The Doctor’ wins again! With 11 race wins, 5 of which were consecutive and a MotoGP first, Rossi claimed his fifth world title at the Malaysian GP with 4 races left. He becomes not only a champion but a recordbreaker - equalling Mike Hailwood’s record of 76 GP wins - firmly establishing his position in bikesport history as a modern day legend.
2005 was a season of firsts - with new GPs in the USA, China and Turkey as well as a maiden GP win for Marco Melandri, who finished second overall in an impressive rise through the rankings from his 2004 final standing of tenth place. He and Bayliss began their first season with Honda with high hopes of championship success, alongside Edwards debut with Yamaha and Checa’s with Ducati. But this year also signalled important goodbyes - to Neil Hodgson who moves to the AMA Superbikes Championship and team Aprilia, who withdrew from MotoGP competition indefinitely.
Alongside changes in line-up, new rules added to the excitement of this year’s championship. Fuel tank capacity was reduced from 24 to 22 litres, and a new weather rule insisted that riders were not to stop in the rain unless whiteflagged - all of which pushed riders abilities even further resulting in 17 action-packed, highly entertaining rounds, all captured by trackside and on-bike cameras. |
