconi.

Chris Vermeulen’s Honda suffered a problem with the crank sensor and the young Aussie was forced to retire from a strong fourth place. The final Championship table reads Toseland on 336, Laconi on 327, Haga on 299 and Vermeulen, fourth, on 282.

Results

SUPERSPORT:
RACE : (Laps 22 = 97,042 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap

1 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 38’34.820 /

2 / B. PARKES / AUS / Ten Kate Honda / 38’35.242 / 0.422

3 / S. CHARPENTIER / FRA / Klaffi Honda / 38’35.628 / 0.808

4 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Breil / 38’47.913 / 13.093

5 / J. VD GOORBERGH / NED / Yamaha Italia / 38’51.667 / 16.847

6 / A. PITT / AUS / Yamaha Italia / 38’52.569 / 17.749

7 / C. COXHELL / AUS / Yamaha Motor Deutschland / 38’59.400 / 24.580

8 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Klaffi Honda / 39’02.197 / 27.377

9 / M.LAGRIVE / FRA / Moto 1 / 39’18.029 / 43.209

10 / M.BAIOCCO / ITA / Lorenzini by Leoni / 39’21.326 / 46.506

11 / M.ROCCOLI / ITA / Lorenzini by Leoni / 39’21.507 / 46.687

12 / B. VENEMAN / NED / Team Suzuki Nederland / 39’21.814 / 46.994

13 / C. KELLNER / GER / Yamaha Motor Deutschland / 39’38.825 / 1’04.005

14 / J. LINDSTROM / SWE / Klaffi Honda / 39’42.269 / 1’07.449

15 / P. DONISCHAL / FRA / Moto 1 / 39’45.146 / 1’10.326

Fastest Lap 4° Broc Parkes 1’44.457 152,020 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 MUGGERIDGE 207, 2 PARKES 135, 3 VD GOORBERGH 130, 4 CHARPENTIER 120, 5 LANZI 82, 6 CURTAIN 69, 7 FORET 66, 8 CHAMBON 64, 9 NEUKIRCHNER 63, 10 FUJIWARA 55, 11 CORRADI 44, 12 PITT 36, 13 KELLNER 30, 14 LAGRIVE 27, 15 BROOKES 25.

Manufacturers Standings: 1 HONDA 212, 2 YAMAHA 176, 3 SUZUKI 103, 4 DUCATI 95, 5 KAWASAKI 40.



SUPERBIKE

Race 1: (Laps 23 = 101,453 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team /Time /Gap

1 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Fila / 39’29.197 /

2 / N.HAGA / JPN / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’29.689 / 0.492

3 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Fila / 39’32.999 / 3.802

4 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha France / 39’37.024 / 7.827

5 / S. MARTIN / AUS / D.F.Xtreme Sterilgarda / 39’43.023 / 13.826

6 / P. CHILI / ITA / PSG – 1 Corse / 39’54.538 / 25.341

7 / L. HASLAM / GBR / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’58.190 / 28.993

8 / C.WALKER / GBR / Foggy PETRONAS Racing / 40’01.653 / 32.456

9 / G.MCCOY / AUS / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 40’11.650 / 42.453

10 / S. DUTERNE / FRA / Zongshen / 40’20.152 / 50.955

11 / P. BONTEMPI / ITA / Zongshen / 40’31.389 / 1’02.192

12 / L. PEDERCINI / ITA / Pedercini / 40’38.744 / 1’09.547

13 / S. CRUCIANI / ITA / Kawasaki Bertocchi / 40’44.406 / 1’15.209

14 / A. VELINI / ITA / Pedercini / 40’45.088 / 1’15.891

15 / P. SZKOPEK / POL / Szkopek Agip RT / 40’53.171 / 1’23.974

Fastest Lap 5° Steve Martin 1’42.312 155,208 Km/h


Race 2 : (Laps 23 = 101,453 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team /Time /Gap

1 / N.HAGA / JPN / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’34.329 /

2 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Ducati Fila / 39’37.484 / 3.155

3 / R. LACONI / FRA / Ducati Fila / 39’40.119 / 5.790

4 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha France / 39’49.082 / 14.753

5 / P. CHILI / ITA / PSG – 1 Corse / 39’51.836 / 17.507

6 / L. HASLAM / GBR / Renegade Ducati Koji / 39’55.632 / 21.303

7 / T. CORSER / AUS / Foggy PETRONAS Racing / 39’55.805 / 21.476

8 / C.WALKER / GBR / Foggy PETRONAS Racing / 40’11.950 / 37.621

9 / G.MCCOY / AUS / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 40’19.812 / 45.483

10 / W.NOWLAND / AUS / Zongshen / 40’27.881 / 53.552

11 / S. DUTERNE / FRA / Zongshen / 40’29.825 / 55.496

12 / S. FUERTES / ESP / MIR Racing / 40’33.605 / 59.276

13 / P. SZKOPEK / POL / Szkopek Agip RT / 40’46.053 / 1’11.724

14 / M.PRAIA / POR / XEROX – Ducati Nortel Net. / 39’43.578 / 1 Lap

15 / B. CAMLEK / SLO / Inoterm Racing Team / 39’52.795 / 1 Lap

Fastest Lap 2° Noriyuki Haga 1’42.475 154,961 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 TOSELAND 336, 2 LACONI 327, 3 HAGA 299, 4 VERMEULEN 282, 5 CHILI 243, 6 MCCOY 199, 7 MARTIN 181, 8 HASLAM 169, 9 CORSER 146, 10 BORCIANI 130, 11 WALKER 128, 12 CLEMENTI 85, 13 SANCHINI 79, 14 NANNELLI 72, 15 BONTEMPI 68.

Manufacturers Standings:
1 DUCATI 530, 2 HONDA 289, 3 PETRONAS 200, 4 KAWASAKI 129, 5 SUZUKI 101.



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

JAMES TOSELAND (DUCATI FILA) 2004 WSBK CHAMPION!

REGIS LACONI RUNNER-UP –

DUCATI 999 1-2-3 IN CHAMPIONSHIP!

Magny-Cours (France), 3 October 2004: James Toseland (Ducati Fila) was crowned the 2004 World Superbike champion today at the Magny-Cours circuit in France. On his way to winning Ducati’s eleventh Riders’ title, Toseland becomes the third British rider to win the championship after Carl Fogarty and Neil Hodgson.

Toseland, who celebrates his 24th birthday on Tuesday, couldn’t have received a better present as he held off the challenge of his team-mate Regis Laconi and Honda’s Chris Vermeulen, to take the title with a win in race 1 and second place in race 2 behind Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati). Regis Laconi, who scored two third places today, finished runner-up in the championship.

“I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped me become world champion here today, the list is too long to mention everyone but it includes all my family and friends, GSE, Fila, Shell, Ducati Corse, all of my team and all the team’s sponsors” declared an emotional Toseland after the podium. “I think I deserved to become world champion at the end, these last three rounds have gone really well and that’s down to the team who have given me the best opportunity to win with the best bike. There was no option of making a mistake today or doing anything wrong, it was that close, it was a great season with Regis, there were some great races and it could easily have been him up here”.

“Maybe we didn’t find the right setting for today’s races but a big thanks to the team, they worked very hard, I still gave my best and that is what is important” commented Laconi. “I’m happy because I gave my best but it wasn’t enough, c’est la vie!. I think I can still fight for world titles for some more years. There has been a little bit more pressure within the Ducati garage over the past few races with the two of us fighting for the title but that is normal. It is the first time also for Ducati to have both riders in with a chance of winning the title and it is not an easy solution for the team too, but all of Ducati did a fantastic job, they are world champions, I am not this year but thank you to them anyway”.

RACE 1:
1. Toseland (Ducati Fila); 2. Haga (Renegade Ducati); 3. Laconi (Ducati Fila); 4. Gimbert (Yamaha); 5. Martin (DFX Ducati); 6. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati); etc.
RACE 2: 1. Haga; 2. Toseland; 3. Laconi; 4. Gimbert; 5. Chili; 6. Haslam (Renegade Ducati).

POINTS :
Riders) 1. Toseland 336 ; 2. Laconi 327 ; 3. Haga 299 ; 4. Vermeulen 282 ; 5. Chili 243 ; 6. McCoy 199. (Manufacturers) 1. Ducati 530; 2. Honda 289; 3. Petronas 200; 4. Kawasaki 129; 5. Suzuki 101; 6. Yamaha 89.



LANZI (DUCATI BREIL) CLINCHES FIFTH OVERALL IN SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER GRITTY RIDE AT MAGNY-COURS

Magny-Cours (France), 3 October 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Breil) clinched fifth overall in the 2004 World Supersport championship with another determined ride at Magny-Cours on the Ducati 749R.

Starting ninth on the grid, the 22 year-old Italian battled all the way throughout the 22-lap race, and once again finished just off the podium in fourth after overtaking Van Der Goorbergh (Yamaha) three laps from the end. Lanzi’s task of finishing fifth had been made easier when Curtain (Yamaha), who was equal on points, crashed out on the opening lap.

“That was another great race to finish the season with. We didn’t get on the podium unfortunately, once again everyone stayed on ahead of me and we finished fourth” declared a satisfied Lanzi.

“Overall fifth in the championship is a great result because we thought we could finish in the top 6 and this is an extra bonus.

“Once again in the race we finished behind three Hondas and there was only one Yamaha ahead of me in the final standings so we can only be pleased with that. The 749R is proving to have a lot of potential and as for me, I’ve achieved my best performances towards the end of the season.

“We wanted a podium but I am happy anyway. A big thanks to the team and now let’s start to think about the final AMA Superbike race next Sunday!”.

RACE: 1. Muggeridge (Honda); 2. Parkes (Honda); 3. Charpentier (Honda); 4. Lanzi (Ducati Breil); 5. VD Goorbergh (Yamaha); 6. Pitt (Yamaha); etc.

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS :
(Riders) 1. Muggeridge 207; 2. Parkes 135; 3. VD Goorbergh 130; 4. Charpentier 120; 5. Lanzi 82; 6. Curtain 69; etc.
(Manufacturers) 1. Honda 212 ; 2. Yamaha 176 ; 3. Suzuki 103; 4. Ducati 95; 5. Kawasaki 40; 6. Triumph 4.



More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Muggeridge Takes Win Seven With Parkes Second

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) ended a virtually perfect championship-winning season with a stalk and pounce race victory, following his team-mate Broc Parkes until the last lap, then taking the win in fine style, by 0.422 seconds. It was his seventh race win of the year, and his fourth in a row. It propelled him over the 200 point barrier, an outstanding achievement for man, machine and team.

Parkes’ second place could have been his first win for the Ten Kate Team, but after Muggeridge slipped past, for the final time, the result was set. Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier was third in the race, meaning that Parkes took second place overall, completing a magnificent Ten Kate 1-2.

Muggeridge stated, “I was going pretty well and then I started to lose some grip in the rear and my times got worse. Then Broc came through and started edging away so I had to try really hard to keep with him. Then finally he slowed a little bit and I could lift my pace. I worked my way up and passed him and then tried to keep him behind for the whole lap. It was good to win another one before the year ended.”

Parkes was frustrated to have led more laps than Muggeridge and still not win. “It was tough,” explained Parkes. “I got a good start and as quickly as I could I got onto the back of Karl. I thought about the last race so I reckoned I should go as fast as I could to drop them off the lead. I got past Karl, then he took me at the end and I saw Charpentier really close behind me. I really wanted to go out and race for the win today but I thought in the final lap it was better to take second in the race and earn second in the championship.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate stated. “Four wins in a row is a new achievement in this class, seven wins in one season for one rider is another record and having one rider make a front row start in every race is yet another. A perfect ending of the perfect season for us. We really couldn’t wish for anything more. Today would have been good for Broc to win his first race for us, as he is moving on to another team next year. I hope it goes well for him. Tomorrow morning we will be introducing our new riders to their Ten Kate Supersport machines, and they will be Sebastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara.”

WK Supersport
Race 10 / Magny Cours, Frankrijk
1 – 3 Oktober 2004
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR
2. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 0.422
3. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 0.808
4. L. Lanzi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 13.093
5. J. vd. Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF R6, 16.847

Championship Results
1. K. Muggeridge, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 207 points
2. B. Parkes, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 135 points
3. J. vd. Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF R6 130 points

Vermeulen Finishes Fourth In His Rookie SBK Championship

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) saw his world championship challenge blunted by a double DNF at Magny Cours, due to two electrical problems. Having qualified well and having been in contention for podium finishes before the gremlins struck, Vermeulen and his entire team were robbed of the chance of a good season ending flourish.

In race one he retired with only 11 laps completed, in race two he went out on lap 19, having dropped off from a possible podium finish. James Toseland (Ducati) won the opener, and in finishing second in race two, behind Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) he won the championship. Regis Laconi finished second, and Haga leapfrogged Vermeulen to score third place overall.

A disappointed Vermeulen stated. “In the first race it was just a freak electrical problem. We haven’t had that problem all year. The second race the bike finished the race the same way as it did at Imola, so I didn’t have any choice but to retire. The last three races have given us some problems so we have some serious work to do. I had an injection for my injured hand before the race and I felt no pain from it at all. I felt comfortable and the bike was good until it started missing a bit of power. It would cut in and out, but before that I felt every bit as quick as any of them. I wanted to go out with a podium, if not a win, so it’s really disappointing.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate stated. “It looks like the crank senor on the bike was the fault, and that is what the data tells us after the first investigation. That is pretty sad for us to have a bike which has run virtually the whole championship without any problems and then have two DNFs because of technical things is a disappointment. The machinery has been working well so we cannot put any blame on the bike. If someone had said that we would be fourth this year before we started the races I would have been happy enough. But we have been in a position where the results have been really good so all in all I’m happy, but it was not a happy ending. I want to thank all the staff of the team for the hard work. Everyone could see how hard we had to work to get to where we are. We are looking forward to next year because the development year is now over. Next year we will be stronger than this year.”

WK Superbike
Race 11 Magny Cours – Frankrijk
1 – 3 Oktober 2004

Results Race 1
1. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04
2. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 0.492
3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati F04, 3.802
4. S. Gimbert, FRA, Yamaha YZF R1, 7.827
5. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 13.826
C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, DNF

Results Race 2
1. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS
2. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 3.155
3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati F04, 5.790
4. S. Gimbert, FRA, Yamaha YZF R1, 14.753
5. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 17.507
C. Vermeulen, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, DNF

Championship results
1. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 336 points
2. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 327 points
3. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 299 points
4. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 282 points 5. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 243 points



More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Italia Racing:

Yamaha Italia World Supersport Team
Date: Sunday, 3rd October 2004
Circuit: Magny Cours, m. 4.411
Race
Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy Temperature: air 19° C, track 25° C
Crowd: 45.000

FIFTH AND SIXTH FOR JURGEN AND ANDREW.
Yamaha Racing Italia riders Jurgen van den Goorbergh and Andrew Pitt finished the final round of this year’s Supersport World Championship in fifth and sixth places. Their team mate Fabien Foret was on course for a seventh place until an engine problem forced him out of contention. The race was once again dominated by Honda riders, with newly-crowned World Champion Karl Muggeridge taking the win ahead of his team mate Parkes. Third was crowd favourite Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), with Lorenzo Lanzi fourth.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 5th
I had a very good start and was very close to the leading pack. The Hondas were in touch and so I thought a podium was a real possibility. But in the closing laps my engine started losing power and I could not hold my fourth place and I ended fifth.

ANDREW PITT – 6th
At turn one, Kevin Curtain crashed right in front of me and I had to take to the run-off area to avoid him. I got back on the track at the back of the leading pack and then fought hard to regain my position. But I pushed so hard that I made the tyres wear out and by the end of the race I hardly had any grip at all.

FABIEN FORET – DNF
Magny Cours is a very physically demanding circuit and because of my injuries I sustained in Brands Hatch, I am just not quite fit enough – and I have paid for it! I was doing OK in the race until the last lap when my engine suffered a problem and I had to retire.



More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 11, Magny Cours (France) , Sunday 3rd October 2004
Circuit: 4.411, Weather: dry, sunny 19° C.
Crowd: 61.000 (3-days figure)

NO LUCK AT MAGNY COURS
Troy’s season ended with a bit of bad luck at Magny-Cours – with a DNF in race one and a seventh in race two. It was a disappointment because Troy had ridden a superb Superpole lap and was on pole position for the 30th time in his World Superbike career. He had expected to be a podium contender in both races today, but his luck ran out.

James Toseland won the first race, with fellow Ducati Noriyuki Haga and Regis Laconi second and third. Laconi had to win race two to take the title, but he finished third behind Haga and Toseland and so Toseland took the world title – the youngest rider to do so in World Superbike history, just beating Troy in the process.

TROY
The season has been a bit up and down. I have been riding well although small problems have meant much too time in the pit box. But Petronas and the whole team have done a great job and it should be good for next season. Everything came together for Superpole yesterday and it was fantastic to be finishing the season on such a high. But we were still a slow on top speed up the back straight and, although I was trying to hang on after two good starts, it was a bit frustrating because the bike was much better this weekend.

RESULTS
Race 1:
1 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 2 Haga (J-Ducati), 3 Laconi (F-Ducati), 4 Gimbert (F-Yamaha), 5 Martin (Aus-Ducati), 6 Chili (I-Ducati), TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) – DNF
Race 2:
1 Haga, 2 Toseland, 3 Laconi, 4 Gimbert, 5 Chili, 6 Haslam (GB-Ducati), 7 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1)

FINAL POINTS STANDINGS
1 Toseland 336, 2 Laconi 327, 3 Haga 299, 4 Vermeulen 282, 5 Chili 243, 6 McCoy 199, 7 Martin 181, 8 Haslam 169, 9 TROY CORSER 146, 10 Borciani 130

From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

Suzuki Castrol Win Vallelunga 200

Suzuki Castrol have completely dominated the Vallelunga 200 round of the World Endurance Championship, winning the race by a comfortable 45 second margin and lapping the rest of the field up to third place.

Vincent Phillipe started the race for the team, and was able to quickly pull out a gap of more than half a second a lap on the chasing pack of Yamaha GMT94, Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 and Yamaha Phase One. Each of these three teams held second place at some stage in the first hour, but none came close to catching Suzuki Castrol. The DRE Ducati held a place in the top four for much of the race, due to its ability to stay out on track for much longer on a single tank of fuel. However, with two compulsory pit stops having to be made the Ducati eventually slipped down to finish in sixth position.

In the final session of the race the top six teams were able to lap in the 1:21 bracket when traffic conditions on the busy circuit allowed, but it proved difficult for them to close the gap between each other.

Quotes:

Vincent Philippe, Suzuki Castrol, First place: “It’s very good to finish the race in
first place. I would have preferred to be world champion, but this is good instead. The race was not so difficult for me and our team led for the whole distance, this is very difficult with pit stops so for us it is a very good result.”

William Costes, Yamaha GMT94, second place: “It was a very difficult race. There was no pressure for the championship, but we would have like to have won this weekend. From the middle to the race the tyres went off, but David Checa took a 15 second advantage in his last session which made all the difference.”

Gwen Giabbani, Yamaha Endurance Moto 38, third place: “The beginning of the race was very hard because I lost a lot of time in the first few laps and so I had to fight hard to catch GMT94 and Phase One. We pushed on and had a good battle, but GMT94’s tactics were better than us so we decided to settle for third place in the world championship.”

Christophe Guyot, Yamaha GMT94, 2004 World Endurance Champions: “For us this season has been fantastic, because the new Yamaha R1 was so good. All season if we did not come second, we came first. It’s impossible to win a race every time but we are so happy to have finished every race in the podium this season. I would like to thank the riders especially; the performance of Sebastien Gimbert in qualifying at Magny Cours this weekend has made me very proud; it shows the quality of the World Endurance Championship now.”

3rd October 2004

Top Ten Race Positions

1st 3 – Suzuki Castrol – FRA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 –Philippe, Four, Cogan 100 laps

2nd 94 – Yamaha GMT94 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Checa, Costes, Guyot + 0:49

3rd 38 – Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 –Giabbani, Mulot, Protat +1:12

4th 1 – Yamaha Phase One Endurance – GBR – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Scarnato, Mertens + 1lap

5th 5 – WRT Honda Austria – AUT – Honda CBR1000RR – Moreira, Ellison +1 lap

6th 9 – Ducati DRE – ITA – Ducati 999R –Garcia, Liverani, Marchetti +1 lap

7th 7 – Yamaha Austria Racing Team – AUT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – Thomas, Edwards +1 lap

8th 8 – Kawasaki Bolliger – SUI – Kawasaki ZX10R –Kellenberger, Morillon +2 laps

9th 666 – Kawasaki Diablo Bolliger – GBR – Kawasaki ZX10R – Hutchins, Falcke, Mizera +3 laps

10th 47 – Bridgestone Bikers Profi – GER – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – Tode, Roethig +4 laps

From a press release issued by FGSPort:

2004 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

11th round Magny Cours, 1-3 October 2004

CORSER TURNS 30 AGAIN AFTER SUPERB SUPERPOLE

CORSER BEST OF ALL: Having been fourth fastest in regulation qualifying, Foggy Petronas FP-1 rider Troy Corser did not seem a likely candidate to secure the Superpole win. A small error on his own behalf led to a peculiar line on the approach to the last series of corners before the final chicane at Magny Cours. This small error proved a stroke of good fortune, allowing Corser to swing through the final section at a higher pace than normal, taking his 30th career pole in SBK with a 1’41.547. It is his second pole of this season, the first coming at Oschersleben.

FOUR SQUARE: Such is the competitive nature of the 2004 championship and the diversity of homologated machinery in SBK in general, that no fewer than four different manufacturers were represented on the post Superpole front row. For the first time since 2001, there was only one Ducati in the first four places.

HONDA HOMING IN: Chris Vermeulen looked to have won Superpole but for Corser’s outstanding lap time. Nonetheless the Aussie rider on the Ten Kate Honda is in good starting position as he goes for the championship win. Fourteen points behind leading rider Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) Vermeulen was in trouble in the early practice sessions, could only finish seventh fastest in regulation, but took second in Superpole. His Imola injuries are not hampering his performance too much and the Superbike rookie enters the final round with a fighting chance of the overall title.

DUCATIS TO DUKE IT OUT: In the internal battle between series leader Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) and his team-mate James Toseland, round one at Magny Cours went to Toseland, who secured third place and a front row start. Laconi’s ragged Superpole lap put him fifth fastest, on the second row, a fact which will make both his races tougher than desired in front of his vociferous home crowd.

LOCAL HERO: The front row was blessed by the presence of a Yamaha privateer, the current World Endurance Champion Sebastien Gimbert, on a Yamaha France R1. Fastest in both regulation qualifying sessions, Gimbert is no stranger to the Pirellis used in World Superbike, running the Italian rubber in domestic and World Endurance competitions. His pace electrified the local crowd, in what was a dry but overcast day.

ROW TWO: Behind the front row hierarchy Laconi leads the charge of three private Ducati runners on the second row after Superpole. Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) slotted himself into the sixth grid spot, ahead of Steve Martin (DFX Ducati Sterilgarda) and Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999RS). The latter still has a mathematical chance of overall victory, but realistically he is racing to add to his 2004 win total of five.

BRITISH BULLDOGS: Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati 999) and Chris Walker (Foggy Petronas) ended their last Superpole competitions of the season in ninth and tenth places respectively.

ITALIAN FAIR FLAIR: Italian privateer Giovanni Bussei (De Cecco Ducati) could not complete his Superpole lap, but nonetheless he was awarded a momento for gentlemanly conduct at the last Imola race, when he was given a ride-through penalty for giving the stricken Chris Vermeulen a lift back to pitlane, allowing Vermeulen to race on his second bike and keep his championship challenge alive.

WORLD SUPERSPORT: Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda) finally secured pole position for his Ten Kate Honda team, after a qualifying session full of accident and incident. A crash from second fastest rider Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda) halted the session with just over ten minutes remaining, making for some frantic moments as the clock counted down.
Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda) secured third best time and with newly crowned World Champion Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) fourth fastest, the front was an all-Honda domain. Kevin Curtain, a faller in the session, was fifth fastest for the Yamaha Motor Germany team. Lorenzo Lanzi (Breil Ducati) was the top twin-cylinder rider to qualify for Sunday’s 23-lap race.

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK: Lorenzo Alfonsi (Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha R1) took a narrow advantage in qualifying for the European Superstock race. The final event is finely balanced. Injured championship leader Gianluca Vizziello has been ruled out by the broken wrist and arm he picked up pre-race at the preceding round in Imola, and his team-mate Alfonsi can take the title if he finishes second or batter. Any other result will see Vizziello crowned champion, despite being unable to race in the last two rounds.



More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 11, Magny Cours (France) , Saturday 2nd October, Final Qualifying
Circuit: 4.411kms, Weather: dry, cloudy 19°C

SUPERTROY!
Troy stunned everybody at Magny-Cours today by blasting his Petronas FP1 to a superb Superpole win by an almost comfortable three tenths of a second. It was Troy’s second Superpole win of the season and his thirtieth pole position of his World Superbike career. Troy was down on the first two splits, but recovered magnificently to push fellow countryman Chris Vermeulen (Honda) off the top spot. Third quickest in Superpole today is James Toseland (Ducati), with ‘wild card’ Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha) completing the front row of the grid.

TROY – 1st, 1:41.547
Well, it’s been a bit of a time coming, but I really wanted to get my 30th pole before the end of the season and now I’ve done it. I was down in the first two timed sections, but I got back the time in the final part – though that might have been down to a little mistake really! I braked a bit late, but I still managed to stay on the track and not suffer at all. It wasn’t luck, but it was not far off! I am happy because the team have worked their socks off and it’s thanks to them and our new specification engines that I was able to put the Petronas on pole. In Superpole, you can either gain a little or lose a lot and the key is to not make mistakes or try too hard. This weekend my times on race rubber have been very consistent, so now I need a good start. I am definitely going for a podium, but hopefully a race win.

Final qualifying
1 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) 1:41.547, 2 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:41.845, 3 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:41.856, 4 Gimbert (F-Yamaha) 1:412.946, 5 Laconi (I-Ducati) 1:41.969, 6 Chili (I-Ducati) 1:41.977, 7 Martin (Aus-Ducati) 1:42.242, 8 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:42.358, 9 Haslam (GB-Ducati) 1:42.705, 10 Walker (GB-Petronas FP1) 1:42.718



More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Vermeulen Narrowly Misses Superpole Win

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) looked to have clinched his first Superpole after setting an impressive time of 1’41.845, but a superb final split for the last rider away, Troy Corser (Petronas) secured him his 30th career pole position in Superbike.

Chris nonetheless has an important front row start, in what is destined to be the championship decider. The two races on Sunday will determine which of the three top riders in contention, Chris, plus Ducati factory riders James Toseland and Regis Laconi will be champion, with all three separated by only 14 points at present. Significantly, Laconi could not join Toseland and Vermeulen on the front row after the pressurised Superpole competition.

Four different manufacturers were represented on the front row of the grid, with the Honda, Petronas and Ducati riders joined by the private wild card Yamaha of Sebastien Gimbert.

Vermeulen, returning to the pit box with a seemingly unassailable time to his credit, was surprised to see Corser overtake his position at the head of the time sheets. “I came into my pitbox and looked up at the screen, leading by 0.2 seconds or so. Then I looked down, looked back up again and Troy was pole! I was like, ‘what did he do there?’ Congratulations to Troy and it’s nice to see so many different manufacturers in the front row. We struggled here yesterday and we got faster and faster. It will be close races and we just have to get into the first group and then be first across the line. But I will be giving it my best shot for sure.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate was happy with the improvements the team had wrought in the CBR1000RR since the first qualifying session. “I think the line that Troy took into the last corner before the chicane was the difference. All the other boys are taking it tighter but Troy really took it wide and then threw it in. He was good, and maybe his bike allows such a line. We are not disappointed to not score a pole this year, and after yesterday I can only be satisfied with the result we had today. We are back on track. I think we’ve got the bike dialled in for the race, Chris is getting more and more in his rhythm, and his body is letting him move around more. A lot of people yesterday must have thought we were down and out but here we are on the front row. I think Tory rode very well, congratulations to him on 30 pole positions. It shown how great a rider he is. I hope he can help us by putting himself between us and the opposition.”

World Superbike Championship
Round 11 Magny Cours – France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1, 1’41.547
2. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kae Honda CBR1000RR, 1’41.845
3. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 1’41.856
4. S. Gimbert, FRA, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’41.946
5. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1’41.969
6. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1’41.977
7. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.242
8. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.358
9. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.705
10. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1, 1’42.718

Parkes Takes Pole with Muggeridge on Front Row

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) did what he had threatened to do on many previous occasions and took pole position in World Supersport, his time of 1’43.825s being set in the final session of the pre race qualifying sessions. Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) secured a front row start with a time of 1’43.953s, despite being under the pole time on various first and second split times.

The front row for Sunday’s race was an all Honda affair, with Michel Fabrizio and Sebastien Charpentier going second and third respectively. The first non-Honda proved to be the Yamaha of Kevin Curtain, in fifth.

Parkes, delighted with his first pole for the Ten Kate team, stated, “I’ve come close a few times this year but I don’t know what made the difference this time. It wasn’t exactly the kind of lap that you would expect to have pole from, because I got held up a bit in traffic, especially in the second corner. I thought I had lost too much time, because that’s about the fastest corner here. We were in good shape after Imola and we didn’t make too many changes here. The bike works pretty well round Magny Cours.”

Muggeridge was incensed at the action of some of his fellow riders, feeling that he lost a clean shot at pole on two separate occasions. “I was trying to have a go to make pole but I got held up with traffic. There is just continuous traffic out there and I don’t know what some of them are thinking about. We have tried hard to get the bike working with a race set-up and we still need to get it working a little better for the race.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate said, “We worked out all the issues we had on day one, about how the bike is riding the bumps and so on and we have selected race tyres. Or should I say we have two tyres to choose from, and we will decide after warm up. The boys are well up to speed. That was an excellent pole from Broc and he worked hard all weekend with his bike and crew. Karl could have maybe got pole a couple of times as well, but he got held up by other riders.”

World Supersport Championship
Round 10 / Magny Cours, France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.825
2. M. Fabrizio, ITA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.840
3. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.858
4. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.953
5. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R 6, 1’44.199
6. J. vd. Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.273
7. A. Pitt, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.288
8. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.406
9. L. Lanzi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 1’44.768
10. M. Baiocco, ITA, Yamaa YZF R6, 1’45.100



More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Italia Racing:

Yamaha Racing
Yamaha Italia World Supersport Team
Date: Friday, 1st October 2004
Circuit: Magny Cours, m. 4.411
Final Qualifying
Weather: dry, mostly cloudy Temperature: air 19° C, track 28° C
Crowd: 15.000

SECOND ROW FOR THE TRIO.
Yamaha Racing Italia’s three riders will line up alongside each on the second row of the grid for the final round of the Supersport World Championship at Magny Cours tomorrow. All three were held up by slower riders on their fast laps, but all are confident of finishing with podiums in the 23-lapper – the last race of the year. Aussie Broc Parkes took pole position today, with fellow Honda riders Michel Fabrizio, Sebastien Charpentier and Karl Muggeridge completing the front row.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 6th, 1’44.273
I am a little bit angry because I was confident of keeping my front row grid spot. But, on my fast lap, Fabrizio crashed right in front of me and I lost the opportunity to keep that place. I was third last year here at Magny-Cours and I feel sure that I can be on the podium again this time.

ANDREW PITT – 7th, 1’44.288
My set-up is good and I think that this place suits the Yamaha very well. I am confident of a good result tomorrow and the only problems I had today were with slow riders and lots of traffic in the way.

FABIEN FORET – 8th, 1’44.406
I found a really good set-up, but I didn’t pick the right moment to do my quick lap. There was lots of traffic on the track today and I had to overtake two slow riders on my fast lap and that cost me quite a bit of time.

MATTEO BAIOCCO continued his good run of form by posting the tenth fastest time in final qualifying today – very close to the front runners. The Lorenzini by Leoni rider finished tenth in the Supersport World Championship round at Imola last week and is looking for a strong finish in tomorrow’s 23-lapper.

Final qualifying
1 Parkes (Aus-Honda) 1’43.825, 2 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1’43.840, 3 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1’43.840, 4 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1’43.953, 5 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1’44.199, 6 VD GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.273, 7 PITT (AUS-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.288, 8 FORET (F-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.406, 9 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1’44.768, 10 BAIOCCO (I-LORENZINI BY LEONI YAMAHA) 1’45.100



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

WORLD SUPERBIKE SET FOR FINAL SHOWDOWN AS TOSELAND AND LACONI (DUCATI FILA) QUALIFY 3RD AND 5TH AT MAGNY-COURS

Magny-Cours (France), 2 October 2004: The final round of the World Superbike championship at Magny-Cours is set to be a thriller as all three championship contenders, James Toseland and Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila), together with outsider Chris Vermeulen (Honda), qualified within one tenth of a second of each other for tomorrow’s two races.

B setting third quickest time of 1’41.856 in Superpole behind eventual poleman Corser (Petronas) and Vermeulen, Toseland has a slight advantage over his team-mate Laconi (with a time of 1’41.969) in fifth place on row 2, but both riders are confident that they have the right package for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races.

“Although I didn’t feel my Superpole lap was anything special, we did a really good job today so a big thanks to the team” declared Toseland. “I’ve just been trying to get every problem out of the way, be precise with the changes on the bike and spend as much time out there on the track as possible this weekend.

“We’re third on the grid, which is perfect for me. It’s a front row start, that’s what I wanted because it gives us the best chance tomorrow. We ‘ve been consistently quick on race tyres all through the weekend and I’m looking forward to the challenge” concluded James.

“I’m quite happy to make this time, because the first part of my Superpole lap was not good” explained Laconi. “We have really worked hard for the race, we have found the right choice of tyre and I am confident about the feeling of the bike for the race tomorrow.

“I did a lot of laps in 42.8/9s with the race tyre, I think that will be the pace for the race. You never know, you have to see at the start but for me the second row is not a big problem. It’s just important to make sure everything is right for the race, get off to a good start and ride well tomorrow. There’s not much between me, James and Chris and I feel sure it will be a fantastic battle tomorrow”.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

An article written by Mike Salisbury, the famed designer behind the new AMA logo, was published in the Fall 2004 edition of Forbes FYI, a quarterly supplement to Forbes magazine.

The article, headlined “Hey Johnny, What Are You Rebelling Against” with a subhead that reads “Fifty years ago bad boy Brando starred in The Wild One–and the motorcycle jacket roared into fashion history,” is about leather jackets in motorcycle culture, with a featured selection of current leather jackets.

The article appears on pages 92-97 of the magazine.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Hal’s Harley-Davidson/Buell Crew Chief Terry Galagan tells us that he and rider Mike Ciccotto will appear on Greg’s Garage on SPEED TV Tuesday, October 12.

The pair will have one of the team’s Formula Xtreme racebikes with them and will discuss Greg White’s failure to qualify for the FX race at Road Atlanta, which, given the speed of the Buell in question, is nothing short of a sad commentary on his so-called riding skills. However, since he is a capable TV show host, we won’t mention that.

(Note to outraged readers reaching for the keyboard: It’s humor. Get it? Funny? Joke? Ha Ha? And it’s our joke, don’t blame Galagan, OK?)

In short, watch it on SPEED!

(We now return to our regular website programming.)

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc GP Results
1. Sebastian Porto, Aprilia
2. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, -1.614 seconds
3. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, -43.312
4. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -45.127
5. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -47.182
6. Toni Elias, Honda, -59.471
7. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -71.413
8. Alex Debon, Honda, -82.120
9. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, -82.162
10. Joan Olive, Aprilia, -89.038


125cc GP Results
1. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 39:11.620
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 39:11.620
3. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, -4.018 seconds
4. Mike Kallio, KTM, -18.753
5. Fabrizio Lai, Gilera, -35.458
6. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, -37.890
7. Julian Simon, -39.023
8. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -39.409
9. Mattia Pasini, Aprilia, -42.901
10. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, -42.918

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Race Results

1. Sete Gibernau, Honda
2. Colin Edwards, Honda, -1.315 seconds
3. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, -23.844
4. Alex Barros, Honda, -25.458
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -31.417
6. Max Biaggi, Honda, -39.209
7. Norick Abe, Yamaha, -53.373
8. John Hopkins, Suzuki, -58.006
9. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, -64.320
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, -78.518
11. Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, -109.438
12. James Haydon, Proton, -112.158
13. James Ellison, WCM, -113.900
14. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -3 laps, DNF, retired
15. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, -9 laps, DNF, retired
16. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, -9 laps, DNF, retired
17. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, -10 laps, DNF, retired
18. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -12 laps, DNF, retired
19. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, -16 laps, DNF, crashed
20. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, -17 laps, DNF, crashed
21. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -17 laps, DNF, retired
22. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, -19 laps, DNF, retired



More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAND PRIX OF QATAR – LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
2ND OCTOBER 2004 – MOTOGP RACE RESULT

HOFMANN FINISHES A FAST NINTH IN QATAR HEAT WAVE

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Alex Hofmann scored his best result of the season so far, with a determined ride to ninth place in today’s inaugural Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit on the outskirts of Doha.

But while Hofmann celebrated, his team-mate Shinya Nakano saw a potential podium finish snatched away when his Ninja ZX-RR suffered a mechanical failure on lap four.

The retirement was a huge disappointment for the Japanese speed merchant who had made a brilliant start from fifth on the grid to move into third place behind eventual race winner Sete Gibernau, and Carlos Checa on lap two.

It was an impressive turn of speed by Nakano aboard his Bridgestone-shod Kawasaki, and he had high hopes of repeating his third place podium result at last week’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Today’s 22-lap race was run in heat wave conditions with track temperatures of over 50 degrees C, which tested the endurance of both riders and bikes to the limit.

Starting 18th on the grid Hofmann’s task was made more difficult on the sand-blown Losail Circuit, which had a narrow racing line that limited overtaking opportunities.

But the German young gun rode with patience and skill to be 13th on lap nine, and then position himself for a late race charge into ninth.

Hofmann had lost ground with a poor start from his grid position on the dirty side of the circuit, with his ZX-RR spinning and sliding all the way to turn one.

It was lap six before the 24-year-old Fuchs Kawasaki pilot had settled into 15th and raced at the same pace as the group in front, which included John Hopkins and Norick Abe.

The Qatar race broke new ground for MotoGP, opening up a new market in the Middle East and providing riders and teams with many new challenges from the dusty but fast circuit, and the stifling and exhausting tropical temperatures.

Alex Hofmann: 9th
“That was a really tough race, but I’m really happy because it’s my best result of the season after starting so far back. But it could have been even better, because towards the end of the race I could run at the same pace as Hopkins and Abe, but I was just too far behind. The start was a big problem from the dirtiest part of the track on the inside; I was just spinning and sliding and lost too much time in the early laps. In the final laps I was just riding smoothly and shifting gear early.”

Shinya Nakano: DNF
“I had bad luck today, but that’s racing. Last race I was on the podium but today an engine problem meant a disappointing end to the race while running in third place. My start was very good, but there were a lot of riders bumping into each other, so there was a big chance of crashing. Obviously Kawasaki have to work hard to understand our engine problems, but despite this result, I’m very confident for the future after qualifying fifth and racing in third place.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“It is disappointing to know that the ZX-RR has the performance potential that Shinya again showed today, only to have some engine problems rule him out of the race. It is clear that we have to work harder to keep our motors alive and that is our priority now. Shinya did a fantastic job this weekend, so I understand completely how he feels today. Alex also performed strongly for his best result of the season, and if he can qualify better and make stronger starts then his performances will only improve.”

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 44’01.741; 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +1.315; 3. Ruben Xaus (SPA) dAntin Ducati Team +23.844; 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +25.458; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +31.417; 6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +39.209; 7. Norick Abe (JPN) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +53.373; 8. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +58.006; 9. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1’04.320; 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +1’18.518



More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

Marlboro Qatar Grand Prix, Losail
Race Day
Saturday October 2 2004

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN OUT OF LUCK AT LOSAIL
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss endured a disappointing Marlboro Qatar Grand Prix at Losail today, neither rider finishing the incident-packed GP. In pitilessly hot conditions, with ambient temperatures nudging 40 degrees C, both men had high hopes for the race after qualifying on the second and third rows of the grid. But Bayliss made his exit in the early stages, while Capirossi retired just after halfway through the 22-lap event. The race was won by Sete Gibernau, while World Championship leader Valentino Rossi crashed out.

“That was a disappointing race for us,” commented Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “We had a chance of a good result here, but it didn’t happen. Loris was going well and he was able to keep a very good pace, but he had some unbelievable luck when he ran off the track after touching a piece of Rossi’s broken windscreen that was lying on the track. After that he had some problem with his bike which forced him to pull into the pits. We are investigating what went wrong. Troy meanwhile had a rear problem which we are looking into with Michelin. I never like to talk about bad luck but for sure we’ve been unlucky today. Finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to Ruben Xaus and the whole D’Antin Ducati team for scoring their first podium today”.

CAPIROSSI FAST BUT FAILS TO FINISH
Loris Capirossi ran well in the early stages of today’s Marlboro Qatar Grand Prix, working his way up to fifth place on lap four, but then his luck ran out. First the Ducati Marlboro Team rider ran off the track on lap five after straying off the narrow grippy line around this super-slippery racetrack, without losing too much time. Then, two laps later, he took a longer excursion into the gravel after touching a fragment of Rossi’s screen. Finally he was forced into the pits with engine gremlins. While he was on track Capirossi was one of the fastest men out there, his best lap just 0.5 seconds off the lap record.

“Today was a difficult day even though it started quite well for me,” said Capirossi who rode in some pain from the foot he broke two weeks ago at the Japanese GP. “Considering I started from the second row I got a good start and was making progress. The first time I ran off the track I only lost a couple of places, but the next time I lost another six places, so I was way down in 13th. After that I was fighting back, my tyres were working really well, I felt comfortable and I was running a good pace until I had to stop.”

BAYLISS MAKES EARLY EXIT IN QATAR
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was in the thick of the action during the first few laps of this afternoon’s race but soon realised that he couldn’t continue to ride. On lap six he pulled into the pits, suspecting a rear problem.

“Something didn’t feel quite right pretty much from the first lap,” said the Australian. “So in the end I had to pull into the pits so the guys could take a look together with the Michelin guys. It’s a pity but it is something that can happen”.



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

HAYDON TAKES FIRST MOTOGP POINTS ON PROTON KR

Round 13: Qatar GP, Doha
Race: Saturday, October 2, 2004

James Haydon: 12th
Nobuatsu Aoki: Did Not Finish – crash

Proton Team KR substitute rider James Haydon preserved the team’s record of finishing in the points for four races in a row in a race of attrition at the new 5.380km Losail circuit in today’s inaugural Qatar GP, bringing the England-built bike home 12th, regaining the position after getting the better of his almost race-long rival James Ellison.

Team regular Nobuatsu Aoki missed out, however, one of only two riders to crash on a track that was slippery and treacherous in baking 40-degree heat. Aoki was chasing one of the factory Suzukis at the time, and the tumble spoiled the chances of an otherwise impressive reliability record for the Proton KR V5, in a race where conditions tested machine integrity to the utmost, and seven failed.

Haydon was riding for one race in place of injured team regular Kurtis Roberts, who will make his racing return at next weekend’s Malaysian GP, home race for the Proton sponsors. It is eight years since the English rider last raced in GPs – he has been racing in World and British Superbike series since then.

The Proton riders were lapping together for the early part of the race, with Aoki drawing ahead when he crashed out, victim of a freak corner-entry crash. After the race, the team were still investigating data to try to pin down the reason; the rider escaped injury.

Haydon was by then already involved with fellow British Superbike series racer James Ellison, and the pair scrapped for the rest of the 22-lap race, with Haydon saving his best to sweep past his rival on the last lap, and finish almost two seconds clear.

The first ever GP in the Middle East was run in front of a small crowd, and won by Sete Gibernau.

JAMES HAYDON
I was too quick on the clutch at the start and went sideways on the line, so I was basically last into Turn One, though I nipped past Ellison under braking on the second corner. I was behind Nobu and pushing, then I lost the front big style twice on two consecutive laps. Then I saw Nobu crash, so I backed off a little and I was back with Ellison. I let him lead for a while … he wasn’t going to get away, and I got a good rhythm, but when I passed him he came back by me again, so I thought I should save my energy and hope for a clear last lap … and it worked out. I want to say a massive thank you to Proton Team KR and Dunlop, first for the opportunity and second for the excellent job they did getting the bike how I like it. My aim was to finish in the points, and though the attrition helped, you still have to be there at the end.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I knew it was going to be a race of survival, and I wanted to try to ride steadily … but when I saw Yukio Kagayama’s Suzuki ahead I felt I had the chance of catching him for a good race. Honestly I wasn’t pushing, and the grip was better than in the morning, though still not enough to really go hard. I thought I had everything under control, then suddenly the back end lost grip and I was high-sided. It was on the way into the corner with the throttle closed, which was weird. They’re trying to find out now if there was something wrong.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
James had a good weekend. Step by step and session by session he worked on set up and feeling, and meshed really well with everybody. His points were well deserved. From the first Nobu said it would be a race of survival, and unfortunately he didn’t survive. But we kept up our points record over recent races, and all the bikes were reliable all weekend in really tough conditions. It’s put us in a good mood for Sepang next weekend, in front of our sponsors Proton.



More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

DIRE DAY FOR GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM

Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) was forced to retire from third position with only two laps remaining of today’s inaugural Qatar Grand Prix. The 31-year-old Spaniard took the hole-shot from pole position on his YZR-M1 machine and led the first lap. He was edged out of contention by race-winner Sete Gibernau (Honda) on lap two and then by second-placed Colin Edwards (Honda) six laps later. Checa’s retirement, which was due to a fuel problem, allowed fellow Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati) to record his first ever MotoGP podium.

Valentino Rossi’s race started in controversy, contained sheer magical brilliance but ended in disaster on lap six. The Italian World Championship leader was forced to start from the back of the grid when Race Direction ruled that his team had infringed the rules by making a mark on the track at his third-row starting grid position. The crew had intended that the five-time World Champion could use the mark during the morning warm-up session to develop a good line into the first corner from his original third row grid position. Within one lap Rossi had scythed through the field to eighth and continued his scintillating progress until he caught the edge of the track with his rear wheel coming out of the second last turn on lap six and was thrown from his bike. The bad end to his day was further compounded by Gibernau’s win which narrows Rossi’s points lead to just 14 with three races remaining.

The MotoGP circus leaves Qatar for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang next Sunday. It then moves to Phillip Island in Australia the following week and back to Europe for the season finale at Valencia in Spain on 31st October.

CARLOS CHECA (DNF – RETIRED LAP 20)
“I want to think in a positive way. My team did a really good job and I really appreciate it – especially Yamaha. This is not a nice day for us or for Yamaha. But I did some good work this weekend. I was pleased with my pole position and I was riding well in the race. I was under control in third place but I couldn’t keep the pace and had some problems with rear stability but then with three or four laps to go I started feeling a throttle connection problem. I was praying and thinking “only three laps to go” but the problem got worse and the bike finally stopped.”

VALENTINO ROSSI (DNF – FELL LAP 6)
“Firstly I have to say I was amazed and very disappointed by the decision to make me start at the back of the grid. I don’t think there is any consistency in some of the decisions made. At other races people have cleaned their grid places and nothing has happened. In fact, my crew were doing something they used to do with Doohan when the track was dirty. I didn’t know about it until after it had happened.

“Finally in the race I made a mistake. I had really pushed in the first few laps and could see that Colin was in slightly better shape than me when I was behind him. I ran wide in the second last turn and just clipped the grass. They were looking strong but I did think I could have made the podium. Fortunately I’m not hurt. I was worried about my finger but it is not serious.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“It has been a bad weekend. We’ll go away with Qatar with no result and no points but that’s racing. Valentino is still leading the Championship by fourteen points and now we will react and fight until the end of the Championship. In Brazil we were in the same situation and we fought back strongly. We have got three races to go and anything can happen.

“It’s such a shame for Carlos. He was riding a very good race to follow up his pole. He is really disappointed as he fully deserved a podium. He was suffering with the problem during the race and eventually it stopped.”

Please find below today’s correct results from the Qatar Grand Prix and the current MotoGP World Championship standings:

RESULTS
1.. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar HONDA 44’01.741
2.. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar HONDA +1.315
3.. Ruben Xaus (SPA) D’Antin Ducati MotoGP +23.844
4.. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda Team +25.458
5.. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +31.417
6.. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Pons +39.209
7.. Norick Abe (JPN) Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Yamaha +53.373
8.. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +58.006
9.. Alex Hoffmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1’04.320
10.. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda 1’18.518

CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha retired lap 20
VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha fell lap 6

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1.. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) 229
2.. Sete Gibernau (SPA) 215
3.. Max Biaggi (ITA) 168
4.. Colin Edwards (USA) 131
5.. Alex Barros (BRA) 128
6.. Makoto Tamada (JPN) 120
7.. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) 102
8.. Nicky Hayden (USA) 94
9.. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 84
10.. Marco Melandri (ITA) 75




More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Great fightback from Max at Losail, finishing sixth after starting from the back row, Makoto Tamada in the top ten

On the back row on the starting grid after the penalty inflicted by the race direction, Max Biaggi fought back in today’s race, making it up to sixth position as he passed the chequered flag. A slight blip on the final lap where he ran off track meant he couldn’t hang on to fifth place, which had been fruit of some great determination up until that moment. Makoto Tamada ended up in the top ten having to deal with a lack of feeling on the front, the same which had perturbed him all weekend. The championship continues next weekend in Malaysia, at a similar temperature than in Qatar, but undoubtedly easier without the sand and dust which have been the main focus of attention in this first Middle Eastern GP.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“Max started this race from the back of the grid for a penalty which I feel was too severe. The team has done what you do to a new track and where the presence of sand was more than evident. To clean the position where the rider is starting from is a process which is simply for the safety of the rider a the start, a preventative measure which the organisation should have dealt with especially in the area of the starting grid. I repeat, our intervention was only trying to guarantee the safety of the rider on the track. Penalised with his grid position, Max fought back hard during the race and came up close to the front runners. It’s a shame about that off-track excursion on the last lap which lost him a place.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 6th – 44’40.950
“I started in last place, because of the penalty put upon my team. What can I say about that… It was the result of a complaint made by our rivals. Whatever, for the third race in a row things were tough from the start. However I wasn’t disheartened, not even when I got an awful start, with the rear tyre slipping on the sand, which was present in industrial proportions down there at the back. Rossi meanwhile was in the middle line of the straight, the cleanest bit, and he got a great start. I tried not to lose my desire and I got down to business. It was tough, very tough, because the area we had to work in was tight. But I wanted to get as far up the order as possible. On the last lap I got on Barros’ tail to try and snatch fourth place, but my front let me down, and the steering folded and I went straight on. Hayden also profited from it, but I don’t regret having tried it. All that’s happened over the last three races has been practically unbelievable.”

Giulio Bernardelle – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada’s Technical Director)
“We tried lots of things to try and improve Makoto’s confidence in the front, but evidently we didn’t get the ideal solution. We had this problem for the entire weekend, to which a loss of grip was added during the complicated conditions for this race. Now we will analyse the data we collected to try to understand if the problems are only linked to this type of asphalt or if it is something that we will need to solve by working in another way, and it could even just be something to do with this track. We will be in similar conditions in Sepang, it’s a similar climate, but we have more experience and data there, both in the settings and with the tyres.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 10th – 45’20.259
“The main difficulty today was with the lack of confidence in the front end of the bike, so it was hard to turn the bike into the corners with the necessary aggression. In some corners I couldn’t lean the bike properly. I’m not worried, here there wasn’t much grip whereas in Sepang things will clearly be different.”



More, from a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

Gibernau takes win as Rossi crashes in Qatar

Sete Gibernau took victory in a dramatic inaugural race at the Losail International Circuit, where Valentino Rossi was controversially forced to start from the back of the grid and then crashed out as he made his way through the field. Rossi’s Yamaha team were penalised for cleaning his starting position on the grid, as were Max Biaggi’s Honda crew, and both riders were docked six seconds from their qualifying times.

It meant the Italian pair would have to start from the back row, giving Gibernau fresh confidence as he looked to close down Rossi’s gap at the top of the championship. Gibernau started from third and gave chase to early leader Carlos Checa, passing him on the first lap. At the same time Rossi made up fourteen places in an incredible start, making up another four positions on the next three laps to move fourth behind Colin Edwards.

However, two laps later the Italian drifted slightly wide onto the artificial grass which surrounds the track and spectacularly lost control of his machine, escaping unhurt but unable to return to the track. On the ninth lap Edwards passed Checa and gave chase to his team-mate at the front, exerting pressure on Gibernau but not pulling close enough to challenge for victory in an intense finish.

“We’ve taken a big step forward with the best possible result of a high-pressure weekend,” said Gibernau, who moves to within fourteen points of Rossi at the top of the championship. “Once again my team knew how to manage it and I am delighted. We gave maximum concentration to the job because I know that if we focus all our energy we are capable of progressing. I’m happy for the 25 points and for the great race but I don’t want to get carried away. We are back at our best and that is important. The advantage has been reduced but I’m looking at the next round in Malaysia as just another race.”

MotoGP rookie Ruben Xaus clinched his first ever podium in third place after taking advantage of a fuel problem for Carlos Checa three laps from the end. Alex Barros came through to take fourth after fighting back from a double whammy on the fourth lap, when he was pushed wide by Rossi and then got caught behind Shinya Nakano just as the Japanese rider experienced engine problems, blowing smoke into the face of the Brazilian and forcing him to run off track, returning down in 18th place.

Nicky Hayden completed the top five whilst Max Biaggi made continual progress through the field to take sixth as Checa, Nakano, Troy Bayliss, Loris Capirossi, Neil Hodgson and Marco Melandri all retired and Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki crashed. The historic race was enjoyed by the Royal Family of Qatar and other national dignitaries, as well as top international sportsmen currently plying their trade in the Middle East including footballers Gabriel Batistuta, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Frank Lebeouf and Josep Guardiola.

Sebastián Porto completed a perfect weekend for him in the 250cc class, taking an authoritative victory after dominating every single practice and qualifying session. Dani Pedrosa and Alex de Angelis gave chase to the Argentinean but only Pedrosa could keep pace, eventually consolidating his lead at the top of the championship with second place. De Angelis suffered heartbreak two laps from the end, retiring form a comfortable third place with a mechanical problem and allowing Hiroshi Aoyama to pick up his second podium in as many races after a close battle with Franco Battaini. A crash for Randy de Puniet leaves him virtually out of the chase for the title, with Porto moving up to second and trailing Pedrosa by 43 points. This means that Pedrosa can win the title by scoring eight points more than Porto in the next round at Sepang.

The opening race of the day and the first ever Grand Prix in Qatar saw the closest ever finish in the history of the sport, with Jorge Lorenzo taking 125cc victory by less than a thousandth of a second over Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo started from pole position but got involved in a four rider battle for victory which was reduced to three when Casey Stoner retired on the ninth lap. Alvaro Bautista then led the way but himself suffered from a technical problem near the end of the race and had to settle for third, leaving an historic head-to-head between Lorenzo and Dovizioso. With Hector Barberá struggling to twelfth place and Roberto Locatelli back in twentieth, Dovizioso can now secure the title with third place in Malaysia next week.



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Grand Prix of Qatar, Losail, September 30, October 1, 2, 2004

Race Day October 2

SETE SETS HIS SIGHTS ON TITLE AS ROSSI FALTERS

In one of the most riveting MotoGP showdowns of the season sensational Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) put his title challenge back on track with a resounding win in searing heat here in Qatar. His team-mate Colin Edwards (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) was second and Ruben Xaus (Ducati) third.

In front of a modest crowd of nearly three thousand people at Qatar’s inaugural race, Gibernau and Edwards showed their rivals precisely how to master 22-laps of this sinuous 5.4km track. World Championship title race points leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) showed how to gift 25 points to a rival by falling on lap six as Gibernau stamped his authority on the contest.

Today was packed with drama – on and off the track. Before the race began Honda lodged a protest against Rossi’s crew for tampering with his grid slot by burning rubber from a paddock scooter onto the tarmac to enhance grip at the start.

Yamaha then made a tit-for-tat protest about Biaggi’s crew who had swept his grid slot clean. Both were upheld and Rossi and Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) were each given a six second time penalty before the start. This relegated them to the back of the grid.

Carlos Checa (Yamaha) got a lightning take-off and led into turn one with Gibernau in hot pursuit. Sete then made short work of his Spanish rival and led across the line after lap one. Ruben Xaus was third with Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) in the hunt in fourth. Rossi was already eighth and was holding nothing back in his bid to get on terms near the front.

Edwards was lying sixth in the opening laps but the Texan was getting into a rapid rhythm and began to close down the front runners. First he took care of Xaus and Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) on lap two for fourth place, then he inherited third on the next lap when Nakano’s engine expired.

Rossi was now through to fourth but his bid to snatch an unlikely victory in adversity foundered when he made one of his customary wide exits on a fast left-hand turn before the final corner onto the straight. On grass he might have got away with it, but the Astroturf laid trackside here to counter drifting sand caught him out and he fell heavily.

Gibernau was now in total control out front by four seconds and Edwards was working on depriving Checa of second place. He made his move on lap eight and then had his team-mate as a target. Try as he might Edwards could not catch Gibernau and although he reduced the gap to 1.6 seconds in the closing stages, Gibernau ran out an easy winner in a hard, hard race.

“When is a win ever easy?” said an exhausted but buoyant Sete. “Sometimes it’s hard just to finish sixth like in Japan two weeks ago. This was difficult and the team did a great job. They gave me a great bike and I really enjoyed riding it here today. I’ve got the best team and factory in the business behind me and it showed here today.”

Edwards was generous to his team-mate and said, “After the first three laps Sete was away and gone. I got past Carlos but that was as much as I could manage. That was an awesome race and it’s great for Sete to get maximum points. As far as any team efforts go – this is as good as it gets.”

Barros finished fourth. “I got a bad start,” said the Brazilian. “I passed Xaus and then Valentino touched me and I went off line into the dirty section of the track and lost a few places. Then I was right behind the smoking Kawasaki and I had to brake and ran off track. I had a chance to fight with Sete today and we missed the opportunity.”

His team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) was fifth and said, “My first few laps were so slow it was embarrassing. When the front tyre got more scrubbed in I got back into a decent rhythm and if I try to look positively at this we got a top five finish. And this is the first time we’ve scored any points since Donington in July.”

Max was sixth. “What can I say about the starting penalty?” he said. “The result of it is that for the third race in a row our plans have been ruined. But I don’t ever give up and even though the rear tyre was sliding in the dirty part of the track I finished the race. Rossi was in the cleaner part of the track at the start and got away better than me. But I’ll be riding as hard as ever in Sepang.”

Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V), riding on Bridgestone tyres, had a troubled weekend and finished tenth. “The trouble was a lack of feel at the front-end and I just couldn’t be as aggressive as I needed to be in the turns. I’m not worried too much about Sepang next weekend because although the conditions might be similar we have a lot more data from there.”

The World Championship points reckoning has now tightened considerably. Rossi still leads with 229 points from 13 races. But Gibernau is back in business with 215, with three races and 75 points still up for grabs. Max lies third with 168.

The 250cc race followed almost the same pattern as the earlier 125cc race where three riders made a break and pulled away from a field that just couldn’t make the same progress. Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) won from Dani Pedrosa (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW) with Hiroshi Aoyama (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW) third.

Dani got the holeshot but Porto edged ahead on lap two to dominate the race from the front while Pedrosa and Alex de Angelis tried all they could to reel him in. Title hopeful Randy de Puniet (