Reigning Senior
World Champion Valentino Rossi (REPSOL Honda) raced to his fifth MotoGP
victory out of six races run so far this season. The Italian led home fellow
RC211V four-stroke Honda rider Tohru Ukawa to take a stranglehold on the
world championship. Rossi now leads Ukawa by 48 points, with Loris Capirossi,
sixth in today's race and a massive 80 points behind Rossi, in third place.
Ukawa had led on the opening lap from the Marlboro Yamaha's of Carlos Checa
and Max Biaggi. The four riders rode close together until Rossi hit the
front on lap 15, when he and Ukawa streaked away to take a decisive eight
second victory over the Yamaha's.
The West Honda Pons two-stroke NSR500's of Alex Barros and Capirossi finished
fifth and sixth.
Marco Melandri (MS Aprilia) won his second 250cc grand prix in succession
to close the gap with championship leader Fonsi Nieto (Telefonica MoviStar
Aprilia) to just six points. Melandri led each of the 23 laps of the race
to win by two seconds from the fast finishing Roberto Rolfo on the Team
Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250. Rolfo outfought Nieto over the closing laps
to claim second place and consolidate his third position in the championship,
21 points down on Nieto.
Reigning 125cc World Champion Manuel Poggialli scored his third win of the
2002 season with the narrowest possible victory in a memorable 22 lap 125cc
race. Poggiali had dueled with young Spaniard Dani Pedrosa over the entire
race distance but had to rely on a fast sprint to the line to beat his rival
by 0.19 seconds, just half the length of a machine.
Steve Jenkner finished a solid third well clear of a spectacular battle
for fourth lace won by Lucio Cecchinello (Safilo Oxydo Aprilia). Simone
Sanna (Tu Racing Aprilia) was fifth with Pedrosa's teammate, Joan Olive,
sixth.
Prior to the start of the day's racing Alex Criville bade an emotional farewell
to his army of fans with one lap of the Catalunya track on his 1999 World
Championship winning NSR500 REPSOL Honda. The machine had been presented
to Criville at a special ceremony on Saturday night by Mr. Katsuki Ukiana,
Vice President of Honda Racing Corporation.
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