Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
MotoGP Race Results:
1. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 24 laps, 44:18.913
2. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, -1.641 second
3. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, -7.672 seconds
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, -18.120 seconds
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, -25.036 seconds
6. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, -29.201 seconds
7. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, -32.902 seconds
8. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, -33.287 seconds
9. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, -35.949 seconds
10. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, -37.355 seconds
11. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, -49.039 seconds
12. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZR-M1, -49.181 seconds
13. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, -49.589 seconds
14. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, -52.071 seconds
15. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, -52.180 seconds
16. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, -60.485 seconds
17. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, -62.232 seconds
18. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 15 laps, DNF, mechanical
19. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 8 laps, DNF, mechanical
20. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 6 laps, DNF, crash
21. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 5 laps, DNF, mechanical
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 0 laps, DNS
World Championship Point Standings:
1. Rossi, 290 points
2. Ukawa, 169 points
3. Biaggi, 164 points
4. Barros, 143 points
5. Checa, 127 points
6. Abe, 117 points
7. Capirossi, 102 points
8. Roberts, 84 points
9. Kato, 80 points
10. Jacque, 66 points
11. Aoki, 54 points
12. Hopkins, 53 points
13. Nakano, 45 points
14. Harada, 43 points
15. Gibernau, 42 points
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha WCM:
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX MOTEGI
RACE DAY 6th October 2002
JOHN HOPKINS and Garry McCoy finished 14th and 17th respectively in this afternoon¹s Pacific GP as round 13 of the MotoGP world championship came to a disappointing conclusion for the Red Bull Yamaha squad.
American Hopkins had produced a typically battling display to force his way up to 11th place by the end of lap 16, and he looked on course for yet another strong finish in his rookie season.
But as deterioration in grip from his Dunlop tyres began to take hold, the 19-year-old was powerless to stop himself from slipping down the standings. Despite his problems, “The Hopper” has now scored points in 11 out of 13 races this year and a strong finish to the campaign could see him become the youngest rider to finish in the top 10 of the premier class world championship.
It was an equally frustrating day at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for Australian McCoy who also suffered grip problems as the 24-lap race developed.
The 30-year-old saw his run of five successive points-scoring finishes come to an end as he failed to recover from a poor start. As he tried to force his way back into contention, McCoy¹s early race pace was badly hit when oil leaking from another machine splattered on his screen and visor.
JOHN HOPKINS, 14th, World Championship, 12th, 53pts
“There’s not really much I can say about that other than the rear tyre I had just faded badly towards the end of the race. I can’t say it was a wrong tyre choice, either. Once it started to slide around towards the end of the race I tried to adapt my riding style to the way the tyre was working but I just wasn¹t able to do it. It got so bad at one stage that I was having trouble ducking into corners. I’ve got some points but I¹m sure we could have had some more. I felt comfortable leading that bunch when I was 11th.
I’ve got to thank the team for all their effort this weekend, we’ve worked really hard and hopefully things will be better in Malaysia.”
GARRY McCOY, 17th, World Championship 20th, 32pts
“I jumped off the line really well but when I shifted to second the motor choked up but when it finally cleared I was right at the back. It was pretty messy trying to pass guys in the early laps and with Yoshikawa on the M1, he would just blast by me on the straights and I’d get him in the corners. I was really pushing and using a lot of energy and I was probably working the tyre a lot to make some progress. The race tyre worked really well on Saturday when the was a much higher track temperature but today I just didn’t have any mid-corner grip.
PETER CLIFFFORD TEAM DIRECTOR
“Today was very disappointing for both guys. They did what they could in the circumstances but it would seem we have not found the right combination for them this weekend. We obviously intend to do a great deal better in a week’s time in Malaysia.”
More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:
PACIFIC GRAND PRIX, MOTEGI
Race Day, Sunday October 6 2002
HIGH HOPES BUT LITTLE REWARD FOR MARLBORO YAMAHA
Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 riders Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi had high hopes of challenging for victory at Motegi this afternoon after strong performances throughout Friday and Saturday. Both men qualified on the front row yesterday, within a tenth of so of pole position, but were unable to match that pace today, Checa finishing fifth and Biaggi retiring shortly after half-distance.
“Carlos and Max ran an excellent pace in practice, qualifying and morning warm-up, but weren’t able to reproduce that speed in the race,” said Marlboro Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio. “Max had a problem with his front tyre after we decided to go with a soft compound. We knew it was a risky choice – sometimes you take risks and win, but it didn’t work out like that today. Carlos also chose the same front but he uses a slightly different set-up, and maybe Max was just a bit unlucky. Carlos did well to score some good points. We leave Motegi tonight, heading for Sepang, where we expect to perform much more strongly on race day.”
DOGGED CHECA SALVAGES FIFTH
Carlos Checa completed today’s Pacific Grand Prix in fifth place, small recompense for his impressive efforts during qualifying, which he finished just 0.172 seconds behind pole-sitter Daijiro Kato (Honda). The Marlboro Yamaha Team man had a tough race, completing the first lap in ninth place and taking until half distance to leave behind Kenny Roberts Junior (Suzuki).
“I didn’t have the same feeling as I’d had during practice and qualifying,” said the Spaniard. “Now we must analyse the data and work out what went wrong. The feeling was already different in warm-up, so we changed the set-up for the race but the front-tyre feeling still wasn’t right. I tried to adapt my riding to get around the problem but the lap times never came. It was impossible for me to brake and flick into the turns as I’d done before, and I couldn’t keep the bike leant over at speed or with the brake on.”
TYRE GAMBLE GOES WRONG FOR BIAGGI
Second fastest in qualifying, just 0.11 seconds off pole, Max Biaggi went into today’s race confident of challenging for another win on his Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1. But the Italian was unable to run with the leading pack from the outset, spending the first half of the race battling for fourth place with Tohru Ukawa (Honda). Then he ran into front-tyre problems which forced him into the pits just after halfway.
“We chose a very soft front tyre, which was a big risk and turned out to be a problem,” said Biaggi, whose DNF dropped him back to third in the points chase. “The tyre started smoking and though I was able to do another two or three laps it was impossible to continue. The tyre was our choice, usually the M1 can use softer tyres than the other four-strokes, but this was a gamble that didn’t pay off. I was confident of a good result because I’d been fast and consistent during practice, but now I know that we should’ve been more conservative on tyre choice. I’m disappointed, but hopefully we can make up for this in Malaysia and get back second in the championship.”
BARROS OUTRUNS ROSSI
Alex Barros (Honda) dazzled the Motegi crowd with his first race on an RCV four-stroke, defeating recently crowned MotoGP World Champion and identically mounted Valentino Rossi in a thrilling head-to-head battle. The Brazilian, who started his GP career way back in 1986, made the most of a superior bike set-up to defeat the Italian by 1.641 seconds. “I tried to keep a fast pace, then Valentino overtook me but he made a mistake braking into a turn, so I got back in front,” said Barros, only the second man to defeat Rossi this year. “After that I went as fast as possible. I’m very happy!”
More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:
Régis Laconi makes great comeback at Motegi
Régis Laconi started out from the pit lane in last place for the 13th round of the world championship at Motegi. On the starting grid for the warm-up lap, the Cube failed to start and, as required by the regulations, Régis had to start from the end of the pit lane after the race had started. Laconi went flat out right from the start without waiting to “run in” his tyres completely as he normally does during the first lap of the race. This time he attacked straight away. Almost immediately he had gained two places and then went charging up through the pack until he was in eleventh place.
# 55 Régis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 11th – 45:07.952
“When they give you the green light in the pit lane and you see the other riders going into the first corner ahead of you, you get the feeling you’ll never be able to catch them up. I went straight into attack mode without waiting for the tyres to heat up fully: I wanted to reach the end of the pack. I caught up with them and in the following lap I started overtaking them. I had a few tricky moments when Yanagawa’s bike threw a whole lot of oil onto my front fairing and face shield. I couldn’t see a thing. I slowed down and, after his slide, I was able to pick up my pace again. The tyres held out well and it was only in the last five laps that the grip wasn’t so good any more. Even so, the new rear tyre we tried out here in Motegi made it possible for the Cube to deliver all its power to the ground. The excellent work of the last few days has paid off, and the new settings enabled me to make a really good recovery, working my up to eleventh past the chequered flag.”
