Results 125/250 Australian GP
2001 Australian GP
TRACK: Phillip IslandDATE: 14 October 2001WEATHER: Cool, sunny
250cc Race Results (25 laps)------------------Pos No. Rider Nat Bike Time/Diff--- --- ----- --- ---- ---------1 74 Katoh Jpn Hon 39'48.1802 31 Harada Jpn Apr 5.6443 44 Rolfo Ita Apr 8.5184 99 McWilliams Gbr Apr 14.3035 10 Nieto Spa Apr 14.3896 7 Alzamora Spa Hon 14.7497 15 Locatelli Ita Apr 17.5468 37 Boscoscuro Ita Apr 37.4569 8 Matsudo Jpn Yam 50.87210 18 Yuzy Mal Yam 53.95111 57 Lanzi Ita Apr 1'00.11312 46 Sekiguchi Jpn Yam 1'10.31413 11 Chiarello Ita Apr 1'34.98114 16 Tomas Spa Hon 1'39.35515 20 Vidal Spa Apr 1 lapWorld Championship==================JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR VAL PAC AUS1 Katoh 272 25 25 25 25 6 25 5 25 20 16 25 25 - 252 Harada 243 20 16 20 20 25 20 - - 16 25 16 20 25 203 Melandri 169 10 20 16 16 16 - 10 16 25 20 20 - - -4 Rolfo 163 11 8 9 7 20 16 - 20 13 11 13 8 11 165 Nieto 138 5 11 11 11 11 11 - 10 6 13 9 16 13 116 Alzamora 127 13 10 9 20 13 - 9 - 13 20 107 McWilliams119 8 10 6 9 - 10 25 - - - 11 11 16 138 Locatelli 105 16 13 8 10 13 13 - - - 4 - 9 10 99 Matsudo 96 13 7 4 - 4 6 - 11 8 7 10 10 9 710 Battaini 59 9 - 7 3 - - 11 3 7 2 7 2 8 -11 Debon 58 - 1 3 6 8 5 - 8 10 6 4 7 - -
Katoh back on trackSimple win over HaradaAfter the crash caused by Marco Melandri last week at Motegi, Katoh re-asserted himself with a simple win that has given him a 29 point lead in the championship. A finish in the Malaysian GP next week will bring him the title. With a badly bruised wrist from last week's incident, Melandri decided after free practice, not to start the race and so Harada (MS Aprilia) was left without support in his fight for the title. Pole position was a good start, but Katoh was not far off the pace. After a lightening start from Fonsi Nieto ( Valencia Circuit Aspar Aprilia), Harada took the lead going into lap 4, with Katoh following him into second place. Half a lap later, Katoh made his move after a slight mistake by Harada going into the slow right-hander. From that moment, Katoh simply put his head down and pulled away, adding half second a lap to his advantage. Harada was safe in second place and Roberto Rolfo (Safilo Oxydo Aprilia) got the best of McWilliams, Nieto and Locatelli to hold a comfortable third spot for most of the race. Katoh's advantage shrank and grew as he and Harada came on backmarkers, but the race never really seemed in doubt. Equally, there is little doubt that Katoh will be world champion after next week's GP.
Most dramatic incident of the race occurred midway through the first lap, when Randy de Puniet (Scrab Aprilia) tipped off the bike in mid-pack, scuttling three other riders leaving a lot of debris on the track. Fortunately no-one was hurt and the track was clear by the time the riders came past for the second time.
125cc Race Results (23 laps)------------------Pos No. Rider Nat Bike Time/Diff--- --- ----- --- ---- ---------1 41 Ui Jpn Der 38'14.6882 54 Poggiali RSM Gil 4.7093 24 Elias Spa Hon 4.7434 4 Azuma Jpn Hon 4.9385 9 Cecchinello Ita Apr 4.9746 15 de Angelis RSM Hon 5.0537 26 Pedrosa Spa Hon 5.5628 11 Sabbatani Ita Apr 5.8819 34 Bataille And Hon 9.50610 23 Borsoi Ita Apr 17.16511 5 Ueda Jpn Hon 17.28912 73 Stoner Aus Hon 17.37213 29 Nieto A Spa Hon 18.36114 39 Hules Cze Hon 18.37515 20 Caffiero Ita Apr 18.447World Championship==================JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR VAL PAC AUS1 Poggiali 210 11 20 - 25 16 16 - 16 16 - 25 25 20 202 Elias 194 - - 3 16 13 20 25 20 20 25 16 20 - 163 Ui 182 20 25 - 5 - 11 - 25 - 13 20 13 25 254 Cecchinello 140 10 - 20 11 - 25 - 11 11 20 - 8 13 115 Azuma 125 25 6 25 8 8 - - 13 13 3 - - 11 136 Borsoi 119 13 13 16 13 20 - 10 8 - - 1 11 8 67 Sanna 105 16 - - 3 11 6 5 10 25 6 13 10 - -8 Jenkner 94 9 8 - 4 4 13 16 9 6 16 - 9 - -9 Pedrosa 87 - 3 6 - - 9 - 4 5 8 11 16 16 910 Ueda 86 - 16 13 9 25 - 13 - - 5 - - - 5
Ui wins again and Poggiali pips Elias.Just as it is too late to go for the championship, Youichi Ui (L&M Derbi) is putting in some good performances as the season closes. He broke away from the pack mid-race and stretched to the 5 second lead he had at the flag. Behind him there were fireworks throughout the race, culminating in Simone Sanne's last lap high-side that also forced Rodiguez (Valencia circuit Aspar Aprilia) off the track and out of contention. This left Poggiali (Gilera) and Elias (Telefonica Movistar Honda) to fight for second place, with Elias coming up a fraction short at the flag. It could now be enough for the young rider from San Marino to take this year's title.
Next race Malaysian GP 21 October
More by Colin MacKellar
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