2005

Here we are: Biaggi gets top Honda team with Repsol backing and is ready to rock. So is Gibernau, fresh champion. Add to the mix hotshot Hayden and his countryman Edwards, MotoGP regulars Barros and former champion Capirossi and you have wonderful set to start the season.

Off we go, first race: Gibernau is still in whis inning ways and takes first one. Biaggi is 5th. Second place is a new kid on thje Honda block - Melandriz? Marco didn’t even make it to the news last year, in Yamaha satellite team. And look at him now! Keep it up and maybe someday you may be on top!

Second race goes to Barros, and Biaggi has cracked the throttle open and gets 2nd place. Gibernau, title defender, crashes out and as he gets up, looks at the rear tire of his dead bike and shakes his head. Traction, for sure, is totally lost from that rubber.

Third race goes straight to history - replacement rider hired to be on squid boy Hofmanns bike, storms thru Chinese Shanghai circuit and takes a dominant win, despite heavy rain. He’s Oliver Jacque and he’s from France. For sure, eating frogs helps in the wet conditions. Jacque is golden and Kawasaki decides to have him in next race, too. hopefully Hofmann will not get better at a quick pace, say the French. Mellow Melandri is again second and Gibernau third, Biaggi fourth. More new parts! w00t!

After that, nothing worth mentioning happens. Young stars Melandri and Hayden are regular podium visitors, also Edwards, Gibernau either wins or crashes out, Biaggi takes win on 5th race but otherwise keeps on 4th place, until in Japan, all bets are off.

What later was described as a big step for a small man, Capirossi tests negative of constant homesickness and takes 3 wins in a row. Yeahaa - the Champion is back! Look at the speed, look at the lean angles! Gibernau is SO out of control because of that, he DNF-s all three races! Chatter, lack of traction and his latest album “We (I) are the champions” is collecting dust on store shelves. What a bummer.

True, Biaggi has regained points lead with mediocre but steady finishes and is hot before the last four races, in the lead with 19 points over Mighty Melandri and Capirex is with 160 right there, too. So, who would win the title?

Crap luck hits Biaggi so hard, he DNF-s next two races, making him lose his lead, demoting him to third, Edwards with one point less, breathing heavily down his neck. Honda, too. Meanwhile, young cannons Melandri and Hayden, now everybody’s favourites, take wins right to the end.

It’s Melandri 3 wins against Hayden one that makes Melandri the youngest MotoGP champion. Hayden is happy camper as vice champion, his countryman Edwards third and poor Biaggi fourth. Life should be easier but that’s racing. Honda does not use his option to hire Max for next year and as we know by now, Biaggi is without ride for 2006.(ed note: The previous paragraph is several stories, most of which are boring and political).

Final points:

Melandri 258
Hayden 237
Edwards 204
Biaggi 202
Gibernau 177

Rossi,Valentino ate 367 mushrooms that year, each worth 1 point.

So, there you have it. Calculate points any way you want, Valentino Rossi dominance shines through. Is it safe to say that real World Champions start from 2 or 3 titles, if there are no injuries? Through the years, great ones take it all. As long as they find motivation. The bar has raised so high, one time Champions don’t cut it anymore. Who’s next? Melandri? Pedrosa? I wouldn’t exclude Hayden either.

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