125cc from Buenos Aires: More Spanish gloryDesperate last lap tactics weren't enough to make teenager Marco Melandri the youngest ever world champion at Buenos Aires on Sunday.
The 16-year-old needed to win with arch title rival and fellow Honda man Emilio Alzamora third if he was to take the crown. Melandri did win the race but Spaniard Alzamora made it home in second, to become only the second rider in GP history to win a world title without a single race victory.
Leading by three seconds with a lap to go, Melandri suddenly slowed, hoping to balk Alzamora and let fellow Italian Roberto Locatelli close in from third and get between the two. Melandri nearly collided with the Spaniard in the process and the two angrily fronted up to each other in the pits after the race. But unlike last year - when 125 title combatants Kazuto Sakata and Tomomi Manako fought a pit-lane brawl - no blows were exchanged. Instead Melandri copped a $5000 fine for riding in an irresponsible manner.
"I wasn't trying to knock Emilio off, I was just trying to slow him down, then I decided I should win the race to show I deserve to win the title," said the youngster who missed the first two races of '99 through injury and has won five GPs since then. Melandri led from lap six, leaving Alzamora to battle with Italians Lucio Cecchinello (Honda) and Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia).
Things were looking good for the race leader as Cecchinello, Locatelli and Nobby Ueda (Honda) got ahead of his title rival but then Cecchinello closed on Melandri and crashed, missing him by inches.
A few laps later Alzamora upped his pace, retook Ueda and Locatelli and stayed second all the way to the flag. "Melandri's riding was immoral and dangerous too, I'm so angry with him," said Alzamora who has won two 125 GPs, in 1995 and '96, with a previous best overall result of third in 1995. "I may not have won any races this year but that doesn't matter - the aim of every rider is to win the World Championship. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter how you do that."
Melandri's team-mate Masao Azuma was the only other rider in with a chance of the title at Buenos Aires. Starting the race from pole, with Melandri and Alzamora next to him, the man who dominated the early stages of the series made another disastrous start and ran off the track trying to make up for lost time.
Italian Gino Borsoi took fourth on his Aprilia after race rival Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) crashed with three laps to go.
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