MotoGP round 15, 16 & 17
A second place finish from Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha) further tightened the screws on Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda) who could only manage a fifth place result, suffering clutch probems. Capirossi dominated in qualifying, setting a new lap record, maintaining that pace for the race. Although Rossi did get close on occasion, he couldn't overtake his compatriot. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) completed the podium in third. Casey Stoner (LCR Honda) crashed out on lap 13 after losing the front end, while Chris Vermeulen finished well down the field in eleventh.
MotoGP Results: 1. Capirossi, 2. Rossi, 3. Melandri, 4. Gibernau, 5. Hayden, 6. Elias, 7. Pedrosa, 8. Edwards, 9. Roberts Jnr., 10. Tamada.
Rossi rises, Hayden falls!
One of the most dramatic races of the season thus far threw the MotoGP championship into chaos. Toni Elias's (Fortuna Honda) win was only marginally less surprising than the sight of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) taking out his team mate and championship leader Nicky Hayden in a kamikaze overtaking manouevre that had just about everyone in the paddock shaking their heads in disbelief.
The result handed the championship lead to Rossi, setting up a thrilling finale for the final round at Valencia. In a race full of surprises, Rossi was joined on the front row of the grid by team mate Colin Edwards, while Kenny Roberts Jnr (Team Roberts) led briefly in the event's closing stages, after qualifying a lowly 13th. Casey Stoner (LCR Honda) crashed out early, taking Sete Gibernau (Marlboro Ducati) with him, the Spaniard breaking his collarbone and ending his season.
However, it was the Pedrosa-Hayden incident that was the highlight (or lowlight!) of the race. After an epic duel between Rossi, Edwards and Hayden in the opening laps, Pedrosa pushed too hard and lost the front going into a left-hand hairpin on lap 5. The rookie slipped under Hayden taking him out of the race and giving the American his first DNF of the season.
The result gives Rossi an eight point lead over Hayden going into the final championship round.
MotoGP Results: 1. Elias, 2. Rossi, 3. Roberts, 4. Edwards, 5. Tamada, 6. Hopkins, 7. Checa, 8. Melandri, 9. Vermeulen, 10. de Puniet.
Rossi falls, Hayden rises!
Just when you thought the 2006 MotoGP season couldn't throw up any more surprises, the final round in Valencia saw a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for the two main title contenders, Valentino Rossi (Camel Yamaha) and Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda).
Most pundits would have had Rossi at extremely short odds to wrap up his sixth 500cc/MotoGP championship, especially after the Italian topped qualifying to start from pole. An 'X' factor was added with the inclusion of Troy Bayliss to the factory Ducati squad, the Aussie slotting into his old ride fairly well to qualify second, Ducati's Loris Capirossi completing the front row.
From the start, Bayliss and Capirossi bolted. With nothing to lose, Bayliss showed he's lost none of the pace he had during his time at Ducati's MotoGP squad in 2003-04. It was behind Bayliss where all the action was happening. Hayden and Rossi nudged each other off the start line, the American then holding down second place in the opening laps while Rossi dropped back to seventh, behind Casey Stoner (LCR Honda).
On lap 4, however, the unexpected happened when Rossi lowsided out of a slow left-hand corner, one of the very few 'self-inflicted' offs the Italian has had in recent memory. Rossi remounted, but had a lot of ground to make up. Ahead of him, Bayliss was still in front, while Hayden received close attention from Capirossi, with Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda) not too far behind.
While Rossi slowly worked his way through the backmarkers, Hayden only needed to stay upright and hold position in order to become the first rider in the MotoGP era to break Rossi's string of championships.
Eventually finishing third, Hayden was overcome at finally winning the championship. The American's victory lap was more a lap of relief and disbelief as an obviously emotional Hayden tried to comprehend his achievement. Of the Aussies, Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) slid off the circuit a few laps after Rossi, while Stoner also DNF'd late in the race. Troy Bayliss's first ever MotoGP win was the icing on the cake for a season that also included the 2006 World Superbike title.
MotoGP Results: 1. Bayliss, 2. Capirossi, 3. Hayden, 4. Pedrosa, 5. Melandri, 6. Elias, 7. Nakano, 8. Roberts Jnr, 9. Edwards, 10. Checa.
Final Championship Standings:
Hayden 252, Rossi 247, Capirossi 229, Melandri 228, Pedrosa 215, Roberts Jnr 134, Edwards 124, Stoner 119, Elias 116, Hopkins 116.
