Southafrican GP. Race

Repsol rider Tohru Ukawa wins and convinces in Southafrica
The Repsol Honda MotoGP team and its two riders, Valentino Rossi and Tohru Ukawa have played the lead with an electrifying duel for the victory in the South African Grand Prix held in Welkom today. Rossi’s breaking mistake in the last lap allowed Ukawa to take the lead and to cross the finish line in first place. Rossi made a last try leaving all fans gathered in Welkom almost breathless, but a further error left him without chances. In the circuit where he took his first rostrum in the 500cc. category last year, Tohru Ukawa has taken today his first victory since he left the 250cc. after the 2000 season. Fonsi Nieto has also been one of the protagonists of the South African Grand Prix. The Repsol rider had stability problems during the first laps due to the full fuel tank and therefore rode on sixth position during most of the race. But during the last laps and with less fuel in the tank, Fonsi pushed harder until catching up with and eventually passing De Puniet, Rolfo and Locatelli, taking a final third place. His teammate Toni Elías didn’t have much luck; after making a false start, he was penalised with a ‘stop & go’, and finished the race in sixteenth position. In the 125 ccm category, Daniel Pedrosa took his first podium of the season after finishing third. It was a grouped race, with Pablo Nieto, Arnaud Vincent, Manuel Poggiali and Pedrosa fighting for victory. Joan Olivé didn’t finish the first lap after being involved in a crash with Hules and Lucio Cecchinello, but fortunately came out unscathed.