Photographs courtesy of Dorna - click to enlarge

Sorry about the title. It's inevitable that it's going to be used, but at least we can probably claim to be the first...

Anyway. Turkey hosted it's inaugural MotoGP on the unusually nice new Istanbul circuit. I say unusually nice because most newly designed circuits tend to be rather androgynous, being designed to be ever so safe while having little thought to the actual spectacle of racing. Istanbul, though, while probably one of the safest circuits on the calendar, has interesting elevation changes and just about the perfect combination of fast and slow bends, ranging from first gear complexes to flat out in fifth sweepers that really test both confidence and courage.

Of course, as a new circuit nobody has any data on which to base their setup. So it's down to the engineers and how well they know their bike to get a good baseline setup that can then be fine tuned using rider input as the practice and qualifying sessions move on. And it was the Movistar Honda guys who had the best setup from the off, while everyone else floundered around.

Qualifying showed Gibernau and Melandri to be a class apart, prompting some not totally tongue-in-cheek suggestions that they had somehow got some early practice. Jerry Burgess and the Yamaha team, meanwhile, were having a torrid time searching for grip, drive and just about everything else that a racing motorcycle needs. Nicky Hayden managed to get a good setup on the Repsol Honda, aided no doubt by his love of left hand circuits. The odd thing was that his team-mate Max Biaggi had a dreadful time, seemingly completely unable to find a setup that would work for him and being out qualified by Chris Vermeulen in just his second ever MotoGP on the Pons Honda. Yamaha managed to pull something out of the bag toward the end of the session, filling the second row with Rossi leading Edwards leading Toni Elias but the front belonged to Honda. Specifically, in fact, to Gibernau who managed to knock his team-mate off pole in the dying moments of qualifying with an astonishing 1'52.3" - a full eight tenths faster than Rossi. Third place belonged to Nicky Hayden, tied with Melandri in second place in the championship and hungry for glory. Makoto Tamada headed up the third row in his best showing of the year, ahead of Alex Barros and Carlos Checa while Shinya Nakano just edged Vermeulen out of the top ten. A good showing for the Pons boys, Barros being black and blue from his very fast crash at Phillip Island last weekend and Vermeulen being about as green as you can get.

Race day, then. No surprise that the weather was fine and warm, with a gentle breeze keeping temperatures manageable. The Istanbul circuit has a short run into the first corner and, though pole position certainly is advantaged, the complex that follows evens things out a bit and a canny second or third placed starter could well turn things around in the very beginning. After the sighting lap Rossi made a rare mistake and positioned himself wrongly on the grid. then he needed to faff around to get things sorted out and didn't seem to have settled properly when the lights went out and the field streamed off. As a result, the seven times World Champion made what's best described as a dreadful start, finishing up way back down the running order. But at the front it was melandri who made the most of the starting position, getting the drop on Gibernau and leading the Spaniard and Hayden through the first few laps without incident. The pace was hot, but despite that Melandri couldn't make the break and drop the following pair. Behind the leading group, Colin Edwards was hot in pursuit while Rossi worked his way back up to sixth by the end of the first lap, waiting another couple before passing Edwards and Elias to start reeling in the front runners.

Lap four, and there was already a respectable gap between the leading group and Edwards in pursuit. Gibernau, apparently having regained some of his old form, executed a very neat pass and slipped by Melandri to take a lead which he quickly extended by a few lengths. And then on lap six he ran wide into a long, long left hander, ran out of track and had to sit the bike up and take the gravel. Yes, Sete Gibernau made an unforced error and threw away a leading position. Now how many times have we seen that this season? Luckily, Gibernau has had enough experience in gravel traps to keep the Honda upright and moving, as he was able to rejoin the circuit and keep riding. Melandri was back in the lead and the young Italian simply put his head down and went for it, turning in fastest lap after fastest lap.

And incredibly, it seemed that today Valentino Rossi did not have all the answers. Because, despite a masterful pass on Hayden to take second place, the gap from Rossi to Melandri just kept growing.

By the end of the race it was obvious that something special had happened. Melandri took his first MotoGP win in emphatic style, finishing over a second and a half clear of the pursuing Rossi who, in turn, had extended his lead over Hayden to some four seconds.

Gibernau managed to retrieve some honour from this debacle, finishing fourth, albeit a long way back, while Carlos Checa came from nowhere to score a solid fifth place in one of his last rides for Ducati. Rumour has it that his seat is being taken by Gibernau while he may well be going to the Pons Honda team. Toni Elias finally got the better of his race long fight with Colin Edwards to take sixth while Tamada finished a well deserved eighth. the battered and bruised Alex Barros, who had been up at the front before the ongoing pain and discomfort of his injuries took its toll, finished ninth while Nakano again came home tenth, ahead of Vermeulen who in turn beat Biaggi by over four seconds.

A very happy Marco Melandri looks almost certain to take second place in the championship with a lead of nine points over nearest rival Nicky Hayden, while Colin Edwards has relegated himself to an almost certain fourth after today. Max Biaggi's fifth place looks under threat if Gibernau can keep scoring points, while Loris Capirossi continues to drop down the table as he recovers from injury. Rossi, of course, is uncatchable at the top though now unable to better than equalling Mick Doohan's record of twelve victories in one season. It's still impressive that he's not finished a single race off the podium this year, though, with his only DNF in Japan being the one spoiler.

Kenny Roberts Jnr, injured from his crash last week, will not be riding with Suzuki next year. Rumour has it that he'll be on his Dad's bike, but that rather relies on the KR team sorting out an engine deal. Rumour also puts Chris Vermeulen on the newly vacant seat in the Suzuki team, though he may well be better served staying in SBK and getting the number one plate first as the Suzuki may well not be competitive for another couple of years yet, if ever.

One more race to go, then, in Valencia. Lots of people have lots to prove - not least Sete Gibernau whose home record isn't especially good and who desperately needs to deliver something to justify his seat for next year. Rossi will be out for that twelfth win at a circuit he always goes well at while Melandri has a taste of the top podium now and will no doubt be keen for a repeat experience. Should be good...

Results

1 M Melandri, Honda
2 V Rossi, Yamaha
3 N Hayden, Honda
4 S Gibernau, Honda
5 C Checa, Ducati
6 T Elias, Yamaha
7 C Edwards, Yamaha
8 M Tamada, Honda
9 A Barros, Honda
10 S Nakano, Kawasaki


Championship Standing after 16 rounds

351 V Rossi (World Champion 2005)
195 M Melandri
186 N Hayden
171 C Edwards
163 M Biaggi
150 S Gibernau
148 L Capirossi
136 A Barros
125 C Checa
93 S Nakano

SB