Results 125/250 Race at Dutch TT

It's hard to imagine(for us Brits) that it has been almost 20 years since the Union Jack flew over the top step of a GP podium (ok, sidecars not counted, or Ian McConnachie on the 80cc Krauser), but Jeremy McWilliams performance brought this home to us. He made exactly the right tire choice in drying conditions, with threats of rain showers ever present and benefited accordingly. He didn't lead on the first lap, but led every other one, setting lap times that were 10 seconds or more quicker than some riders who had opted for wet tires. If any rider had gone for full slicks he would have won the race, and that literally is anyone. As it was those choosing intermediates were the ones to benefit and the leaderboard had some unfamiliar names on it during the race. Emilio Alzamora (Telefonica Movistar Honda) was smart enough to fit intermediates as was compatriot David de Gea (Antenna 3 D'Antin Yamaha) and they took second and third place as a result. Most of the other fast guys were not so fortunate and after leading for the first lap, championship leader Dajiroh Katoh (Telefonica Movistar Honda) dropped back to finally come home in 11th.place. He's not a rain man. Tetsuya Harada (MS Aprilia Racing) had an even more dramatic race, deciding to pit to change to slick tires as he circulated in 17th place. He lost a whole lap before getting back out on the track again and there was no way he could claw back the lost time, so he ended dead last.

It was anybody's guess how the weather would develop as the grid assembled for the race. Most of the field chose wet tires, but a couple went for the make-or-break option of intermediates. It was immediately apparent that this was the option to take as McWilliams streaked away, initially accompanied by Marco Melandri (MS Aprilia Racing). As McWilliams disappeared into the distance, Melandri was caught by Alzamora and de Gea, who were also setting lap times 5 seconds quicker than the wet-tire bikes. The excitement had largely gone from the race, main interest being to see how many riders McWilliams would manage to lap before the flag fell. Staring the last lap, he had everyone from 12th. place and with Katoh running in 11th. it looked like he might suffer the indignity of being lapped by the Aprilia rider. Katoh was spared this humiliation by McWilliams celebrations that started halfway round the last lap, as he pulled wheelies, waved and pounded the air with his fist. After so long in GP racing, there was no-one in the paddock that begrudged McWilliams his moment of glory.

Quotes

David de Gea: This is incredible. I was waiting for this moment since I was 16 and it finally came. Before the race we decided to mount intermediate and at the end it has proved to be the best choice as McWilliams won on them. I wish to thank all the team because it is also their success.

McWilliams: I came back from the warm-up lap and the team said "I guess it's wets?" and I said, "No, it's intermediates". The sky was fairly clear so I though I'd go for it, although it could have started raining mid-race. The tires went well for about 12 laps and then they were moving around quite a bit. I thought there were a couple of guys out on slicks and I wanted to make a good break early on. It didn't feel like I was fast, so I was watching the pitboard for the times and as they went to 14 seconds and held, I eased the pace. This is a great moment for me and I'm grateful to Aprilia for giving me a bike that makes it possible for me to win races.

It looks like a new 125 genius on 2-wheels has been discovered and unlike his two predecessors he does not come from Italy. Tony Elias (Telefonica Movistar Honda) has been getting better and better all season and at Assen the 17-year old proved that he had a level of maturity that far exceeds his years on earth. In a race that saw a dozen riders crash on a wet, but slowly drying track, Elias and Arnaud Vincent (Fomma Honda) rode faultless races that saw them fighting for the win right to the line.

Initially it seemed as if pole-sitter Gino Borsoi (LAE UGT3000) was set to dominate the race, as he led away from the line and started to build a couple of second advantage. The track was soaking wet and it started raining again on the second lap. With the rain stopping again after a couple of laps, a number of riders had already tumbled into the gravel trap. These included Manuel Poggiali (Gilera Racing Team), who remounted and started to pull back on the leaders, only to crash again on lap 12. Borsoi had a 3 second advantage by lap 7, but he blew it by sliding off, passing the lead to Vincent. Elias was 2 seconds down on the Frenchman, with Steve Jenkner (LAE UGT3000) another 2 seconds behind. Elias took 2 laps to close on Vincent and for the rest of the race, the pair of them were never more than 20 meters apart. On lap 10 Elias took the lead, but 2 laps later Vincent was ahead again. On the penultimate lap, Elias passed once more and was able to defend the position to the flag.

Next race British GP 8 July