Honda's Rossi grabs first Grand Prix victory; Colin Edwards holds World Superbike points lead
11 July 2000
2000 FIM 500cc Grand Prix Series, Round 9: Donington Park, Castle Donington, Great Britain, July 9, 2000 Honda riders grabbed three of the top five finishing positions Sunday as Valentino Rossi rode his Nastro Azzurro Honda NSR500 to victory on the damp and difficult Donington Park raceway. In so doing, Rossi notched his first ever 500 Grand Prix win, just ahead of current series points leader Kenny Roberts. Emerson Honda Pons's Loris Capirossi took fourth, Jurgen vd Goorgergh rode his Rizla Honda to fifth, while current World Champion, Repsol Honda's Alex Criville , finished seventh. Criville's teammates, Sete Gibernau and Tadayuki Okada, suffered from setup problems on the drying track, finishing eighth and tenth, respectively. Emerson Honda Pons's Alex Barros had a difficult day, sliding down the order to 14th after leading the race in the early stages when the track was wet. Donington Park 500cc GP Results, Top Finishers 1. Valentino Rossi - Honda 2. Kenny Roberts Jr. - Suzuki 3. Jeremy McWilliams - Aprilia 4. Loris Capirossi - Honda 5. Jurgen vd Goorgergh - Honda 7. Alex Criville - Honda 8. Sete Gibernau - Honda 14. Alex Barros - Honda FIM 500cc GP Point Standings, Top Riders 1. Kenny Roberts Jr. - Suzuki - 145 points 2. Carlos Checa - Yamaha - 116 points 3. Loris Capirossi - Honda - 102 points 4. Norick Abe - Yamaha - 101 points 5. Valentino Rossi - Honda - 92 points Upcoming round: Round 10 - July 23, Sachsenring, Germany 2000 FIM World Superbike Championship, Round 9: Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California, July 9, 2000 It was a good day for Castrol Honda$B!G(Bs Colin Edwards II, as he left the American round of the World Superbike Championship with second and fourth-place finishes and the points lead still firmly in his grasp. Teammate Aaron Slight struggled with setup at the tricky, technical 2.2-mile Laguna Seca circuit, coming home in eighth and ninth. Noriyuki Haga won the first race, and Troy Corser took the win in the second event. The series now takes a four-week break, returning to England August 6 for the round at Brands Hatch. Laguna Seca World Superbike, Race One, Top Finishers 1. Noriyuki Haga$B!>(BYamaha 2. Colin Edwards II$B!>(BHonda 3. Troy Corser$B!>(BAprilia 4. Ben Bostrom$B!>(BDucati 5. Akira Yanagawa$B!>(BKawasaki 8. Aaron Slight$B!>(BHonda Laguna Seca World Superbike, Race Two, Top Finishers 1. Troy Corser$B!>(BAprilia 2. Noriyuki Haga$B!>(BYamaha 3. Ben Bostrom$B!>(BDucati 4. Colin Edwards II$B!>(BHonda 5. Akira Yanagawa$B!>(BKawasaki 9. Aaron Slight$B!>(BHonda WSC Points Standings, Top Riders 1. Colin Edwards II$B!>(BHonda$B!>(B265 points 2. Troy Corser$B!>(BAprilia$B!>(B247 points 3. Noriyuki Haga$B!>(BYamaha$B!>(B232 points 4. Pier-Francesco Chili$B!>(BSuzuki$B!>(B190 points 5. Ben Bostrom$B!>(BDucati$B!>(B153 points 9. Aaron Slight$B!>(BHonda$B!>(B98 points Upcoming round: Round 10$B!>(BBrands Hatch, Kent, England, August 6
