2005 MotoGP: MOTEGI, JAPAN

2005 MotoGP : MotoGP R12 of 17, Sept 18, 2005, MOTEGI, JAPAN

• MOTEGI, JAPAN
• located 68 miles from Tokyo
• twin ring circuit owned by Honda
• 4.801km
• 24 lap race
• Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 46.673 (Makato Tamada, 2004)
• MotoGP lap record: 1' 48.524 (Makato Tamada, 2004)
• PREVIOUS WINNERS
• 2004 winner: Makoto Tamada Honda
• 2003 winner: Max Biaggi Honda
• 2002 winner: BARROS, HONDA 4ST
• 2001 winner: Rossi, Honda
• 2000 winner: K Roberts Jr, Suzuki
• LAST YEAR'S RESULT: 2004
• 1 Makoto Tamada Honda Bridgestone
  2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha +6.1s
  3 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Bridgestone +13.3
  4 Alex Barros Honda +15.4
  5 Marco Melandri Yamaha +23.5
  6 Sete Gibernau Honda +27.3
• LAST YEAR'S WINNER, TAMADA: “Finally ‘my’ Grand Prix, where I absolutely need an excellent result. It will not be easy with the high level my rivals are at, but I would really like things to go back in the right direction for me and the team. I really like this race and I think the most attractive parts of it are the hard braking at the end of the longest straight. That’s where you can gain or lose most of the time. I’m sure that we’ll have fun, I only ask for fortune to be with me.”

RACE RESULT

SEP 18, 2005

• 1 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati
  It's great to take the win today, but it has not just been about today. From Friday to Saturday to the race it has been good for Ducati Marlboro, for Bridgestone, for the team. Bridgestone made a great job here at Motegi and the tyres have been working well; we did a lot of consecutive laps in practice at high speed. I had good rhythm in the race but sometimes when I tried to overtake I was past the limit. When I went into the lead I knew I was faster than Max and then I knew it would be my race. It's great to win for Ducati and Bridgestone in Japan."
• 2 Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda +1.4s
  “That race was so hard and I am very happy with the result in the end. Michelin did a great job with the tyres – the grip on the edge was unbelievable! When I opened the throttle there was so much traction it was incredible. My team has done a great job and even if we didn’t win we improved again in the World Championship. It is good to be the best Michelin finisher and the first Honda home as well. I’m confident in Malaysia that we can take revenge on Bridgestone! They did a great job and Loris rode very hard – congratulations to them. A good battle to watch for the fans I think.”
• 3 Makoto Tamada (JAP) Honda +16.2s
  “The best result of the season but I feel I can do even more. I am only at 70 per cent of my condition and I hope that soon we’ll make it improve. Finally I had the opportunity to show my new Michelin cap, seeing this is my first podium with the French tyres. During the race I had some chatter problems, which didn’t allow me to remain with the fastest riders. I tried, but when I saw Rossi and Melandri fall, I preferred not to risk anything and maintain the third position.”
• 4 Checa +22.4
  "The most important thing is that we made good progress here. We had some problems both and in Brno but we grew up a lot over this weekend. We knew that the tyres had a lot of potential but we had been unable to use them but here we went one step in front. I am actually happier for the performance rather than the result. I have to give my compliments to Loris and they tyres have definitely made some difference to us today, so thanks to Bridgestone for their good work."
• 5 Hopkins
  “Finally I got the top five finish I’ve been looking for in my whole GP career! I am perfectly confident in my riding talent, I have always believed that the results would come when the machinery gets better and that’s exactly what’s happened. Suzuki has brought some improvements here and the Bridgestone tyres were just unbelievable this weekend, everything about them was really good. I had a couple of front-end slides in the race but that was inevitable with the heat. The lap-times weren’t as good as what we had been doing but as I said with the heat that is only natural. I got to the first corner and just kept thinking don’t anybody hit me, don’t anybody hit me and they didn’t! So I breathed a huge sigh of relief and just kept my cool and my consistency and brought it home in the top five. That was really important for me because first it’s the top five - then a podium - then a win!”
• 6 Edwards
  "I made a good start for once and it wasn't too bad to begin with. I got past Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) but I lost the front going into turn seven and ran wide. It was strange because, apart from my crash on Friday, the front has been very stable this weekend but in the race I lost it in a few corners and it affected my confidence. For the rest of the race it was survival for me. I got past Kenny again but the conditions were hotter than they had been during practice and our tyre and suspension combination suffered a little. It has been a struggle for the past few races but I like the tracks we've got coming up so hopefully we can sort it out and make some progress. At least we've moved up to third in the championship, so that's one good thing we can take away from here!"
• 7 Hayden
  “Things never really clicked here for the moment I got off the plane really. Seemed like I was on the back foot all weekend and things never came good to be honest. In the race I had a good battle with a few guys and went back and forth with Barros a few times then I overshot at the end of the straightaway and lost a few places. I feel I let my boys down here and don’t feel good about it. I just want to make sure we come out of the gate fast in Sepang next week and put things straight.”
• 8 Roberts
  “That was basically the worst result besides falling down that I could have strung together. I think either the temperature change got us or something, but I couldn’t be aggressive from the start and was only using half my braking force. I then got frustrated and was overshooting the corners and by the time I had got to the next corner I didn’t know where the hell to brake. This complicated everything and I then felt as if something was wrong, so that and sliding the front all added up to me just riding around completely lost. I think we could have had a better result – to what level I don’t know – but we obviously need to keep improving.”
• 9 Elias
• 10 Xaus

YAMAHA RACE REPORT: Disappointing day for Rossi in eventful Japanese Grand Prix

• Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi suffered a rare fall in the Grand Prix of Japan today, after making a sensational start from eleventh on the grid and passing seven riders by the fourth lap. Seven laps later he suddenly came together with Marco Melandri (Honda) as they pitched into the notorious turn ten and collided into the gravel, leaving Max Biaggi (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati) clear at the front. The race was eventually won by Capirossi, who passed Biaggi six laps from the end and opened up a 1.4 second advantage to claim his first win of the season.
• Rossi's Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards rode a battling race and eventually finished sixth, despite some front-end problems with his M1. He moved up to third in the championship, sixteen points behind Biaggi. Biaggi is now the only rider with a mathematical chance of denying Rossi his second MotoGP title for Yamaha, with the reigning World Champion needing thirteen points from next Sunday's race in Sepang, Malaysia, to clinch the title.
• This weekend the YZR-M1 introduces updated graphics in the form of newly designed 'speed bars' on the side of the fairing and other detailed changes. Observant fans will notice that the new speed bar design is very similar to that of the recently introduced and all-new YZF-R6.
• Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 5th
  "I made a good start for once and it wasn't too bad to begin with. I got past Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) but I lost the front going into turn seven and ran wide. It was strange because, apart from my crash on Friday, the front has been very stable this weekend but in the race I lost it in a few corners and it affected my confidence. For the rest of the race it was survival for me. I got past Kenny again but the conditions were hotter than they had been during practice and our tyre and suspension combination suffered a little. It has been a struggle for the past few races but I like the tracks we've got coming up so hopefully we can sort it out and make some progress. At least we've moved up to third in the championship, so that's one good thing we can take away from here!"
• Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), DNF
  "We knew this would be a difficult race but the mechanics worked hard to improve the bike this morning in the warm-up and it worked well over the first few laps. I was able to pass a lot of people but I started to have a few problems with the front tyre when I arrived behind the front three. I knew it would be a risk to try and overtake and I expected Loris to pass Max in the final few laps. I knew I could be World Champion with fourth place and so I decided to just wait and do my race. Then Marco made a small mistake and suddenly I was behind him. It was the first time I had followed him into turn ten and we took completely different lines. He went to the outside of the track to cut across and get good acceleration out of the corner but I went to the inside to run wider on the exit. For the first 50m of braking we were at exactly the same speed so there was no warning, but he was able to stop the bike much harder than me and I couldn't avoid him. You can't see it very well on the television but I wasn't even trying to pass him, it was just one of those things. I apologised to Marco and he said 'it happens.' Now I am very concerned for him and I just hope he is ok."
• Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha team director
  "Our first concern is for Marco Melandri. We are not sure of his injuries just yet but we hope it is not serious and I wish him well on behalf of the whole team. There was a protest against Valentino put forward by Honda on behalf of all its MotoGP Teams, but Race Direction has judged this unfounded. As far as the championship is concerned, it is a pity we couldn't finish it off here and for Valentino it is a shame that his run of podiums has been interrupted. All we can do is try to make up for it by taking the points back next time. Colin finished sixth in a difficult race, but it was an important result for him as it means that he remains in the top positions."
• Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 9th
  "We leave Motegi with some points and a good finish position overall. However I feel this race weekend was worse than Brno where we've had a better race with a lower classification. We have had a lot of problems with the set-up of the bike this weekend, which we were unable to solve. We will try to go through them in Malaysia and hope to improve there. A lot of riders crashed today and fortunately I didn't, the points we've got today are important for us."
• Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 10th
  "I haven't rode fast today but still I finished tenth. When I saw the other riders crash out of the race I thought that it was better not to push too much and end up next to the track myself. Also when the temperature rose during the race, things only got more complicated. In these kinds of circumstances it's better not to take any risks and just go for the championship points. For the remaining races I will try hard to improve my feeling with the bike and better my results."
  

QUALIFYING

GRID, SEP 17, 2005, Temp 31ºC, Sunny

• 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 1:46.363
• 2. John Hopkins (US) Suzuki 1:46.861
• 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 1:46.867
• 4. Makoto Tamada (JAP) Honda 1:47.043
• 5. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda 1:47.089
• 6. Nicky Hayden (US) Honda 1:47.166
• 7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Honda 1:47.168
• 8. Kenny Roberts Jr. (US) Suzuki 1:47.257
• 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati 1:47.323
• 10. Alex Barros (BRA) Honda 1:47.562
• 11 Rossi 1m 47.56: "it was probably our worst session of the season"
• 12 Hofmann 13 Edwards 13 Nakano 14 Ukawa 15 Rolfo 16 Elias 17 Matsudo 18 Xaus 19 Battaini 20 Ellison

YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT

• Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi faces a difficult task at Motegi tomorrow and he aims for his twelfth consecutive podium finish this season. The Italian starts from his worst grid position since the start of the year after setting the eleventh fastest time in this afternoon's single qualifying session, whilst his team-mate Colin Edwards is also expecting a tough race as he lines up two places behind the reigning World Champion in thirteenth.
• After two practice days beset by unexpected setbacks, Rossi squeezed every possible second out of the hour long afternoon session before launching his qualifying attack. However, as the time ran down he was unable to beat the chequered flag for one final attempt on a qualifying tyre and could only look on as he slipped further down the order with other riders posting their fastest times of the session.
• Both Rossi and Edwards knocked over a second off their times from yesterday but it was not enough to challenge for a top placing on an ultra-competitive grid. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) will start from pole position after setting a new record time of 1'46.363 ahead of John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Honda).
• Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 11th - 1'47.563
  "This morning we made some good progress with the setting of the bike and we were quite fast, but in the afternoon we went in the wrong direction and it was probably our worst session of the season. Michelin has done a very good job to come up with a competitive race tyre but unfortunately we weren't able to get the best out of it today. In the end we had a bit of bad luck, running out of time when we tried to change the rear tyre a couple of minutes from the end. Anyway, tomorrow we will go back to the setting we had this morning and use the extra data we gathered in the afternoon to try and make some more improvements, although I think all the riders can only dream about the pace Capirossi had today. The last time I was so far back on the grid was at Qatar last year but I made a lot of positions up over the first four laps so I will try to do that again, only this time finish the race!"
• Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 13th - 1'47.678
  "We actually went forward with the setting of the bike today and between turns four and nine we are good. The problems are the sections before and after that, with the long straights and heavy braking. We're going from 300km/h down to almost zero, basically, and I don't have enough feeling on the rear. If you are a couple of inches off the line into those corners then you lose some vital tenths. Usually the bike is more forgiving than this but for some reason we're struggling with it here and this is the worst circuit for it to happen. We'll see what we can work out in the morning but whatever happens it isn't going to be an easy race starting from so far back."
• Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha team director
  "Today just goes to show that this sport is not easy. It is always full of surprises, with top quality opposition, and you can never relax. Both our riders are in a difficult situation but it will be very interesting to see how the team reacts. We have had tough Saturdays already this season but we have good engineers and they don't stop working right up until the start of the race. It looks like it will be a difficult but interesting day tomorrow!"

FRI PRAC, SEP 16, 2005

• 1 John Hopkins 1m 47.952
• 2 Loris Capirossi 1m 48.05
• 3 Kenny Roberts Jr. 1m 48.263
• 4 Valentino Rossi
• 5 Sete Gibernau
• 6 Nicky Hayden
• 7 Max Biaggi
• 8 Marco Melandri
• 9 Tamada
• 10 Barros
• 11 Edwards 12 Checa 13 *Ukawa 14 Hofmann 15 Nakano 16 Elias
• *Ukawa replaces injured Bayliss
• HOPKINS, 1ST: “I’m extremely pleased with everything that Suzuki and Bridgestone have brought here, I’m pretty happy with the way things went. I had a minor problem that we were able to sort out quickly and got straight back out on track, we only lost about three laps so it wasn’t anything serious. Right now I’m really happy with the progress Suzuki has made with the engine parts, the GSV-R has got a lot cleaner feel off of the corners and the throttle management feels a lot better. I am really excited about the new rear tyre that Bridgestone has produced. The race is definitely something to look forward to on Sunday!”
• CAPIROSSI, 2ND: "I am really very pleased with the job we did today and we started working well with the tyres this morning," said Capirossi. "We continued that in the afternoon session and in all regards we worked in the best way we have done this year. The rhythm is fantastic and I did my best lap of 1'48.053 after ten laps on the same tyres. I went out again on the same rubber and did a mid-1'48". Not bad at all for the first day."
• ROBERTS, 3RD: “I think we are relatively similar to where we were at Brno – in or around the top five or six. We will have to wait and see how qualifying goes tomorrow and see if we can get a decent start in the race. We have our backs up against the wall here with acceleration and that’s really the biggest key. As a rider you always want the bike to go round the corner faster, but in reality the thing that would help us most at the moment would be ten to twelve bike lengths extra speed down the back straight. It’s not a negative thing it’s just something we have to work through, and do the best with what we’ve got.”
• ROSSI, 4TH: "We had a gearbox problem this morning with one of the bikes not downshifting properly so we probably lost about 15 minutes of the session. Also, for the first time in some years, we are having difficulty with the tyres and we need to address that. Michelin have always worked very well for us and now they are working very hard to find a way forward. Taking that into consideration, fourth place is not so bad but we still have a lot to do. My rivals for the title are behind me but at the moment I am not thinking about that too much. My target for Sunday is to finish on the podium and then we'll have a look at where everybody else has finished. Motegi is not my favourite circuit but there are some sections that I like, such as the right-hander after the bridge."
• YAMAHA PRACTICE REPORT:
• Gauloises Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards tackled the opening day of action at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit today as high temperatures and bright sunshine provided ideal track conditions for the first free practice sessions of the Grand Prix of Japan. Rossi was the fastest Michelin rider on a day otherwise dominated by local tyre manufacturer Bridgestone, the Italian just 0.054 seconds off lap record pace in the afternoon despite suffering from a gearbox problem in the morning session.
• Colin Edwards also had a problematic first day at the difficult Japanese circuit, suffering only his second crash of the season in the morning and then struggling to regain confidence in the afternoon. Nevertheless the American ended the day having established a good feeling for the YZR-M1 machine and he is confident of making major progress with more time on the bike tomorrow.
• With John Hopkins (Suzuki) setting the pace ahead of Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki), none of Rossi's championship rivals are ahead of him on today's time sheets as the Italian looks to seal his fifth consecutive title on Sunday.
• This weekend the YZR-M1 introduces updated graphics in the form of newly designed 'speed bars' on the side of the fairing and other detailed changes. Observant fans will notice that the new speed bar design is very similar to that of the recently introduced and all-new YZF-R6.
• Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 11th - 1'48.985
  "I've got no excuses for the crash, it was completely my fault. I got into the corner too hot. I ran about half a metre off line and lost the front end, trying to force it back into the corner. Thankfully I'm not used to crashing this season and you forget how fast these bikes are moving until you jump off! We lost a bit of time because of it and needed the afternoon to play with the setting and tyres, but it probably took me four or five laps to get my confidence back up. By that time I'd used the best part of the tyre and wasn't able to put a fast lap in at the end. We came here with the setting we found in the Brno test and it works great at this track. The only problem I had today was trying to keep the front wheel on the ground so we'll work on that and see what we can come up with tomorrow."
• Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha team director
  "As with many Fridays this season we have some work to do with both riders. We need to understand the bike setting and work hard with Michelin to try understand the tyres, and it is always hard to do both these things at the same time. Tonight we will analyse the data and the information that we have gathered so that we can come up with some solutions tomorrow - this is always the way on a Friday, it is what they are for! In that respect you could say it was just 'another day at the office' for us!"

RACE PREVIEW:   HONDA    YAMAHA

HONDA PREVIEW

• GIBERNAU: “The Twin Ring is Honda’s track and for our team it’s important to do well. The part I enjoy the most is the series of corners, four to be exact, which are taken after exiting the first tunnel. The sequence of right corner, left corner and right corner and left corner again are fun to ride, every corner is a bit slower than the one before it.
  Motegi is very good for the characteristics of our Honda bike. I have had some good races here even if until now I still haven’t had great results.”
• BIAGGI: “I qualified okay last year in Motegi but ended the race very early in a big crash on the first corner. This year we need to go well from Friday. We had a good few days testing after the last Grand Prix. I really want to keep the second place in the Championship and I want to show all my fans and my team that we can make it. Japan is always a good track for me and it’s also a good opportunity to meet all my Japanese fans again.”
• HAYDEN: “I’m looking forward to this end part of the season. Riding the bike in Japan for a factory Honda rider is a real honour. We left Brno two weeks ago after the race and tests in pretty good spirits. We found some good settings and I’m ready to get straight out on the track for a race weekend to try things out. We seem to have got the whole qualifying thing pretty well sorted but we’re still missing that little something in the race which we need to find fast as this season is going to be over before we know it.”
• MELANDRI: “The Twin Ring is a not very quick track, but it’s a lot of fun. There are many places where you can overtake and many long braking areas. The part of the track I prefer is the one that goes from the corner 130R Mito to the next variation. The slowest part of the track is the chicane before the downhill straight and here it’s important to be very aggressive during braking and then to really get on the throttle.”
• BARROS: “I like Motegi, it’s a track where I can look back at some great races, and not just the win in 2002, when I rode this Honda four-stroke for the first time, but also the podium from the year before.
  Last year’s race was also good for me, because after the first corner incident where lots of riders crashed out, I was in last place, at the back of the group. The whole race was a fight-back for me, and finally I came fourth, just a couple of seconds off the podium, just behind Nakano. We will try to make the most of the team’s experience on this track, so we can have another great race.”
• BAYLISS:

YAMAHA PREVIEW

• 2004 race summary
  Last year Valentino Rossi secured a second place result at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi after a closely contested battle with that weekends' fastest rider Makoto Tamada (Honda). Rossi led the early stages of the 24-lap race but lost his advantage to the Japanese rider from lap ten onwards. In front of a strong crowd, Rossi made an excellent start from his front row grid position, leading into the first corner and thus escaping a six-rider pile-up that claimed Colin Edwards (Motegi was his only race of the 2004 MotoGP season in which he failed to score points). Rossi and Tamada charged away from the remains of the pack, with the former leading until Tamada made a successful pass along the back straight on lap ten. From that point on Tamada built a gap over Rossi, and ended the race just over six seconds ahead of the Italian.
• Set-up report YZR-M1
  Motegi is unsurpassed in its design and circuit quality - the surface is seamlessly smooth, offering high levels of grip, and the facilities are exceptional. Yet, despite this high attention to technical detail the Motegi layout is far from being a technically challenging circuit. The track can be characterized as a series of 'drag strips', linked together by continual radius second gear corners, a layout that isn't liked by many and disliked by more. Even so it is still technically challenging enough that outright power isn't the be-all and end-all when it comes to winning races.
• In fact in some respects too much aggressive power can be a hindrance at this particular venue. As a result this should prove to be of benefit to the 2005 YZR-M1, which beside shear horsepower also has a very predictable powerband with an excellent 'throttle linearity'. This performance trait is essential since most of the +230 horsepower will be driven through to the rear wheel on the exit of second and third gear corners, only moments after completing some rather heavy braking.
• This combination of hard braking to hard acceleration complicates things further with the aggressive weight transfer being a catalyst for instability. For this reason a balanced and usable base geometry will be the focus point for those riding the M1.
• The main aim in both instances (acceleration and braking) is to cater for the aggressive weight transfer by minimizing the pitching effect. To do this the basic chassis package won't be too far removed from what was run during the Le Mans test earlier in the year. The rear of the bike will be slightly lower and the front set slightly higher, when compared to other circuits, to offer the braking stability needed - reducing the likelihood of the rear wheel leaving the tarmac. The front fork springs will boast a slightly higher spring rate, but unlike Le Mans, the damping won't have to cater for any real bumps during the period the front forks are compressed.
• The rear shock on the other hand will run a slightly softer spring with a high amount of preload. This will help to offer the feel and consistency under power while preventing the bike from squatting to the point which can cause it to run wide or, in extreme circumstances, wheelie. At the same time suspension technicians will also have to consider the effects of the rear shock pumping through its stroke - a common concern on a track where the bike is driving hard off a slow speed hairpin.

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