Fourth place in Valencia: Bridgestone and Carlos Checa finish 2005 season on a high note
06/11/2005
With a fourth place in this MotoGP season’s final race, Carlos Checa and Bridgestone finished a great year on a high note. Two podiums of Checa in Malaysia and Australia, and two victories of his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi in Japan and Malaysia were the highlights in the new and promising cooperation between the Japanese tyre giant and the Italian motorcycle manufacturer that began with initial setbacks, but eventually lead to an exciting and highly competitive package.
Checa, who was hoping for another podium finish at his home race after consistently good results in recent races, started well from his second row grid position and was fifth into the first turn. On lap three and four, the Spanish idol moved up to third place, and was then drawn into an exciting battle when Valentino Rossi came from behind. Rossi swept past, but Checa managed to stay right behind the hard-charging world champion, and only lost touch with his rival towards the end when he was slowed by a slight chattering problem.
Team-mate Loris Capirossi made a heroic comeback from his chest injuries suffered in Australia, pushing himself and his bike to seventh in practice and race. Kawasaki star Shinya Nakano was also gritting his teeth after a fall on Friday. The Japanese ace rode with a heavily bruised left wrist to eleventh position.
Suzuki rider John Hopkins and Nakano’s Kawasaki team-mate Alex Hofmann took 13th and 14th place, and completed a good day with five out of the six Bridgestone riders in the point rankings. Only Nobuatsu Aoki, replacement rider of injured Kenny Roberts within Suzuki, was forced to retire with bike problems.
Carlos Checa – Ducati Marlboro Team – 4th position:
“In the race, I didn’t have quite the pace that I had in yesterday’s qualifying and in this morning’s warm-up session. Once I got the tyres up to full temperature, I was able to push and to attack for a while, and I gained a few positions and enjoyed a good fight with Valentino. I was faster then him in some sections, but it felt too risky to overtake, especially later in the race, when the rear of my bike started to vibrate a bit. From that point on, Valentino was stronger, and pulled away. But even though I missed out on a podium finish today, I’m still happy with our achievements. I started this season on a new bike, with a newteam and new tyres, and I got injured early on. But we fought our way through, and our work really paid off in the second part of the year. I had two podium finishes and was out of the top five only once in the last six races, which shows how far we have come. Our bike and the Bridgestone tyres are now fully competitive!”
Tatsuya Okajima – Vice President & Senior Officer – Bridgestone Corporation:
Firstly, a big thank you to our 3 partner teams for a hard fought season, as they have made us proud to be their tyre supplier. We conclude this year with 8 podiums including 2 wins, which are much better results than the previous year, and we are happy to see the progress we have made with this project. However, we understand that we are still challengers in this sport, and therefore will keep working hard in our pursuit of a world championship. Finally, a job well done to everybody involved in the Bridgestone MotoGP project, as I am sure they will continue with the same passion and motivation into the coming seasons.
Hiroshi Yamaha - Motorcycle Racing Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport:
“Fourth place is a good result for us even though we expected a little more, and hoped Carlos could finish on the podium today. He had an exciting battle with Valentino, and the grip level and consistency of his tyres were very good. Only towards the end of the race, his rear wheel developed some strange vibrations that slowed him slightly, a problem that we will have to analyse together with the team. Our other riders also tried very hard today, especially Loris and Shinya, who started the race with injuries. Considering the circumstances, their race and their results were very good. All in all, we are very happy and satisfied with what we have achieved this year, and I want to thank the riders, the teams and our staff for all the hard work they put in. We will continue to try hard and to get even better results. Our development never stops – our new season starts on Wednesday and Thursday already, with our next tyre test session here in Valencia!”
Bridgestone Results:
4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, 47.16,870, 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 47.21,294, 11. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 47.39,288, 13. John Hopkins(USA) Suzuki, 47.44,659, 14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki, 47.48,008, Did not finish: Nobuatsu Aoki (JPN) Suzuki