MotoGP Race Results

2005 Grand Prix of Qatar, Losail

Valentino Rossi won the Qatar MotoGP race, which was actually a surprise because of the early dominance and speed of the Hondas and the Ducati of Loris Capirossi.

The layout of the Losail race circuit is rather boring, with few places to pass. As a result, the first 3/4 of the race was relatively tame, but what piqued my interest was the continuation of The Curse.

Valentino Rossi's prediction (some call it a curse) that Sete Gibernau would never win another MotoGP race is becoming more real with each passing race, and it was very evidently in play in Qatar.

Gibernau is a fast and very smooth racer, and he dominated the early portion of this race, looking unbeatable. But Gibernau does seem to crack under pressure and he did so again, this time from Marco Melandri's assault on lap 18.

Melandri is a rapidly upcoming MotoGP star and my prediction is that he will become a serious threat to Rossi's dominance of the sport in 2006. I predict that Melandri will also soon be World Champion, and he demonstrated that form in Qatar.

Melandri dove inside Gibernau going into a right-hander on lap 18. He then slowed down just a touch, forcing Gibernau to go wide and run out on to the gravel. If Melandri had this all planned - and I think he did - then it shows an inkling of the skill that will make him a future World Champion.

Race Report
Only six days after taking the MotoGP title in Malaysia the Gauloises Yamaha Team were celebrating again as Valentino Rossi’s record-breaking tenth victory of the season secured the Teams’ World Championship at the Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar.

Rossi became the first Yamaha rider ever to take his win total for a single season into double figures after an exhilarating last-lap battle with Marco Melandri. Rossi's victory was complemented by a fourth-place finish from team-mate Colin Edwards which gave the team an unassailable championship lead.

“What a race! For me that was the best of the season, it was so much fun,” said Rossi. “I had bad memories from this circuit from last year so I really wanted to win and after practice yesterday I knew it was not impossible. I had two great rivals and all three of us showed that we were in very good shape until the end. We gave more than 100% and had a fantastic battle from the beginning to the end.”

“I have to thank Yamaha and my whole team because my bike was very fast over the final few laps, which it needed to be because Marco Melandri was very strong and we had a great battle. He tried to pass me on the last lap but I was able to hold on and win – my tenth of the season. I am very, very happy.”

Gauloises Yamaha team director Davide Brivio added, “We saw a fantastic race, scored another victory and won another title so of course we are delighted. Valentino clearly wanted to win the race after what happened last year and he came out on top of another incredible battle, so congratulations to him. Colin finished in fourth place, which is not what he had hoped for, but he scored some important points and closed the gap to second in the championship so we are happy for him.”

“The team have worked extremely well since Thursday, finding the right set-up for both bikes early in the weekend and then just fine-tuning for the race. We’ve won the Teams’ Championship and both riders have contributed to this, so congratulations to everybody. Both Valentino and Colin like Phillip Island so now we all looking forward to going to Australia in two weeks.”

With the riders’ and teams’ titles now in the bag, Yamaha needs to be just 50 points clear after Phillip Island to clinch the Manufactures’ Championship.

Carlos Checa took the flag in sixth, over eleven seconds adrift from the winner, followed by Shinya Nakano, Toni Elias and Alex Barros. After winning the previous two rounds, pole sitter Loris Capirossi couldn’t make the hat-trick; after a blazing first lap, the Italian conceded the lead and gradually lost ground. An off-track excursion saw him moving down to 12th but he eventually grabbed 10th.

By clinching his tenth win of the 2005 season, Rossi has beaten the record he set last year for most victories in a single campaign by a Yamaha rider in the premier-class.

With three rounds to go, Rossi will now be aiming for the record of most wins in a single season - a record set by Australian Mick Doohan in 1997 with 12 victories.

Moreover, Rossi's win at the Losail International Circuit allowed the Gauloises Yamaha rider to equal Eddie Lawson's tally of Grand Prix podiums in the premier-class. With 78 top-three finishes, he's now the third best all-time podium finisher in the blue ribbon class behind Mick Doohan (95 podiums) and Giacomo Agostini (88 podiums).