GIABBANI TASTES VICTORY AT ASSEN
28 June 2005 - BMW Motorrad GB

Belgian rider Stèphane Mertens dashed any hopes of maintaining his championship lead in the 2005 BMW Motorrad PowerCup racing series, when he crashed out of contention in Assen at the third round of this highly competitive one-make series.

This allowed French rival Gwen Giabbani to secure his first PowerCup race win at the historic Dutch circuit.

Riding BMW’s 175 bhp K1200 R roadster, Giabbani took advantage of Mertens’ early exit on the first lap, but he wasn’t alone. In front of over 90,000 spectators, the Frenchman was soon dicing for the lead with Sèbastien Legrelle, Markus Barth and Roberto Panichi.

In an epic race, Belgian Legrelle threw down the gauntlet and pulled out a three-second lead in the first few laps. Giabbani, however, was quick to respond to the pressure and posted the fastest lap of the race (2:14:520) on lap eight.

With just two laps remaining, Giabbani continued to close the gap on his Belgian rival and most PowerCup fans thought that the French rider had left it too late, but as the chequered flag loomed – and at speeds of more than 270 km/h – Giabbani drew level and just managed to edge in front of Legrelle, winning the race by just 0.091 seconds. Legrelle finished in second position, with Mauro Lucchiari third.

Commenting on one of the best races of his career to date, Giabbani said: “ I pushed my BMW K1200 R almost to the limit to bridge the gap with Legrelle because I knew I was quicker than him in the last part of the circuit. I waited for my chance and made the pass to win. It’s a great feeling to win my first BMW race and secure 25 points.”

It was a disappointing result for Sergio Fuertes (Spain), who despite taking the glory in Mugello earlier this month, could only manage to cross the line in eighth position. However, the Spaniard leads the overall results table with 44 points – one point more than Roberto Panichi.

Riders now have just under a month to gear up for the fourth round of the BMW Motrorrad PowerCup to be held at Donington Park in the UK on Sunday 24 July.

www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk

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