ROSSI SECOND IN SHORTENED DUTCH GP
2001 FIM Grand Prix Schedule, Round 7: Assen, Netherlands, June 30, 2001 HONDA RACING PRESS INFORMATION Honda World Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Nastro Azzurro Honda NSR500) had to be happy with a close-run second place in today's shortened Dutch GP. The Italian hero was enjoying a superb battle with Italian rivals Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) when a rain shower stopped the race at three-quarter distance, leaving Biaggi the winner with Capirossi a close third and teammate Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) fourth. Rossi had been building strength as the race wore on, biding his time as usual, waiting for the crucial final laps, but he and the crowd were denied what promised to be a spectacular finish. Fifth at the end of the first lap, he moved to fourth one lap later and then shadowed Barros, Biaggi and Capirossi. Just after the official half-distance he moved ahead of Barros and then took Capirossi, finally slicing ahead of Biaggi on lap 16, when the first drops of rain began to fall. The sight of rain on his visor as he sped through the 160mph Hoge Heide prompted Rossi to ease off, Biaggi snatching back the lead before the red flags came out. The results were taken back one lap, to lap 15. "It was a fun race but I wish it had lasted a few more laps," said Rossi, who had his series advantage over Biaggi cut to 21 points. "I was sure I could go faster at the end, but for sure it would've been very difficult to win. I had a few wheelspin problems early on, but my tire was working consistently when the others started sliding around, so I started my attack. Second was my result today but it's a long championship and the next few races should be interesting for everyone!" Capirossi, who started his 50th 500 GP from pole position with the fastest-ever Assen lap, was disappointed with third, though it does keep him in the title hunt, 18 points down on Biaggi. "It was a difficult race for me," said the Italian, who led only one lap. "I tried to get ahead but I couldn't run away, so I decided to follow Max and Valentino. I was waiting for the last three laps and I knew where I could have a go at overtaking." Barros dominated the early stages but couldn't maintain pace because he raced his second bike after damaging his number-one NSR in a fall during the soaking morning warm-up session. "That was losing me a few tenths every lap but the result wasn't so bad," said the Brazilian, who won Assen last year. "Now I need some better results at the next races to challenge for the championship." Tohru Ukawa (Repsol YPF Honda NSR500) took a solid eighth-place finish in his 500 debut at GP racing's most complex track, but wasn't happy. "I didn't ride a good race," said the Japanese. "I dropped back early on, then I tried to push harder to catch the leaders and had a few front-end moments." Teammate Alex Criville (Repsol YPF Honda NSR500) completed a difficult weekend with a fourth-lap tumble. The Spaniard was on the charge when he fell while fighting to make contact with the lead group. "Two guys crashing in the early laps lost me some time and that lost me vital time," said the 1999 World Champion. "I was confident I could close the gap on the leaders but then someone else ran wide, forcing me wide too, and I lost the front." British teenager Leon Haslam (Shell Advance Racing Honda) took his second points score of the year on his return from a wrist injury. The youngster finished 13th, a fraction behind Jose Luis Cardoso's Yamaha V4, even though he broke a finger when he fell in morning warm-up. Teammate Chris Walker (Shell Advance Racing Honda), who suffered concussion in a heavy fall yesterday morning, was released from hospital today and hopes to return to riding at next weekend's British GP. Top finishers 500cc: (15 laps - 90.735 km) 1 Max BIAGGI/ITA/Marlboro Yamaha Team/YAMAHA/30'56.346 - 175.961 km/h 2 Valentino ROSSI/ITA/Nastro Azzurro Honda/HONDA/30'56.472 - 175.949 3 Loris CAPIROSSI/ITA/West Honda Pons/HONDA/30'57.078 - 175.892 4 Alex BARROS/BRA/West Honda Pons/HONDA/30'57.577- 175.845 5 Shinya NAKANO/JPN/Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3/YAMAHA/31'06.190 - 175.033 8 Tohru UKAWA/JPN/Repsol YPF Honda Team/HONDA/31'14.966- 174.214 13 Leon HASLAM/GBR/Shell Advance Honda/HONDA/31'56.807- 170.411 14 Haruchika AOKI/JPN/Arie Molenaar Racing/HONDA/31'57.032- 170.391 Fastest lap: Valentino Rossi, 2m 02.662s - 177.531 km/h WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS: 1 Rossi 136 2 Biaggi 115 3 Capirossi 97 4/5 Abe - Nakano 74 6 Barros 73 7 Criville 62 8 Ukawa 53 ====================================================================== Grand Prix Moto Presse, Antoniestraat 81, 2011 CP Haarlem, Netherlands Tel: (31) 235512709 - Fax (31) 235512834 - E-mail: macdeb@compuserve.com For Honda Motor Company, Ltd - Motor Sports Division 1-1, 2-Chome, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan Photographs of Honda Riders are available on http://www.hondaproimages.com Please register first at: http://www.hondaproimages.com/registration.cfm For Honda Motor Europe S.r.l. 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