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1997 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix

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Spain  1997 Catalan Grand Prix
Race details
Race 13 of 15 races in the
1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date14 September 1997
Official nameGran Premi Marlboro de Catalunya[1]
LocationCircuit de Catalunya
Course
  • Permanent racing facility
  • 4.727 km (2.937 mi)
500cc
Pole position
Rider Australia Mick Doohan
Time 1:45.990
Fastest lap
Rider Australia Mick Doohan
Time 1:46.861
Podium
First Australia Mick Doohan
Second Spain Carlos Checa
Third Spain Àlex Crivillé
250cc
Pole position
Rider Germany Ralf Waldmann
Time 1:47.621
Fastest lap
Rider Germany Ralf Waldmann
Time 1:48.681
Podium
First Germany Ralf Waldmann
Second Italy Max Biaggi
Third Japan Tohru Ukawa
125cc
Pole position
Rider Japan Kazuto Sakata
Time 1:53.476
Fastest lap
Rider Japan Kazuto Sakata
Time 1:53.773
Podium
First Italy Valentino Rossi
Second Japan Kazuto Sakata
Third Japan Noboru Ueda

The 1997 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the thirteenth round of the 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 14 September 1997 at the Circuit de Catalunya.

500cc race report

[edit]

This race was most notable for the threeway battle for victory between Mick Doohan, Carlos Checa and Àlex Crivillé.

Mick Doohan has a firm points advantage over his adversaries with 295 points, having already won the title last round.

Mick Doohan took Saturday's pole position with a time of 1:45.990. In second place starts Carlos Checa, followed by Nobuatsu Aoki and Doriano Romboni in third and fourth position. The second row of the grid consists out of Tadayuki Okada in fifth, Luca Cadalora in sixth, Àlex Crivillé in seventh and Kenny Roberts Jr. in eighth.

The riders all go through the warm-up lap and then line up on their respective grid slots. As the lights go out, it is Aoki and Okada who have great starts. At the start/finish straight they ride side-by-side but eventually Aoki brakes later and leads the field going into Elf (Turn 1) on the opening lap. Crivillé also managed to slot in ahead of Doohan in third position. Sete Gibernau meanwhile has already retired from the race after he lost the front end and slid into the gravel trap at Elf. At the short straight coming up to La Caixa (Turn 10), Okada takes over the lead by going up the inside of Aoki at the slow right-hand corner.

Lap two begins and the top six is as follows: Okada, Aoki, Crivillé, Cadalora, Doohan and Norifumi Abe. At the start/finish straight coming up to Elf, Doohan overtakes Cadalora for fourth place. Crivillé also looks up the inside of Aoki but is too far and has to slot in behind the Japanese for now. At Seat (Turn 5), Alex Barros overtakes Abe by lunging down his inside for seventh position. A small gap is now present between sixth place Checa and seventh place Barros.

On lap three, Doohan sets the fastest lap of the race. At La Caixa, Crivillé dives past Aoki by going up his inside and outbreaking the Japanese rider.

Lap four and Crivillé now tries to take the lead from Okada at the entrance of Elf, but decides to slot behind for the time being. Behind him, Doohan also fancies a look up the inside of Aoki but also does not make the move. At Seat, both Crivillé and Doohan pass their rivals. Both go up the inside at the slow left-hander for first and third position. It's now a Repsol Honda 1-2-3.

On lap five, Doohan overtakes Okada for second place at the end of the short straight before La Caixa by going up the inside of the Spaniard. Okada has now opened up a small gap to Doohan.

Lap six and Aoki makes a move at Repsol (Turn 4), diving up the inside of Okada and taking third as a result. Checa also moves up to fourth by passing the Japanese as well.

As Crivillé crosses the line to start lap seven, Doohan lines up a move halfway at the start/finish straight. They go side-by-side and Crivillé tries to outbreak the Australian, but having the inside line going into Elf he takes over the lead anyway, forcing Crivillé to slot in behind him in second. Two gaps have now formed: One between the pair of Doohan-Crivillé one between the pair of Aoki-Checa. At Seat, Checa finally makes a move on Aoki after shadowing him for a whole lap, going down the inside and taking third from him.

On lap eight, Crivillé does the exact same thing what Doohan did to him the lap before. He pulls alongside the Australian and overtook him with a wide margin before they both enter Elf. Checa meanwhile has closed the gap and is now behind the battling Repsol Honda duo.

Lap nine and Doohan looks to be making a pass on Crivillé, but instead gets surprised by Checa who overtakes the Australian at the end of the start/finish straight and into Elf. The top six is now as follows: Crivillé, Checa, Doohan, Aoki, Okada and Cadalora. At the short straight before La Caixa, Checa goes wide after miscalculating his breaking point, allowing Doohan to take second position back upon exit.

On lap ten, Aoki passes Checa for third at the entrance of Elf by going up his inside. Doohan is still right behind his Repsol Honda teammate Crivillé meanwhile. At Seat, Checa retakes third by diving down the inside of Aoki.

Lap eleven and Doohan is still right behind Crivillé. He looks to be making a lunge down his inside, but opts to stay behind for the time being. Cadalora has closed the gap to Aoki and is shadowing him for fourth as well. No overtakes happen at the front during this lap.

On lap twelve, Aoki looks to retake third from Checa at the end of the start/finish straight, but isn't able to and has to slot in behind the Spaniard. At Seat, Doohan goes up Crivillé's inside and takes the lead in a surprise move. Checa then follows suit by lunging down the distracted Spaniard at Turn 7 to stay in touch with Doohan.

Lap thirteen - the halfway point of the race - and Crivillé overtakes Checa for second at the end of the start/finish straight. The fighting has allowed Doohan to pull a gap to Crivillé. At Seat, Checa goes down Crivillé's inside and overtakes him yet again.

On lap fourteen, Checa is slowly closing the gap he has to Doohan. Doing so, he also takes Crivillé with him to make the fight for the lead a three-way battle again.

As Doohan crosses the start/finish straight to begin lap fifteen, he pulls to the right to make sure Checa doesn't have his slipstream. Checa stays on the left, then both switch positions as Checa manages to pass Doohan on speed going into Elf, taking over the lead from the Australian. Aoki and Cadalora meanwhile are still relatively close behind Crivillé, making this now a five-way battle for the top position.

Lap sixteen and Checa has pulled a slight gap back to Doohan. He looks to be making a move at the end of the start/finish straight, but decides to stay behind the Spaniard for now. Cadalora is now slowly losing touch with the top four as well.

On lap seventeen, Doohan takes back the lead from Checa thanks to the Repsol Honda's superior top line speed at the start/finish straight. At Repsol, Aoki tries to take third by going up the inside of Crivillé but runs wide upon exit, gifting the place back to the Spaniard.

Lap eighteen and Aoki is now losing touch with the top three. Cadalora is right behind him and makes his move at the start/finish straight, going side-by-side and taking fourth from him before Elf. Checa meanwhile is very close behind Doohan, with Crivillé shadowing the pair in third place.

On lap nineteen, Crivillé now has a significant gap back to Cadalora, meaning that it has become a three-way battle for the win. Barros retires from the race after a highside at Elf caused him to slide out of contention and into the gravel trap.

Lap twenty and Checa has pulled a slight gap back to third place Crivillé, who is being shadowed by Cadalora. Checa tries a move at Seat but chooses to stay behind him for now.

On lap twenty-one, Checa makes his move at the start/finish straight. He goes side-by-side, then passes Doohan on the inside at the beginning of Elf under loud cheering from the majority Spanish and Catalan fans. Doohan shadows him all throughout the lap but does not make a move.

As Checa crosses the line to start lap twenty-two, Doohan repasses him for the lead at the start/finish straight. At Seat, Checa makes a late lunge up Doohan's inside to take first place back once again. However, he runs wide as a result, allowing Doohan to stay very close behind him.

Lap twenty-three and Doohan takes first position back at the start/finish straight thanks to his superior top-end speed. The group of five encounter backmarker Laurent Naveau, who lets them through without any problems.

On lap twenty-four, the penultimate lap, Doohan sets the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:47.200. He also has pulled a very small gap to Checa, who has not been able to make a move on the Australian during this lap.

The final lap - lap twenty-five - starts and Checa has a big gap back to Crivillé, securing him second place at the very least. Behind Crivillé, Cadalora is still relatively close. Doohan sets another fastest lap, this time with a time of 1:46.861. Checa has not been able to attack Doohan, who goes on to cross the line and win the race - his tenth consecutive win, breaking Giacomo Agostini's record, as well as his twelfth and final win of the season - in jubilant fashion with a +0.432 second advantage over second place Checa. A bit further back, Crivillé comes home in third, making it a Spanish/Catalan 2-3 on the podium, and Cadalora in fourth. Even further back, Aoki comes home in fifth and Okada just manages to hold off Takuma Aoki for sixth.

During the parade lap back to parc fermé, Doohan throws his arms in the air to celebrate his win. He also waves at the fans, as do local heroes Checa and Crivillé and non-local Cadalora. One of the marshalls hands Doohan the Australian flag, which he flies with pride. Crivillé rides alongside him to congratulate him on his win.

The riders make their way up on the podium, starting with Doohan, then Crivillé and then Checa. The riders receive their respective trophies, with the crowd cheering loudly as Checa and Crivillé receive theirs. The Australian national anthem plays for Doohan, with the man receiving the champagne as it ends, cheekily spraying one of the girls as he does so.[2]

500 cc classification

[edit]
Pos. Rider Team Manufacturer Time/Retired Points
1 Australia Mick Doohan Repsol YPF Honda Team Honda 44:56.149 25
2 Spain Carlos Checa Movistar Honda Pons Honda +0.432 20
3 Spain Àlex Crivillé Repsol YPF Honda Team Honda +1.750 16
4 Italy Luca Cadalora Red Bull Yamaha WCM Yamaha +2.792 13
5 Japan Nobuatsu Aoki Rheos Elf FCC TS Honda +8.159 11
6 Japan Tadayuki Okada Repsol YPF Honda Team Honda +24.631 10
7 Japan Takuma Aoki Repsol Honda Honda +24.826 9
8 United States Kenny Roberts Jr. Marlboro Team Roberts Modenas KR3 +41.369 8
9 Spain Juan Borja Elf 500 ROC Elf 500 +41.805 7
10 Italy Doriano Romboni IP Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia +45.491 6
11 France Regis Laconi Team Tecmas Honda +46.438 5
12 Japan Norifumi Abe Yamaha Team Rainey Yamaha +47.528 4
13 Australia Kirk McCarthy World Championship Motorsports Yamaha +55.442 3
14 Netherlands Jurgen van den Goorbergh Team Millar MQP Honda +57.495 2
15 Spain Alberto Puig Movistar Honda Pons Honda +1:01.810 1
16 Germany Jürgen Fuchs Elf 500 ROC Elf 500 +1:02.291
17 Australia Daryl Beattie Lucky Strike Suzuki Suzuki +1:03.530
18 Italy Lucio Pedercini Team Pedercini Yamaha +1:46.366
19 Belgium Laurent Naveau Millet Racing ROC Yamaha +1 Lap
Ret Spain Sete Gibernau Yamaha Team Rainey Yamaha Retirement
Ret France Jean-Michel Bayle Marlboro Team Roberts Modenas KR3 Retirement
Ret France Frederic Protat Soverex FP Racing Honda Retirement
Ret Brazil Alex Barros Honda Gresini Honda Retirement
Sources: [1][3]

250 cc classification

[edit]
Pos Rider Manufacturer Time/Retired Points
1 Germany Ralf Waldmann Honda 42:05.928 25
2 Italy Max Biaggi Honda +0.550 20
3 Japan Tohru Ukawa Honda +2.940 16
4 Japan Tetsuya Harada Aprilia +2.960 13
5 Italy Loris Capirossi Aprilia +13.760 11
6 France Olivier Jacque Honda +24.165 10
7 Japan Takeshi Tsujimura TSR-Honda +27.393 9
8 Japan Haruchika Aoki Honda +44.398 8
9 Japan Noriyasu Numata Suzuki +49.040 7
10 Japan Osamu Miyazaki Yamaha +49.117 6
11 United Kingdom Jeremy McWilliams Honda +49.542 5
12 Spain Emilio Alzamora Honda +50.027 4
13 Spain Luis d'Antin Yamaha +55.168 3
14 Spain José Luis Cardoso Yamaha +55.266 2
15 Italy Franco Battaini Yamaha +55.557 1
16 Italy Cristiano Migliorati Honda +56.213
17 Italy Luca Boscoscuro Honda +1:15.407
18 Argentina Sebastian Porto Aprilia +1:21.392
19 United States Kurtis Roberts Honda +1:55.372
20 Spain Ismael Bonilla Honda +1 Lap
Ret Spain David Guardiola Honda Retirement
Ret Spain Jesus Perez Honda Retirement
Ret Spain Javier Marsella Honda Retirement
Ret Italy Giuseppe Fiorillo Aprilia Retirement
Ret United Kingdom Jamie Robinson Suzuki Retirement
Ret Spain Manuel Luque Aprilia Retirement
Ret Spain José David De Gea Yamaha Retirement
Ret Spain Eustaquio Gavira Aprilia Retirement
Ret France William Costes Honda Retirement
Ret Italy Stefano Perugini Aprilia Retirement
Ret Switzerland Oliver Petrucciani Aprilia Retirement

125 cc classification

[edit]
Pos Rider Manufacturer Time/Retired Points
1 Italy Valentino Rossi Aprilia 42:14.687 25
2 Japan Kazuto Sakata Aprilia +6.002 20
3 Japan Noboru Ueda Honda +9.527 16
4 Italy Mirko Giansanti Honda +11.185 13
5 Japan Tomomi Manako Honda +11.196 11
6 Italy Lucio Cecchinello Honda +11.269 10
7 Italy Roberto Locatelli Honda +11.354 9
8 Italy Gianluigi Scalvini Honda +18.326 8
9 Australia Garry McCoy Aprilia +18.366 7
10 France Frederic Petit Honda +18.555 6
11 Japan Masaki Tokudome Aprilia +18.603 5
12 Spain Jorge Martinez Aprilia +18.787 4
13 Japan Yoshiaki Katoh Yamaha +30.103 3
14 Germany Steve Jenkner Aprilia +58.817 2
15 Spain Alvaro Molina Honda +1:13.702 1
16 Italy Gino Borsoi Yamaha +1:13.785
17 Germany Dirk Raudies Honda +1:18.201
18 Japan Youichi Ui Yamaha +1:34.319
19 Spain Joan Montero Honda +1:38.740
20 Spain Vicente Esparragoso Yamaha +2:30.980
21 Spain David Ortega Honda +2:56.693
Ret Spain Xavier Soler Aprilia Retirement
Ret United Kingdom Chris Burns Honda Retirement
Ret Japan Masao Azuma Honda Retirement
Ret Spain Ivan Martinez Aprilia Retirement
Ret Spain Josep Sarda Honda Retirement
Ret Spain Angel Nieto Jr Aprilia Retirement
Ret Spain Enrique Maturana Yamaha Retirement
Ret Germany Manfred Geissler Aprilia Retirement
Ret Czech Republic Jaroslav Hules Honda Retirement

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "1997 Catalan MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database". 13 June 2017.
  2. ^ "YouTube". YouTube. 2014-02-17. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  3. ^ "motogp.com · CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1997". www.motogp.com.


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1997 Czech Republic Grand Prix
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1997 Indonesian Grand Prix
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1996 Catalan Grand Prix
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1998 Catalan Grand Prix