Newsgroup: it.sport.motociclismo
Titolo: HRC com. GP

SOUTH AFRICAN GP
Race day ­ Welkom, 19th of March, 2000
Alex Crivillé saves fifth place for Repsol YPF Honda
The first 500 Grand Prix of the year was a spectacular affair in which
experience paid off for Repsol YPF Hondaąs World Champion Alex Crivillé. The
Spaniard finished fifth while both his teammates, poleman Sete Gibernau and
Tadayuki Okada, failed to finish the race.
On the first lap, Okada jumped into third from his second row start. He was
then overtaken by Hondaąs Loris Capirossi and settled into fourth place,
just ahead of Gibernau, with Crivillé two places further back in seventh.
Okada became involved in a fight for third against Suzukiąs Kenny Roberts,
while Gibernau closed on his teammate and Crivillé moved into sixth. Okada
stayed on Roberts for several laps, while Gibernau was just a little further
back. The pole setter closed on his Japanese teammate, but the race became
more intense as Yamahaąs Garry McCoy moved past everyone to take third
place. Crivillé managed to close on his teammates and was soon challenging
Gibernau, while Okada dropped back to eight behind Hondaąs Alex Barros.
Gibernau tried to move past Roberts on lap 21 but ran off the track, leaving
Crivillé 6th and the only Repsol YPF Honda rider left in the race, Okada
crashed out on the next lap. Crivillé moved into fifth ahead of Roberts and
set about beating Barros. But although he finished very close to Barros,
Crivillé had to settle for fifth.
ÁLEX CRIVILLÉ ­ 5th  ­ 45ą49.028     World Championship Position: 5th ­ 11
Pts
"I didnąt get a good start and then Abe got in my way. He gave the others an
opportunity to pull away. After that, it was hard to come back as the tyres
started to fade quite quickly. For me, this race was really a test of my own
potential. Iąve just come off the worst winter Iąve ever had. On Friday, I
was really uncomfortable on the bike and I had to run-in a new bike during
practice for this Grand Prix. So all in all, Iąm satisfied with the way
things have gone, even though I would have hoped for a better position. For
me, it was very important not to make a mistake. Iąm not at 100% yet but Iąm
getting better. In theory, those riders who finished in front today should
not be dangerous for the championship".
TADAYUKI OKADA ­ Not classified ­ 34ą21.286      World Championship
Position: 0 Pts
"The rear tyre slid and the bike high-sided me. I didnąt hurt myself but the
crash did get my heart beating fast! Weąve lost some points today, but the
championship is still long. I got a good start, but after about five laps it
was just the same as last year: the tyres were gone. Last year, I tried a
16.5 inch rear tyre and ran into problems. This year, we used a 17 inch rear
and it turns out we should have used a 16.5! Maybe we should have done some
more tyre endurance testing during the practice. During the race, I could
stay with Kenny Roberts no problem. I think he had the same tyre problems as
me. But during the last part of the race everyone started going faster,
Sete, Alex, McCoy, and I found it impossible to keep up".
SETE GIBERNAU ­ Not classified ­ 32ą41.74      World Championship Position:
0 Pts
"Itąs a pity that I was not able to finish the race because I was behind the
leading group and I could follow them. When I saw that Capirossi and Checa
were starting to pull away, I thought it was high time I passed Roberts. So
I tried and ran wide. While I was on the asphalt everything was fine but
when I went off on the grass, it was impossible to control the bike. Our
set-up for the race wasnąt perfect, but it was okay. The tyres werenąt
excellent but then everyone had the same problem today. The important thing
is that I now know that I am competitive and I can race for the
championship".
Race results ­ Welkom - 500cc W. Championship
1. Garry MCCOY AUS Red Bull Yamaha WCM YAMAHA 45ą38.775 1st G. MCCOY 25 pts.
2. Carlos CHECA SPA Marlboro Yamaha Team YAMAHA 45ą39.141 2nd C.CHECA 20
pts.
3. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Emerson Honda Pons HONDA 45ą40.365 3rd L.CAPIROSSI 16
pts.
4. Alex BARROS BRA Emerson Honda Pons HONDA 45ą48.520 4th A. BARROS 13 pts.
5. Alex CRIVILLÉ SPA Repsol YPF Honda Team HONDA 45ą49.028 5th A. CRIVILLÉ
11 pts.
6. Kenny ROBERTS USA Telefónica Movistar Suzuki SUZUKI 45ą54.628 6th K.
ROBERTS 10 pts.
7. Norick ABE JAP Antena 3 Yamaha-DąAntín YAMAHA 46ą03.003 7th N. ABE 9 pts.
8. Nobuatsu AOKI JAP Telefónica Movistar Suzuki SUZUKI 46ą05.494 8th N. AOKI
8 pts.
9. Regis LACONI FRA Red Bull Yamaha WCM YAMAHA 46ą15.006 9th R. LACONI 7
pts.
10. Jurgen vd GOORBERGH NED Rizla Honda TSR-HONDA 46ą16.388 10th J.
GOORBERGH 6 pts.
NOT CLASSIFIED
Tadayuki OKADA JAP Repsol YPF Honda Team HONDA 34ą21.286 7 laps
Sete GIBERNAU SPA Repsol YPF Honda Team HONDA 32ą41.745 8 laps
ON 
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Ciao,
Jeronimo :)
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