Oz Racers around the World - June 2005

250GP

Australian Casey Stoner has hung on to second place in the 250cc title chase after the Dutch round of the MotoGP world championship despite posting his worst finish of the season when he thought there was still two laps to go in the race.

Stoner, 19, finished sixth at the historic Assen circuit but was disappointed not to have scored more valuable world championship points after botching the timing of his final overtaking move.
”I just tried to set a good lap time every lap but unfortunately in the last lap I didn’t realise that it was the last lap: I thought there were still two laps to go and made a mistake and did not brake late enough to pass Aoyama and De Angelis.”

Australian Anthony West was forced to retire from the race with an oil leak on his Honda after qualifying 23^rd at the track where he took his sole GP win in 2003.

In his second appearance on a privateer machine while he awaits the readiness of his new KTM factory bike, West withdrew after 12 laps of the 18-lap race and coasted into the pits. “This was always going to be a tough weekend on a privateer bike, but I got some track-time and that’s what I need before I start racing the KTM,” West said. “I made up some places at the start, and I felt I was quicker than a lot of guys through the corners. The main problem was the bike was down on top-end speed and I kept getting passed on the straights. After eight laps oil started spilling onto my foot and it started slipping off the footpegs. I was worried the oil might get on the tyre so I decided it was safer to stop rather than risk crashing. This is only my second race of the season and I feel ‘rusty’ with my riding. The laps I did here will help me once the KTM is ready to race”.

MotoGP

Italian superstar Valentino Rossi clinched his sixth win of the season and his fifth in a row for Yamaha – the longest winning streak by a Yamaha rider in the history of the premier class. Australian Troy Bayliss continued his troubled season with Honda to finish 11^th at Assen, just behind Ducati pair Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi who were ninth and 10^th respectively. “What can I say about this race? It was average considering recent races, and despite giving everything once more, I was unable to ride as well as I can,” Bayliss said. “I’m obviously not happy because there’s not much difference for me between 11^th and 20^th, but there’s not much else I can do apart from continuing to work hard with my head down and bring an end to this situation. I’m happy to be going to Laguna Seca (California) now, a track I really like, and where I hope we can make some much-needed steps forward.”

World Super Bikes

The domination of Suzuki this season has been seriously challenged over the last few rounds as Ducati and Honda have both finished convincingly ahead of Suzuki. Troy Corser settled into pair of third place finishes, following two seconds at Silverstone. He really felt the heat and was also having difficulty with his clutch at Misano: "I can't tell you how hard today has been. The heat would've been bad enough, but it was very humid and the combination was devastating. I don't think I've ever felt like this at the end of a raceday," he said. "It was the same for all of us, of course, and we should be given credit for the show we put on. I think we all more than earned our money.”

“The first race was a two-part affair and there was also a false start because we made three race starts. Our clutch doesn't like that and sure enough there was an immediate problem with it when we started the second part. It's not easy riding hard without a clutch, because it meant that I couldn't brake where and when I wanted to. It was hard work keeping up with Regis and Chris towards the end - especially as I was having a mother of a battle with James for third place. He actually crossed the line ahead of me, but when the times were aggregated, I got third. I also had a clutch problem in race two and once again I could hang with the guys but not be able to get past and keep in front. I was very close to Chris many times, but I couldn't use the clutch and brake in the right places to make my moves.

Despite his championship lead being slightly reduced, Corser's plan remains clear: "So, once again, I sat behind and settled for third, instead of trying for second and making a mistake. At the end, I felt pretty tired and was happy to have a bit of a sit-down and recover. A few minutes later I felt much better, but it had been one of the hardest day’s of my life. The good news, though, is that I have a 73-point lead in the series and I don't intend to let anybody catch me."