2005 German Formula Three Championship
The 2005 ATS Formel 3 Cup was a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open wheel formula racing cars that held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars built by Dallara which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It was the third edition of the ATS F3 Cup. It commenced on 23 April at Oschersleben and ended on 9 October at the same place after nine double-header rounds.


2005 German Formula Three Championship
Jo Zeller Racing driver Peter Elkmann clinched the championship title. He collected six wins, to overcome his closest rival Michael Devaney by 49 points, who won five races. The third place went to Ho-Pin Tung, who was victorious at the both opening and final race of the season at Oschersleben. Seyffarth Motorsport Pascal Kochem didn't achieve a race win but had eight podiums and won the Rookie Cup. Frank Kechele, who completed the top-five, lost eight points to Kochem in both main and rookie standings. Other wins were shared between Martin Hippe, Ferdinand Kool and Jan Seyffarth, who clinched both the Trophy and Rookie titles.


2005 German Formula Three Championship, Calendar
With the exception of round at TT Circuit Assen, all rounds took place on German soil.


2005 German Grand Prix
The 2005 German Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2005) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 2005 in the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany at 14:00 CEST (UTC+2). The 67-lap race was the twelfth round of the 2005 Formula One season. Renault driver Fernando Alonso won the race, taking his sixth victory of the season, whilst Juan Pablo Montoya finished second for the McLaren team. BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button, completed the podium by finishing in third position. It was his first podium finish of the season, because the BAR team had been disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix.


2005 German Grand Prix
As a consequence of the race, Alonso extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship by 10 points to 36 points over his main title rival, McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen, who had retired from the lead of the race, but still remained second in the standings. Ferrari driver and reigning world champion Michael Schumacher, finished the race in fifth position and retained third place in the standings, albeit being 40 points behind Alonso. Juan Pablo Montoya was still in fourth, and Rubens Barichello remained fifth despite finishing out of the points. In the Constructors' Championship, Renault extended their lead to 22 points from title rivals McLaren. McLaren increased the gap between themselves and third placed Ferrari to 17 points, whilst Toyota and Williams remained fourth and fifth respectively.


2005 German Grand Prix, Friday drivers
The bottom 6 teams in the 2004 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.


2005 German Grand Prix, Report
Kimi Räikkönen qualified first and maintained this position after the start and first round of pitstops. Meanwhile, his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, had gained nine positions in the first lap after he had failed to set a qualifying time and started last on the grid.


2005 German Grand Prix, Report
However, on lap 35, Räikkönen's car suffered a hydraulics failure forcing his retirement from the race. This meant that Fernando Alonso inherited first position. It was Räikkönen's fifth consecutive retirement at the circuit. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello suffered from the poor durability of the Bridgestone tyres on their Ferraris again, particularly Schumacher who had chosen a softer compound. This allowed Jenson Button to overtake Schumacher to take second place, although he quickly pitted, allowing Montoya take gain the position. Montoya then managed to stay ahead of Button after his own second stop. In the final laps of the race, Schumacher's problems allowed Giancarlo Fisichella to take his fourth place. During the race Jacques Villeneuve was in three separate collisions; he clashed with Barrichello on lap 1, Robert Doornbos on lap 4, and Tiago Monteiro on lap 27.


2005 German Skeleton Championship
The 39th German Skeleton Championship 2005 was held on 8 January 2006 in Altenberg, Germany.


2005 German federal election
Federal elections were held in Germany on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th Bundestag. The snap election was called after the government's defeat in a state election, which caused them to intentionally lose a motion of confidence to trigger an early federal election. The outgoing government was a coalition of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens, led by federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The election was originally intended for the autumn of 2006.


2005 German federal election
The opposition Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), with its sister party the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), started the campaign with a strong lead over the SPD in opinion polls. The government was generally expected to suffer a major defeat and be replaced by a coalition of the CDU/CSU and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), with CDU leader Angela Merkel becoming Chancellor. However, the CDU/CSU ultimately lost vote share compared to its 2002 result, falling to 35%. The SPD suffered losses but finished just one percentage point behind the CDU/CSU, winning 34%.


2005 German federal election
Exit polls showed clearly that neither the SPD–Green nor CDU/CSU–FDP coalitions had won a majority of seats in the Bundestag. The FDP placed third on just under 10% of votes, its best result since 1990, while the Greens suffered small losses. The major stumbling block to a parliamentary majority was the new Left Party, led by Gregor Gysi and former SPD chairman Oskar Lafontaine, which won 8.7% of votes and 54 seats. The CDU/CSU and SPD both rejected cooperation with the Left Party.


2005 German federal election
Both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory, but the formation of a new government required careful negotiations, as no conventional arrangement could achieve a majority. The CDU/CSU sought talks with the Greens, but were unable to find common ground. Discussions ultimately began for a grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD. On 10 October, officials from both parties indicated that negotiations had concluded successfully and that they would form a coalition government with Angela Merkel as Chancellor. The Bundestag met on 22 November and Merkel was elected Chancellor, with 397 votes in favour.


2005 German federal election, Background
On 22 May 2005, state elections were held in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany, where the SPD had led the state government continuously since 1966. The election saw the government of Minister-President Peer Steinbrück defeated. It also resulted in the opposition CDU and FDP claiming a majority in the Bundesrat, the upper house of the federal legislature. The same day, federal Chancellor Schröder and SPD Bundestag group leader Franz Müntefering announced they would seek early federal elections. They claimed the North Rhine-Westphalia result was indicative of a lack of public confidence in the federal government.


2005 German federal election, Background
Early federal elections may only be held under two circumstances: if the Bundestag rejects a candidate for Chancellor three times, or if a motion of confidence in the government fails to achieve an absolute majority in the Bundestag. In either case, the President may, at request of the Chancellor, dissolve the Bundestag and order new elections. The latter method had been utilised on two occasions previously, in 1972 and 1983, by incumbent governments intentionally failing motions of confidence. Schröder became the third Chancellor to do this, with a motion of confidence on 1 July failing with 151 votes in favour, 296 against, and 148 abstentions. President Horst Köhler then dissolved the Bundestag and scheduled new elections.


2005 German federal election, Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the 15th Bundestag:


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The CDU/CSU nominated Angela Merkel for Chancellor, the first time in German history that one of the two larger parties had nominated a woman for this position. The CDU presented a platform involving increasing the pace and scope of economic deregulation in Germany and pursuing cuts in income tax and public spending (many commentators have compared Merkel with Margaret Thatcher). The CDU began the campaign with a 21% lead over the SPD and confidence in Merkel's victory led the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, to meet with her ahead of Chancellor Schröder during a visit to Berlin in June.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The SPD had the goal of maintaining the current deregulation agenda. They added to their election program some minor corrections such as broadening the financing base of the healthcare system and the proposal of a 3% additional tax for people with annual incomes above 250,000 euro (after the governing coalition earlier in 2005 cut the highest income tax rate from 48.5% to 42%).


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The Greens decided on their program in July 2005. Compared to their previous federal election program, they increased the emphasis on economics and labour-market politics. For the first time this topic came before the classical green topic of environmental politics in the program. In general, the program moved slightly to the left; including stating the necessity for changes to some existing red-green governmental policies.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The FDP announced its election program before any other party, publishing it on 24 July. It called for strong saving measures in public spending and more room for local negotiation between employees and employers, as opposed to central control by trade-union officials.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The leaders of the left wing Party of Democratic Socialism (the "PDS") agreed to let candidates of the centre left Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (the "WASG") run on their party list, leaving open the possible future option of a merger between the two parties. In agreeing to this the WASG stipulated that the PDS rename itself as the Left Party. The WASG, with its front-runner Oskar Lafontaine (a former SPD leader), formed from breakaway elements within the SPD, angered at that party taking a "neoliberal" direction in economic reforms.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
The general membership has already approved this measure and awaits to hear from the PDS party convention to agree as well. If successful this could lead to a further erosion of the SPD's strength, as the PDS has never made inroads in the former West Germany (it lineally succeeded the former governing communist party (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) of the former German Democratic Republic), while the WASG has its base in western Germany and could garner substantial votes there.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
Two of Germany's small far-right parties, the National Democratic Party (NPD) and the German People's Union (DVU), announced that they would run on a common platform in this election, raising fears in the mainstream German political establishment that together they might succeed in gaining more than 5% of the national vote and thus in entering the Bundestag. Since German electoral law does not permit common lists of two or more parties, in practice the DVU did not enter the election, and members of that party appeared on the NPD list.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
Early election polls during summer 2005 from 6 organizations showed a solid lead for the CDU/CSU with a share of the vote ranging between 41% and 43%, and the SPD trailing at between 32% and 34%. The polls further showed the FDP, a possible coalition partner for the conservatives, at between 6.5% and 8%, and the Greens, the current coalition partner for the SPD, between 6% and 8%. Most polls indicated a likely majority for a CDU/CSU-FDP coalition.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
As for other parties, those polls which explicitly included the PDS-WASG electoral alliance showed it above the 5% hurdle at between 7% and 8.5%. No poll showed any other parties, including far-right parties, near 5%, although far-right parties have in the past sometimes polled below their actual support due to unwillingness by voters to admit their support.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
In early August support for Angela Merkel declined considerably. Reasons for this included conflicts about the election program in and between the conservative parties (the CDU and the CSU), and arguments with their preferred coalition partner, the FDP, as well as embarrassing gaffes. At one point the media criticized Merkel for confusing net and gross income figures during a campaign speech. Following this, polls suggested that the CDU/CSU and FDP would only win 48% of votes between them, and thus would not be able to form a government. Further damage occurred when two prominent CDU/CSU candidates, Jörg Schönbohm and the CSU leader Edmund Stoiber, made insulting remarks about East Germans. These remarks not only alienated voters in Eastern Germany but also made some question the CDU/CSU's confidence in Merkel, as she herself grew up in the East.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
However, polls carried out by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in late August showed the CDU/CSU/FDP bloc back up at 51% of the vote. Predictions suggested that the opposing bloc of incumbent Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's ruling Social Democrats, the Greens and the country's recently formed left-wing Left Party (PDS/WASG alliance) would win a combined total of only 46%. The leaders of the SPD and the Greens, Schröder and Fischer, as well as the Left Party's front-runner Gregor Gysi said they opposed the idea of a "red-red-green" coalition. With polls remaining so close, speculation increased that (as in the elections of 1994, 1998 and 2002) a small number of overhang seats might significantly impact the election results.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
On Sunday 4 September, Schröder and Merkel met in a head-to-head debate which was broadcast by four of Germany's major private and public television networks. Although most commentators gave the initial edge to Merkel, polls soon showed that the general public disagreed and ranked Schröder the clear winner. Later analysis suggested that Merkel's support for a flat-tax proposal by Paul Kirchhof, the shadow Finance Minister, further undermined her credibility on economic affairs and gave the impression that the CDU's economic reforms would only benefit the very rich.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
Midweek polls showed the SPD clawing their way upwards by a few percentage points although the combined CDU/CSU and FDP votes tended to remain 1 to 2 percentage points ahead of those for the left-wing parties combined. On the eve of the election, the CDU enjoyed a 9% lead over the SPD (42% and 33% respectively), albeit with neither party likely to have enough seats (even with their preferred coalition partners) to form a government.


2005 German federal election, Campaign
Merkel's personal popularity (consistently below that of her party) had climbed back up to 40%, from a low of 30% while Schröder's had reached a peak of 53% (consistently exceeding that of his party). However, polls also showed that even at this late stage, a quarter of German voters had not yet decided how to vote and that these undecided voters could decide the final result if they turned out to vote. With polls still so close, the parties broke with tradition and continued campaigning on the Saturday before the election and on election day itself. While pundits focused on the likelihood of a grand coalition, the CDU suggested that the SPD might consent to forming a coalition with the new Left Party.


2005 German federal election, Opinion polling
All major opinion polling published in the week prior to the election indicated a clear victory for the CDU/CSU, with a result over 40%. The discrepancy between forecasts and the actual result led to criticism of the polling firms. The error was attributed to factors including the large number of undecided voters (up to 40% ahead of the election) and the increasing inaccuracy of traditional telephone-based survey methods.


2005 German federal election, Vote
Germany went to the polls on 18 September 2005. Voters in one constituency in Dresden had to wait until 2 October to vote in order to allow the reprinting of ballot-papers after the death of the National Democratic Party candidate on 8 September.


2005 German federal election, Vote
Soon after voting ended, it became clear that the CDU/CSU (the "Union") had narrowly edged out the SPD. However, neither of the two likely coalitions (SPD-Greens and CDU/CSU-FDP) could achieve a Kanzlermehrheit – the support of the majority of members of the Bundestag required to elect a Chancellor. This meant that Germany had a hung parliament as no coalition could hold an overall parliamentary majority.


2005 German federal election, Vote
Exit polls for both the ARD and the ZDF television networks showed the CDU/CSU on 35%, the SPD on 34%, the FDP on 10%, the Left Party on 9% and the Greens on 8%; a Forsa poll differed slightly, predicting 36% for the CDU/CSU and 8% for the Left Party. Early seat projections suggested that the CDU/CSU and the SPD had virtually tied in the count for seats in the Bundestag. The exit polls and projections proved broadly accurate in the preliminary results released on 19 September and in the final results published on 7 October.


2005 German federal election, Vote
The SPD/Green coalition's number of seats fell from 306 seats (in a house of 603), to 273 seats (in a house of 614) while the opposition, the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition's number of seats fell from 295 seats to 286 seats. Both potential coalitions fell far short of the 308 seats required for a majority in this Bundestag. The Left Party and the FDP overtook the Greens, previously Germany's third most-popular party since 1994.


2005 German federal election, Vote
The FDP, with almost 10% of the vote, scored its best result since the 1990 federal election, regaining its status as the Federal Republic's third party, which it had enjoyed throughout the history of West Germany and maintained in the first post-German reunification election. Some analysts believe that the rise in the FDP vote came as a result of tactical voting by CDU-CSU voters hoping to prevent a grand coalition by buttressing the Free Democrats. Of the parties that failed to secure the 5% needed to attain seats in the Bundestag, the National Democratic Party performed best, winning 1.6% of the list vote and 1.8% of the constituency vote.


2005 German federal election, Vote
The 2005 election was the last one until 2021 where the SPD won all single-member constituency seats in Saxony-Anhalt, Saarland as well as Brandenburg and the last time where they won any single-member constituency seats in Saxony-Anhalt. Only in the 2021 election, at the end of the Merkel era, would the SPD sweep all constituencies in Saarland and Brandenburg again and gain seats in Saxony-Anhalt.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
Both Angela Merkel (CDU) and Gerhard Schröder (SPD) claimed victory and the Chancellorship as the exit polls came in. It soon became clear that neither could form a majority government within the existing coalitions. Largely because of strong hostility between Schröder and Oskar Lafontaine, a former SPD chairman turned leader of the Left Party, the obvious left-wing coalition of the SPD, Greens and Left Party was not possible. However, both the CDU and SPD said that they would negotiate with all parties that had won seats except the Left Party, while the leaders of the Left Party rejected any possibility of participating in a coalition with either of the two main parties.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
In the Elefantenrunde (elephant round) programme on election night featuring all party leaders, Schröder, in a memorable performance, insisted he had won. Although the SPD had fallen behind the CDU/CSU, he said “nobody but me is capable of building a stable coalition” and accused the moderators of having “an intellectual problem”. The chancellor then declared to Merkel "Under her leadership she will never get a coalition with my party" and insisted that the CDU and CSU should be treated as separate parties.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
His performance during the programme was criticized by the media, CDU/CSU and the FDP as "shocking", "egocentric", "arrogant" and "bizarre". The Berliner Kurier newspaper headline asked if Schröder was “intoxicated by his victory or did he have one glass of wine too many?”. Schröder himself later called his behavior “suboptimal” but denied he was drunk.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
The exclusion of the Left Party reduced the possible coalitions to the following three arrangements:


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
Despite some prominent members publicly blaming Merkel for its poor showing, the CDU/CSU confirmed her as leader on 20 September. On 22 September, following Schröder's election night comments, SPD members began musing that the political system should consider the CDU and the CSU as separate entities rather than as a single parliamentary faction. In such a scenario, the SPD would be the largest party in the Bundestag and thus, they argued, an SPD member should become Chancellor in any grand coalition.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
One SPD legislator indicated he planned to introduce a motion in the Bundestag explicitly defining the CDU and the CSU as separate parties. The Greens rejected coalition with the CDU/CSU after talks broke down. The CDU/CSU pressed their case for the Chancellery after victory in the delayed vote in Dresden, and ahead of talks with the SPD; the SPD maintained their own claim, but Schröder indicated that he would step aside if his party wished it.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
Finally, on 10 October, officials from the CDU/CSU and the SPD announced that negotiations to form a grand coalition had succeeded. Angela Merkel would become Chancellor and the sixteen seats in the new cabinet (including the Chancellery) would go equally to each side, with the CDU/CSU and the SPD each having eight posts.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
The SPD would control eight ministries including the important roles of finance and foreign affairs, while the CDU/CSU would control six ministries as well as providing the Chancellor and the Director of the Federal Chancellery (the Chancellor's Chief of Staff), who would also hold the position of Minister for Special Affairs. Gerhard Schröder would retire from politics.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
Detailed negotiations on the formation of the new government continued into November, with Edmund Stoiber of the CSU withdrawing from the proposed cabinet to continue as Minister-president of Bavaria. All three parties held conferences on 14 November which voted to approve the deal. The majority of CDU/CSU and SPD delegates in the newly assembled Bundestag elected Merkel as Chancellor on 22 November. 397 members of the Bundestag voted for Merkel, indicating that 51 members from one or more of the SPD, CDU or CSU do not support the coalition deal.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
Reports have indicated that the grand coalition would pursue a mix of policies, some of which directly contradict aspects of Merkel's political platform as a former leader of the opposition and candidate for Chancellor. The coalition intended to cut public spending while increasing VAT, social-insurance contributions and the top rate of income tax. Employment protection would no longer cover employees during their first two years in a job, and the new government intended to freeze pensions and to scrap subsidies for first-time home buyers.


2005 German federal election, Aftermath
In the field of foreign policy, Germany would maintain its strong ties with France and with Poland, and will continue its support for Turkey as a future member of the European Union. Merkel has defined the main aim of her government as reducing unemployment, and expressed the hope that posterity will judge the success of her tenure on the basis of this issue.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal
In early 2005, German football was overshadowed by the discovery of a €2 million match fixing scandal centered on second division referee Robert Hoyzer, who confessed to fixing and betting on matches in the 2. Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal (German Cup), and the then third division Regionalliga. The scandal has been described as the largest controversy in German football since the Bundesliga scandal of the early 1970s, as numerous players, coaches and officials have been accused of involvement with an organised crime group in the scheme, which came on the eve of Germany playing host to the 2006 World Cup.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal
Although it does not appear that any Bundesliga games were involved, the matches in question do include a DFB Cup first-round contest between regional side SC Paderborn and Bundesliga heavyweights Hamburger SV played on 21 August 2004. Hamburg lost 2–4 as two highly questionable penalties were awarded to Paderborn and Hamburg footballer Émile Mpenza was sent off for protesting as the club was eliminated from the lucrative competition.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Overview
Four referees – Lutz Michael Fröhlich, Olaf Blumenstein, Manuel Gräfe, and Felix Zwayer – went to officials of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB) with their suspicions about Hoyzer. Initially, the DFB did not immediately act, but after becoming aware of the accusations, Hoyzer stepped down from his role as a referee.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Overview
Indications are that Hoyzer had regular meetings in Berlin with a group of three brothers who were part of a Croatian gambling syndicate connected to an organized crime group. After a confession from Hoyzer, several suspects were put under surveillance and on 28 January 2005 a number of people were arrested. Milan Šapina, operator of the Café King sports betting agency and his brother Philip were taken into custody, along with Hertha BSC players Alexander Madlung, Nando Rafael and Josip Šimunić.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Overview
Madlung, Rafael, and Šimunić all played in Hertha's surprising 3–2 defeat to third-division side Eintracht Braunschweig in their 22 September 2004 German Cup match, with Madlung giving up a crucial 80th minute own goal, only four minutes after coming on as a substitute. The trio came under suspicion for having been known to associate with the Šapina brothers, but there has been no proof that they actually participated in the manipulation of this or any other match.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Overview
As witnesses against Hoyzer, the Berlin referees Lutz Michael Fröhlich and Manuel Gräfe were immediately relieved of their officiating responsibilities for their own safety, being replaced by Franz-Xaver Wack and Torsten Kinhöfer. The referees scheduled to officiate matches in the 19th round of Bundesliga play on 29 and 30 January 2005 were all changed the day before the games were played.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Overview
Hoyzer co-operated with investigators in helping to uncover the details of the scheme, implicating other officials, players, and a group of Croatian-based gamblers. This led to an investigation by the league, as well as a criminal investigation. By the end of 2005, it appeared that the scandal did not directly involve the Bundesliga and was confined to lower divisions. The investigations lead to the following results:


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Response of the DFB
The DFB-Kontrollausschuss (DFB Committee of Control) reacted to the scandal with a number of measures intended to prevent similar incidents in the future:


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Response of the DFB
These measures are regarded as an immediate first step taken to manage the problem of match-fixing. Other more detailed proposals will be put forward by an expert committee appointed to address the issue. On 13 February 2005, the DFB announced the Ausschuss für das Problem Spielmanipulationen (Commission for the Problem of Match Manipulation) as being made up of DFB President Zwanziger, DFL President Hackmann, Treasurer Schmidhuber, and Secretary General Horst Schmidt.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Response of the DFB
The DFL is also considering a departure from tradition by employing professional officials in place of the amateurs now used. DFL President Werner Hackmann sees the controversial step as possible in light of the recent scandal. The former chairman of the board of Hamburger SV feels that the use of full-time referees earning a good wage could help deflect bribery attempts in the future.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Response of the DFB
Former star player and head of Germany's 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee Franz Beckenbauer expressed opposition to the idea of employing professional officials feeling that the current system has worked quite well and is solidly supported by the excellent training program run by the DFB. The former FIFA referee Hellmut Krug, DFB Director of Officials (Schiedsrichterabteilung) criticized the control system the DFB had in place because it had been known for some time that Hoyzer was making dubious decisions, but there was no action taken. He also emphasized the more general need for observers to prepare written match reports as is the practise for all Bundesliga matches.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, The scandal and the 2006 World Cup
There was some fear that the scandal affecting the largest football association in the world could have some negative impact on the upcoming World Cup to be hosted by Germany in 2006. While World Cup Organising Committee chief Franz Beckenbauer expressed his concern, government spokesman Thomas Steg acknowledged the efforts of the DFB in acting in a committed manner in quickly dealing with the issue. A spokesman for Germany's Ministry of the Interior warned against an atmosphere of general suspicion and exaggerated mistrust given what appeared to be, on investigation, the narrow scope of the problem.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, The scandal and the 2006 World Cup
It was felt that the response to the scandal by the DFB demonstrated the general effectiveness of the sport's governing institutions. Interior Minister Otto Schily also encouraged all game officials to support the DFB and public prosecutor's office in quickly addressing any suspicions raised. He indicated that it was clear that the vast majority of officials conduct themselves in an honest and professional manner and that to be generally suspicious of the game's officials without cause would be unfair.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, The scandal and the 2006 World Cup
The scandal attracted international media attention, but DFB and FIFA worked aggressively to ensure that the controversy died down before the 2006 World Cup.


2005 German football match-fixing scandal, Affected matches
In the course of the investigation by the DFB a number of matches were examined to determine if there was an attempt to manipulate them and if any such attempt had affected the outcome. The matches and their relevant detail are listed below in chronological order. The DFB set a cut off date of 30 June 2005 for filing protests over matches that may have been subject to attempted manipulation. While Hoyzer had drawn the suspicion of a number of his fellow officials sometime earlier, it was the 21 August 2004 match between SC Paderborn 07 and Hamburger SV that precipitated the complaint to the DFB against him.


2005 German motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2005 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2005 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 29–31 July 2005 at the Sachsenring.


2005 German motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP classification
The race, scheduled to be run for 30 laps, was stopped after 5 full laps due to an accident. It was later restarted for 25 laps, with the grid determined by the running order before the suspension. The second part of the race determined the final result.


2005 German motorcycle Grand Prix, 125 cc classification
The race, scheduled to be run for 27 laps, was stopped after 20 full laps due to an accident and did not restart as two thirds of the race distance had been completed.


2005 German motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (motoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round ten was concluded.


2005 Gerry Weber Open
The 2005 Gerry Weber Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 13th edition of the Gerry Weber Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2005 ATP Tour. It took place at the Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from 6 June through 12 June 2005. First-seeded Roger Federer win the singles title.


2005 Gerry Weber Open, Finals, Doubles
Yves Allegro /  Roger Federer defeated  Joachim Johansson /  Marat Safin, 7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–3


2005 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles
Leander Paes and David Rikl were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2005 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles
Yves Allegro and Roger Federer won in the final 7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–3, against Joachim Johansson and Marat Safin.


2005 Gerry Weber Open – Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 6–4, against Marat Safin.


2005 Ghotki rail crash
The Ghotki rail crash occurred on 13 July 2005, at around 3:40am local time (2240 July 12 UTC) near Ghotki, Pakistan. No. 24 Dn train (Quetta Express) stopped at the station of Sarhad was hit from behind by the following Karachi Express (No. 16 Dn) train, causing several cars to derail; these were then hit by a third train running in the opposite direction (Tezgam). A total of seventeen train cars, carrying over 3000 passengers, were wrecked. Estimates of the death toll ranged as high as over 130. It was the worst train accident in Pakistan in fifteen years.


2005 Ghotki rail crash, Accident
The Quetta Express was stopped at Sarhad station because of a fault in the brakes when the Karachi Express travelling from Lahore to Karachi on the same line half an hour later and moving at about 120km/h (75mph), collided with it from behind. An emergency brake application after the crew saw the tail light of the stopped train could not prevent the collision because of insufficient braking power; two coaches had been isolated from the train braking system.


2005 Ghotki rail crash, Accident
The collision caused at least three train cars to derail onto the opposite direction track, where they were subsequently hit by Tezgam, heading from Karachi to Rawalpindi. More cars were derailed by this second impact, bringing the total to thirteen. All three trains were full of passengers, as trains often are in Pakistan. a total of seventeen cars were wrecked, with over 3000 passengers.


2005 Ghotki rail crash, Accident
The Ghotki crash was the worst rail accident in Pakistan since the 1990 Sukkur rail disaster. The exact number killed was not originally known; initial reports were of 109 120, 127, or more than 130 deaths, with many critically injured.


2005 Ghotki rail crash, Causes
Initially the conductor or driver of the Karachi Express was believed to have missed or misread a signal, but subsequent investigations found that the signalling system was faulty and the crew had misjudged which signal was wrong. Also the points had not been set to direct the train to the loop line.


2005 Girabola
The 2005 Girabola was the 27th season of top-tier football in Angola. The season ran from 20 February to 23 October 2005. ASA were the defending champions.


2005 Girabola
The league comprised 14 teams, the bottom three of which were relegated to the 2006 Gira Angola.


2005 Girabola
Sagrada Esperança were crowned champions, while Académica do Lobito, Petro do Huambo and Sporting do Bié were relegated.


2005 Girabola
Arsénio Kabungula aka Love of ASA finished as the top scorer with 13 goals.


2005 Girabola, Changes from the 2004 season
Relegated: Académica do Soyo, Benfica do Lubango and Bravos do Maquis Promoted: Benfica de Luanda, Desportivo da Huíla, Sporting do Bié


2005 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship was the 6th edition of the competition, with the main phase (contested between 12 teams) held in Estonia from 29 March to 3 April 2005.


2005 Giro d'Italia
The 2005 Giro d'Italia was the 88th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began in Reggio Calabria with a 1.15 km (0.7 mi) prologue. The race came to a close with a 119 km (73.9 mi) mass-start road stage that stretched from Albese con Cassano to Milan. Twenty two teams entered the race that was won by the Italian Paolo Savoldelli of the Discovery Channel team. Second and third were the Italian Gilberto Simoni and Venezuelan José Rujano.


2005 Giro d'Italia
Five riders led the race over eight occasions before Savoldelli gained the lead after the Giro's thirteenth stage. The Giro was first led by Australian Brett Lancaster, who won the race's opening prologue. He lost the lead the next day to Paolo Bettini, who gained the race lead three separate times before Savoldelli took over. Ivan Basso was the leader of the race for two days, before he lost the lead to Savoldelli who then held that lead until the race's conclusion.


2005 Giro d'Italia
Having previously won the general classification in 2002, Savoldelli became the nineteenth rider to repeat as winner of the Giro d'Italia. Amongst the other classifications that the race awarded, Paolo Bettini of the Quick-Step–Innergetic team won the points classification, Selle Italia Colombia rider José Rujano won the mountains classification, and Italian Stefano Zanini won the intergiro classification. Liquigas–Bianchi finished as the winners of the Trofeo Fast Team classification, ranking each of the twenty-two teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time. The other team classification, the Trofeo Super Team classification, where the teams' riders are awarded points for placing within the top twenty in each stage and the points are then totaled for each team was won by Davitamon–Lotto.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Teams
Twenty-two teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 2005 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Twenty of the teams were UCI ProTour teams, while Ceramica Panaria-Navigare and Colombia-Selle Italia were wild card teams invited by the organizers. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 198 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 153 made it to the finish in Milan.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
The route for the 2005 Giro d'Italia was unveiled by race director Angelo Zomegnan on 23 January 2005 in Milan. It contained three time trial events, all of which were individual. The organizers divided the remaining eighteen stages into three categories: flat stages, medium mountain stages, and mountain stages. Ten of the stages were declared flat stages. Of the eight stages remaining, three stages were designated medium mountain stages and five were ranked as mountain stages.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
In the stages containing categorized climbs, four had summit finishes: stage 11, to Zoldo Alto; stage 13, to Urtijëi; stage 17, to Colle di Tenda; and stage 19, to Sestriere. The organizers chose to include two rest days. When compared to the previous year's race, the race was 23.25 km (14 mi) longer, contained the same amount of rest days and one more individual time trial event. In addition, both races contained a prologue to open the race.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
The fifteenth was originally intended to be 205 km (127 mi) and to start in Livigno. However, due to very poor weather conditions the start was moved to Villa di Tirano, and the stage was shortened to 154 km (96 mi). The route originally had the riders crossing the Forcola di Livigno, a mountain located 10 km (6 mi) outside of the original start in Livigno, but due to the bad weather at the base and top of the climb the organizers were forced to exclude the pass.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The Giro began with a 1.15 km (0.7 mi) prologue that navigated through the streets of Reggio Calabria. The event was won by Australian Brett Lancaster who won by a .289 second margin over the second placed rider Matteo Tosatto. After the last competing rider took the course, famed sprinter Mario Cipollini took the course for a final farewell after announcing his retirement ten days beforehand. The Giro's first stage came down to an uphill, bunch sprint that Paolo Bettini won. Along with the stage victory, Bettini took the overall lead of the race.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The second stage ended in another sprint finish, which Robbie McEwen won and also saw him take the race lead. Stage 3 saw a breakaway go the distance as a group of fifty riders broke free about 30 km (18.6 mi) from the finish. Liquigas-Bianchi's Danilo Di Luca lunged ahead of Damiano Cunego to win the stage, while the race lead fell back into Bettini's hands. The fourth stage closed with a sprint finish that Italian Paolo Bettini won. However, Bettini was later disqualified after the judges saw that he caused fellow sprinter Baden Cooke to fall, which gave the stage victory to second-place finisher Luca Mazzanti.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The seventh stage saw a breakaway succeed again, as Liberty Seguros-Würth rider Koldo Gil took the downhill stage win. Danilo Di Luca regained the lead of the race as the time gaps widened due to the climb that was placed shortly before the finish.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Stage eight was a 45 km (28 mi) individual time trial that was won by American David Zabriskie. Di Luca placed tenth overall and maintain the race leader's pink jersey, while the general classification contenders Ivan Basso and Paolo Savoldelli gained valuable seconds over Di Luca. Alessandro Petacchi won the next stage by means of a bunch sprint, while the general classification remained largely unaltered. Stage 10 took place after a rest day. The stage again came down to a bunch sprint that was won by Australian Robbie McEwen, who captured his second stage win of the Giro.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Stage 11 was the first big mountain stage of the 2005 Giro d'Italia and it began with a breakaway that was eventually swept after the first climb of the day. Ivan Basso attacked with 26 km (16 mi) remaining in the stage and only Paolo Savoldelli was able to keep pace with him. The two raced to the top of the Zoldo Alto and Savoldelli won the sprint to the line, while Basso claimed the race lead. The twelfth stage of the race was downhill after the lone categorized climb of the Passo san Pellegrino.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The stage ultimately came down to a field sprint, which Alessandro Petacchi won. The Giro's thirteenth stage saw a breakaway succeed as Colombian Iván Parra beat out his fellow breakaway members for the stage win. Paolo Savoldelli claimed the overall lead after Ivan Basso lost over a minute as he was suffering from a gastric problem. The next stage, stage 14, contained the Cima Coppi of the 2005 Giro d'Italia, the Passo dello Stelvio, along with other climbs of lesser severity. Iván Parra struck again by winning the stage by almost two minutes over the second-place finisher. Ivan Basso lost even more time due to his illness, while general classification contenders Danilo Di Luca and Gilberto Simoni gained valuable seconds over the race leader Paolo Savoldelli.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The fifteenth stage's start was moved from Livigno to Villa di Tirano and the route was shortened by 51 km (32 mi) due to poor weather conditions on the stage's first scheduled mountain pass, the Forcola di Livigno. With the exclusion of the uphill earlier portion of the stage, the route was relatively flat which led to the stage ending in a bunch sprint that Fassa Bortolo's Alessandro Petacchi won. After the second rest day, the riders began stage sixteen of the Giro.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
A breakaway containing eighteen men got away from the peloton and stayed away for the length of the stage. Christophe Le Mével out-sprinted his fellow breakaway members to win the stage and earn his first professional victory. The race's seventeenth stage contained a summit finish on the Colle di Tenda. While on the final climb of the day, the race was headed by a lead group that contained the race leader Paolo Savoldelli and general classification favorites Ivan Basso and José Rujano. Basso slipped away with 6 km (4 mi) left to go in the climb and win the stage.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Stage 18 was an individual time trial that stretched 34 km (21 mi) Chieri to Turin. Team CSC's Ivan Basso won the stage by nine seconds over Russian Vladimir Karpets. The penultimate stage of the Giro featured a summit finish on the fabled Sestriere. The race leader Paolo Savoldelli was in trouble throughout the stage and his lead was in jeopardy. However, on the final climb of the Sestriere he received aid from two riders and made it to the finish two minutes after the stage winner José Rujano.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Savoldelli's lead shrank to twenty-eight seconds over the second placed rider Gilberto Simoni. The twentieth and final stage of the 2005 Giro d'Italia came ended with a bunch sprint in the streets of Milan. Italian Alessandro Petacchi edged out Erik Zabel and Robert Förster to win the stage. Savoldelli won his second Giro d'Italia after crossing the finish in 24th place on the stage.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Success in stages was limited to ten of the competing teams, six of which achieved multiple stage victories, while five individual riders won multiple stages. The riders that won more than once were Robbie McEwen in stages 2, 6, 10, Danilo di Luca in stages 3 and 5, Alessandro Petacchi in stages 9, 12, 15, and 20, and Iván Parra in stages 13 and 14, and Ivan Basso in stages 17 and 18. Ceramica Panaria–Navigare won two stages, with Brett Lancaster in the prologue and Luca Mazzanti in stage 4. Davitamon–Lotto won three stages with Robbie McEwen.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Liquigas–Bianchi won two stages with Danilo di Luca. Team CSC won three stages, with David Zabriskie in the stage 8 time trial and two stages with Ivan Basso. Fassa Bortolo won four stages with Alessandro Petacchi. Colombia–Selle Italia won three stages, with Iván Parra in two stages and José Rujano in stage 19. Quick-Step–Innergetic, Liberty Seguros–Würth, Discovery Channel, and Crédit Agricole each won one stage at the Giro d'Italia. Quick Step-Innergetic's Paolo Bettini won stage 1 by out-sprinting the rest of the field. Liberty Seguros-Würth rider Koldo Gil won stage 7 by means of a long breakaway. Discovery Channel's Paolo Savoldelli won stage 11 through a last second attack, as did Crédit Agricole rider Christophe Le Mével in stage 16.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
Four different jerseys were worn during the 2005 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
For the points classification, which awarded a purple (or cyclamen) jersey to its leader, cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15; additional points could also be won in intermediate sprints. The green jersey was awarded to the mountains classification leader. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. Each climb was ranked as either first, second or third category, with more points available for higher category climbs. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The Cima Coppi for this Giro was the Passo dello Stelvio. The first rider to cross the Stelvio was Selle Italia Colombia's José Rujano. The intergiro classification was marked by a blue jersey. The calculation for the intergiro is similar to that of the general classification, in each stage there is a midway point that the riders pass through a point and where their time is stopped. As the race goes on, their times compiled and the person with the lowest time is the leader of the intergiro classification and wears the blue jersey. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There were also two classifications for the teams. The classification was the Trofeo Fast Team. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time; the Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Other less well-known classifications, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey, were awarded during the Giro. Other awards included the Combativity classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes. Venezuelan José Rujano won the most combative classification. The Azzurri d'Italia classification was based on finishing order, but points were awarded only to the top three finishers in each stage. Alessandro Petacchi won the Azzurri d'Italia classification.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
The Trofeo Fuga Piaggio classification rewarded riders who took part in a breakaway at the head of the field, each rider in an escape of ten or fewer riders getting one point for each kilometre that the group stayed clear. The classification was won by Sven Krauß. Teams were given penalty points for minor technical infringements. Fassa Bortolo and T-Mobile Team were most successful in avoiding penalties, and so shared leadership of the Fair Play classification.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10
The 2005 Giro d'Italia was the 88th edition of the cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began in Reggio Calabria with a prologue individual time trial on 7 May, and Stage 10 occurred on 18 May with a flat stage to Rossano Veneto. The race finished in Milan on 29 May.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Prologue
The prologue was a 1.15 km (0.71 mi) individual time trial. It was won by the Australian Brett Lancaster with a 0.289 second advantage over Matteo Tosatto, who scored second. After the last rider, Mario Cipollini received the homage of the Italian cycling world, doing the 1.15 kilometer race out of competition. He had announced his retirement just ten days before.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 1
At the beginning of the first stage, a four-man breakaway formed and led by almost ten minutes at one point. Thorwald Veneberg was finally captured again about 20 kilometers before the end. However, his efforts paid by giving him the first maglia Verde of the Giro. On the last kilometer Paolo Bettini managed to get away on a very steep gradient.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 2
Having been defeated by Paolo Bettini and Robbie McEwen on the previous stage, Italian favorite Alessandro Petacchi failed yet again in the bunch sprint in Santa Maria Del Cedro. This time, he claimed, he had been forced to change his direction because of Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 3
Just as in the first stage, the sprinter's teams were not able to stop a breakaway in the last kilometers of the race. This time, it was a group of fifty riders which included all the GC important riders. Danilo DI Luca, in a great form in season 2005, beat fellow Italian Damiano Cunego in the sprint for the stage victory.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 4
Paolo Bettini won the sprint at the end which was fought between five cyclists. But in this process he caused Baden Cooke to fall and was declassified because of this. Luca Mazzanti, who came in second, inherited the victory. After the stage, Bettini threatened to abandon the race, but it turned out to be an empty threat.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 5
Danilo DI Luca got his second stage victory in 2005 Giro d'Italia, notching this win ahead of Fassa Bortolo's Marzio Bruseghin. Otherwise, this stage had no important influence on the fight for General Classification.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 6
Just as Danilo DI Luca had done the previous day, Australian Robbie McEwen took his second win in this year's Giro. This time, he did not have to beat Alessandro Petacchi, since the Italian's Torino biancoblù de-railed, causing the fall of some of the Fassa Bortolo riders, and forcing "Ale-Jet" to halt to a stop. McEwen's teammate Henk Vogels attacked in the last kilometer, but was surpassed just at the finish line by up to four other cyclists.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 7
After a long breakaway, lasting throughout most of the stage, Spaniard Koldo Gil was the first to arrive at the finish line in Pistoia. Damiano Cunego, who was second, leading a pursuing group, celebrated thinking he had won the stage, not knowing that Gil had already taken the victory. Ivan Basso, who had been forced to change his bicycle because of a puncture in the last climb of the day, lost thirty seconds to his rivals for GC.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 8
The eighth stage was a time trial. Danilo DI Luca came in tenth and was able to keep the Maglia Rosa. Otherwise, this stage meant the victory for American David Zabriskie, and the revival of his teammate Ivan Basso, second in the time trial, and who made up for all the time he had lost the day before and even more. On the other hand, this was a very bad day for both Lampre riders  Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 9
Alessandro Petacchi got his first victory in the 2005 Giro. Paolo Bettini and Swiss Aurélien Clerc had a great performance at this stage, surpassing pure sprinters such as Robbie McEwen or Erik Zabel.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10, Stage 10
On the stage after the race's first rest day, Robbie McEwen took vengeance on Alessandro Petacchi in a bunch sprint. The bunch spring had to be solved with the aid of the photo-finish, which determined that the Australian had beaten the Italian by a mere question of millimeters.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20
The 2005 Giro d'Italia was the 88th edition of the cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began in Reggio Calabria with a prologue individual time trial on 7 May, and Stage 11 occurred on 19 May with a mountainous stage from Marostica. The race finished in Milan on 29 May. The winner of the race was Paolo Savoldelli.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 11
Already one kilometer after the start, Benoît Joachim raced away from the field. After about 100 kilometers, shortly after the first mountain standing which Joachim won, he was captured by the field. Twenty-six kilometers before the end, and following an attack by "Gibo" Simoni, Ivan Basso raced away with only very few riders able to keep up. Only Paolo Savoldelli, who had picked up a twenty seconds advantage on the descent and therefore was able to reserve strengths, could stand Basso's rhythm, and he beat the Varesian rider at the summit of Zoldo Alto. Simoni came up 21 seconds later, but defending champion Damiano Cunego lost around six minutes and was ruled out from the list of contenders.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 12
Alessandro Petacchi's efforts during winter, striving to gain ability in the mountains, paid off just as they had done in Milan–San Remo, enabling him to recover from the gruelous Dolomiti stage far better than any of his opponents, and the Italian from Fassa Bortolo sprinted to his second victory in this Giro.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 13
Colombian Iván Parra won the stage in St. Ulrich by breaking ahead of his fellow breakaways on the previous climb. Spaniard Juanma Gárate, fourth in the 2004 Giro d'Italia, came in second. As for the GC, Ivan Basso, with gastrical problems, lost one minute and the maglia rosa to "Il Falco" Paolo Savoldelli.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 14
It was in this stage that Ivan Basso's illness was really going to take its toll. Upon the first gradients of the Stelvio Pass, Cima Coppi of this edition, the Team CSC rider was left behind and unable to react because of his health problems. He lost eighteen minutes to the other GC riders. Savoldelli lost time to Simoni and Di Luca, who arrived in Livigno 3' 15" later than Iván Parra, scored an impressive Dolomiti double.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 15
This stage, originally 205 kilometres long, was reduced to a length of 147 kilometres due to bad weather conditions at Forcola di Livigno, one of the mountain climbs that the peloton had to go through that day. Alessandro Petacchi, after the abandon of sprinters such as Baden Cooke, Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady or Jaan Kirsipuu, had only Erik Zabel to challenge him, but the Italian's speed was too much for the veteran T-Mobile rider.


2005 Giro d'Italia, Stage 11 to Stage 20, Stage 16
After the second rest-day, the peloton did not want to spend too much energies on a flat stage, so it was easy for a break-away of eighteen men to gather an advantage of 10 minutes. Amongst these breakaways, there was Crédit Agricole rider Christophe Le Mével, who outpowered his fellow breakaways to notch up his first pro victory.


2005 Giro del Trentino
The 2005 Giro del Trentino was the 29th edition of the Tour of the Alps cycle race and was held on 19 April to 22 April 2005. The race started in Mori and finished in Arco di Trento. The race was won by Julio Alberto Pérez.


2005 Giro di Lombardia
The 2005 Giro di Lombardia was the 99th edition of the cycling classic held on 15 October 2005, with Paolo Bettini winning the race.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
The Glasgow Cathcart by-election to the Scottish Parliament was held on 29 September 2005. It was caused by the resignation from the Scottish Parliament of Mike Watson, who won the seat at both the 1999 and 2003 elections.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
On 15 November 2004, Watson had been charged with two counts of fire-raising while attending a private reception at Edinburgh's Prestonfield House Hotel three days previously. After initially registering not guilty pleas to both charges on 23 August 2005, on 1 September he changed his plea on the first count to guilty, and had a not guilty plea accepted on the second charge. Sentencing has been deferred till 22 September. On the same day Watson admitted his guilt, he resigned from the Scottish Parliament necessitating the by-election.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
The short time span between Watson's resignation and the by-election has been the cause of some controversy. George Reid, the Parliament's Presiding Officer set the date citing that it was in the best interests of the public to have it on this date, the date already set for the Livingston by-election caused by the death of Robin Cook as having alternative dates would have led to months of electioneering, which he felt was against the public interest.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, Alex Salmond felt that the Labour Party had brought undue pressure to bear on the Presiding Officer though and angrily charged that the date was set merely to suit Labour's purposes as they were worried about a strong SNP challenge (the SNP had come second in the constituency in recent elections).


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
Charan Gill, a well known Glasgow entrepreneur had a high-profile attempt at becoming Labour's candidate for the by-election, and was reputedly supported by First Minister, Jack McConnell. However he only joined the Labour Party days before the deadline for application and Labour's Scottish Executive Committee ruled that he was ineligible under the terms of the party constitution. Former City of Glasgow Council Leader, Charlie Gordon was chosen as their candidate on 9 September. Others in the frame for Labour were former teacher and current Councillor Irene Graham; voluntary sector worker Archie Graham, who is also the husband of Glasgow Pollok MSP Johann Lamont; and Manjinder Singh Shergill, a business analyst with ScottishPower.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
Maire Whitehead, a previous candidate in Cathcart and a former Primary School Headteacher was chosen by the SNP as their candidate on the same day as Gordon was selected by Labour. She defeated Bill Kidd, twice a candidate elsewhere in Glasgow and the SNP Trade Union Group organiser and Tommy Tonner, a Glasgow-based consultant.


2005 Glasgow Cathcart by-election
The Scottish Socialist Party chose Ronnie Stevenson; the Liberal Democrats, Arthur Sanderson; and former Lord Provost of Glasgow Pat Lally, who stood as an independent in the seat in 2003, fought it once again. Richard Cook, who also stood in the seat in 2003, was the Conservative candidate whilst the Greens picked Chloe Stewart, a 31-year-old NHS employee in Glasgow, and the UKIP chose Bryan McCormack. Chris Creighton put his name forward as an independent candidate.


2005 Glendale train crash
The 2005 Glendale train crash occurred on January 26, 2005, at 6:03 a.m. PST, when a Metrolink commuter train collided with a sport utility vehicle that had been parked on the tracks by a suicidal man in an industrial area north of downtown Los Angeles, causing the deaths of 11 and injuring 177.


2005 Glendale train crash
The crash is the second-deadliest incident in the history of Metrolink, the commuter railroad in the Los Angeles, California, area. It was overtaken as the deadliest by the 2008 Chatsworth train collision.


2005 Glendale train crash, Background
In the early morning rush hour period, northbound train #901 (leaving Los Angeles) normally carries between 30 and 50 passengers; the southbound #100 train (approaching Los Angeles) normally carries between 200 and 250 people.


2005 Glendale train crash, Background
The freight train involved in the accident was "tied down" (parked) on an auxiliary track known as "The Slide," running parallel along the west side of the main tracks, led by Union Pacific EMD SD70M locomotive number 4323, waiting its turn to deliver track ballast to repair tracks on the former Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Line which had been washed out by major January 2005 rainstorms.


2005 Glendale train crash, Crash
On January 26, 2005, at 6:03 a.m. PST, southbound Metrolink commuter train #100 collided with a sport utility vehicle that had been abandoned on the tracks immediately south of the Chevy Chase Drive grade crossing and near a Costco retail store on the Glendale-Los Angeles boundary, in an industrial area north of downtown Los Angeles. The train jackknifed and struck trains on either side of it—one a stationary Union Pacific freight train, and the other a northbound Metrolink train (#901) traveling in the opposite direction. The chain-reaction collisions resulted in the deaths of 11 people.


2005 Glendale train crash, Crash
Among the first responders to the accident were employees of the Costco store, adjacent to the accident site, who placed calls to 9-1-1 and climbed the perimeter fence to aid the victims, pulling out survivors and using fire extinguishers until first responders arrived. About 300 firefighters, helicopters and cadaver dogs were brought to the crash site in order to help locate individuals trapped.


2005 Glendale train crash, Crash
Juan Manuel Álvarez, who had left his Jeep Cherokee Sport vehicle parked on the tracks, was arrested and charged with 11 counts of murder with "special circumstances." Authorities and Álvarez's legal defense claimed Álvarez was planning to commit suicide, but changed his mind at the last minute. Álvarez was convicted in June 2008 of the eleven counts plus one count of arson, and though prosecutors sought a death sentence, was instead sentenced in August 2008 to 11 consecutive life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole.


2005 Glendale train crash, Investigation
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team investigated the crash. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's (BLET) Safety Task Force assisted the NTSB. The Glendale Police Department led the criminal investigation, assisted by the Union Pacific Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the criminal case was tried in Los Angeles County Superior Court.


2005 Glendale train crash, Investigation
The southbound Metrolink train (#100) struck the parked Jeep that had been driven by Álvarez onto the tracks at the Chevy Chase Drive grade crossing just west of San Fernando Road, pushing the Jeep southward along the track towards the Los Feliz Boulevard undercrossing until automotive parts struck a track switch and became lodged under the leading car of the Metrolink train, raising it up and causing the train to derail. Cars from the derailed train jackknifed, hitting both the locomotive of the stationary freight train and sideswiping the rear of the passing northbound #901 Metrolink passenger train. This caused the rear cars of the northbound train to derail, and at least one car rolled over onto its side. A fire, involving one or more passenger cars, was caused by spilled diesel fuel.


2005 Glendale train crash, Investigation
The root cause of the accident was attributed to the driver of the automobile, Juan Manuel Álvarez of Compton, California, who deliberately drove onto, and left his vehicle on, the tracks while allegedly attempting to commit suicide. Having slashed his wrists and stabbed himself repeatedly in the chest, he parked his car on the tracks to finish the attempt. However, Álvarez changed his mind and attempted to leave the railroad tracks. Because he was unable to dislodge his vehicle from the rain-soaked gravel and slick rails, he abandoned the vehicle moments before the crowded southbound train approached.


2005 Glendale train crash, Investigation
However, there has been some speculation that Álvarez may have inflicted the wounds on himself after the crash, based on some early reports by witnesses. Both this causation and the end result have many similarities to that of the Ufton Nervet rail crash in the United Kingdom, which occurred only three months previously, although in that case the driver of the car stayed in the vehicle and was killed.


2005 Glendale train crash, Investigation
Early rumors of the incident being a terrorist attack were dismissed, as no connections to any terrorist organization existed with the suspect.


2005 Glendale train crash, Reaction
The train wreck caused intense attention to the train configuration. Many commuter trains are pushed from the back by the locomotive in a push-pull configuration, including Metrolink trains returning to Los Angeles Union Station. In this configuration, the first car is a cab car. This push-pull configuration eliminates the need for elaborate turnaround maneuvers and facilities to reverse a train's direction. There was criticism that the configuration made the accident worse: claims that if the heavier engine were ahead of the passenger cars, then casualties would have been reduced and may have prevented derailment.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath
Immediately following the accident, Metrolink temporarily roped off the first cars in all of their trains; passengers were seated starting in the second car. Metrolink gradually modified this policy. As of 2007, the line permits passengers to sit in a portion of the first car when in "rear-pushed mode." Seating is still not permitted in the roped-off, forward-most section of the first cars (just behind the engineer's cab).


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath
The day following the incident, police intervened in a similar "copycat" incident in Irvine, California, where a suicidal man parked his car on Metrolink tracks. The man drove away from the tracks when police arrived and was later arrested.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath
Regular Metrolink passenger service was restored through the accident scene the following Monday, January 31.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath
Survivor John Phipps was made famous due to a Daily News photograph of his farewell to his family and high school sweetheart, which was written in his blood on the train carriage.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath, Legacy
A year after the accident there was a one-year anniversary in which family members, survivors, and police gathered to remember and for continued support of those affected.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath, Legacy
Attorneys from Ringler and Los Angeles, Brian Spanish and Jerome Ringler, filed a negligence lawsuit in January 2009, against Metrolink on behalf of a dozen victims, claiming that the engineer saw the vehicle 3⁄4 mile (1,200 m) away but did not apply the emergency brakes until 800 feet (240 m) away. In an October 14, 2009 article appearing in the Los Angeles Times, Metrolink announced it had reached an agreement to settle most of the remaining claims. By November 2009 Metrolink paid $30 million in lawsuit settlements, with several large payments of multiple million dollars for four cases. Other litigation against Metrolink was still ongoing raising the settlement to a tentative $39 million in December 2009, which closes the majority of the 186 complaints against the agency, 11 wrongful death lawsuits, and 16 serious injury lawsuits.


2005 Glendale train crash, Aftermath, Legacy
The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), the governing body of Metrolink has invested over $500 million to buttress safety features along 512 miles (824 km) of track from Ventura to San Bernardino and the northern San Diego counties. Upgrades included are "sealed" grade crossings, safer rail cars and locomotives, automatic train stops and the nation's first onboard rail video cameras and the SCRRA is included in the nation's first Positive Train Control high tech system.


2005 Glendale train crash, Casualties
11 passengers were killed in the collision, while between 100 and 200 people were injured.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect
Álvarez was allegedly suicidal long before the incident occurred. According to some reports, he had attempted suicide previously. In addition, he was a known methamphetamine addict, prone to delusional behavior. At the time of the train crash, Alvarez, the father of two young children, was experiencing marital difficulties. His wife, Carmelita Ochoa, filed a restraining order against him months before the incident, claiming he had become erratic and threatening to her and the children, and extremely controlling. He reportedly was employed as a handyman in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, California.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect
Alvarez fled the scene after the crash, but was later found at a friend's home in Atwater Village, Los Angeles.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect
Police initially believed that Álvarez decided to kill himself that day, but that he changed his mind immediately before the train hit his vehicle, jumping out of the car and observing as the collision took place. He was charged with, and subsequently convicted of, 11 counts of murder with "special circumstances". Police say following investigations indicate Álvarez may have intended to cause the crash without committing suicide. Authorities filed additional charges against him for murder with intent.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect, Legal proceedings
Prosecutors sought the death penalty for his crimes under a seldom-used law making train wrecking, resulting in a person's death, a capital offense. This 1873 law was created to prosecute Old West train robbers who were known to blow up the tracks to rob a train.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect, Legal proceedings
During the trial, the defense maintained their claim that the crash was the result of Alvarez's aborted suicide attempt and he never intended to hurt anyone, but prosecutors claimed he deliberately caused the crash in an attempt to get attention from his estranged wife, citing that he doused his SUV with gasoline beforehand. A relative of one of the victims questioned why Alvarez did not simply lie down on the tracks if it was really a suicide attempt.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect, Legal proceedings
On June 26, 2008, Álvarez was found guilty of 11 counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and one count of arson related to the incident. He was acquitted of the train-wrecking charge.


2005 Glendale train crash, Suspect, Legal proceedings
On July 7, 2008, the hearing for sentencing for Álvarez started. On July 15, the jury recommended life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On August 20, Álvarez was formally sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.


2005 Golden Corral 500
The 2005 Golden Corral 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on March 20, 2005 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia. Contested at 325 laps on the 1.54 mile (2.48 km) speedway, it was the 4th race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Carl Edwards of Roush Racing won the race, the first of his career.


2005 Golden Corral 500, Background
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.


2005 Golden Corral 500, Race recap
Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle dominated the race, leading at a combined 307 laps. At the end, Carl Edwards slithered past Jimmie Johnson on the final lap to score his first career win. He also sweeps the weekend at Atlanta, having won the Busch Series race the day earlier.


2005 Golden Globes (Portugal)
The 2005 Golden Globes (Portugal) were the tenth edition of the Golden Globes (Portugal).


2005 Golden Spin of Zagreb
The 2005 Golden Spin of Zagreb was the 38th edition of an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia. It was held at the Dom Sportova between November 11 and 13, 2005. Figure skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The Junior-level equivalent was the 2005 Golden Bear of Zagreb.


2005 Governor General's Awards
The 2005 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (69 books) were announced October 17, winners announced November 16. The four children's literature awards were presented November 22, others presented November 23. The prize for writers and illustrators was $15,000 and "a specially crafted copy of the winning book bound by Montreal bookbinder Lise Dubois".


2005 Governor General's Awards
The winners were announced at the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec in Montreal, rather than at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, "[i]n honour of the designation of Montreal as UNESCO World Book Capital for 2005–2006".


2005 Governor General's Awards
As introduced in 2003, the four children's literature awards were announced and presented separately from the others. The event at Rideau Hall, the Governor General's residence in Ottawa, was scheduled to begin at 10:00 on a Tuesday morning. "Children from across the National Capital Region will be invited to attend the event, which will also include readings and workshops by the award winners."


2005 Gran Premio Telmex/Tecate
The 2005 Gran Premio Telmex/Tecate was the thirteenth and final round of the2005 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on November 6, 2005 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Justin Wilson swept both the pole and the race win.


2005 Grand National
The 2005 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 158th official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 9 April 2005 and attracted the maximum permitted field of 40 competitors for total prize money of £700,000 including £406,000 to the winner.


2005 Grand National
The nine-year-old 7/1 favourite Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins, won the race by 14 lengths, in a time of 9 minutes 21 seconds. 40/1 shot Royal Auclair finished second, from 66/1-rated Simply Gifted in third.


2005 Grand National
The start of the race was moved back 25 minutes to avoid clashing with the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Over half of the field completed the course and all the horses returned safely, although Frenchman's Creek was retired afterward. There was much media interest in Carrie Ford, the rider of Forest Gunner, who was considered the first genuine opportunity a woman had to win a Grand National. The pairing was sent off as second-favourite and finished fifth.


2005 Grand National
The showpiece race was seen by the largest attendance at Aintree since the Monday National of 1997, with a crowd of 70,850 people, and a total of 151,660 over the course of the three-day meeting.


2005 Grand National, Media coverage & course modifications
The race was covered live by the BBC on television and radio in the United Kingdom in accordance with the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events which recognises the Grand National as a sporting event of significant public interest.


2005 Grand National, Media coverage & course modifications
The television coverage was presented by Sue Barker and Clare Balding and was part of a Grandstand special for the 46th consecutive year. Race commentary was provided by a four-man team consisting of Ian Bartlett, Tony O'Hehir, Darren Owen, and lead commentator Jim McGrath who called the runners home for the eighth year.


2005 Grand National, Media coverage & course modifications
Becher's Brook was modified slightly after a mini pile-up in the 2004 renewal. Running water was back at the fence for the first time since 1989 which was covered over by rubber matting.


2005 Grand National, Jockeys
Carl Llewellyn had been the senior rider in the weighing room since the retirement of Richard Dunwoody after the 1999 race and became only the ninth rider ever to weigh out for a 15th National, having previously won the race in 1992 and 1998.


2005 Grand National, Jockeys
Nine riders made their Grand National debut, with Christian Williams finishing second and Carrie Ford fifth, while Tom Malone, David Dunsdon, Peter Buchanon and Robbie Power also completed the course. However, Alan Crowe's first ride ended at the second fence while Paddy Brennan and Tom Greenall also failed to reach the finishing post.


2005 Grand Prix (snooker)
The 2005 Royal London Watches Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 8 and 16 October 2005 at the Guild Hall in Preston, England.


2005 Grand Prix (snooker)
John Higgins won in the final 9–2 against Ronnie O'Sullivan. In the final, Higgins set two records: His century breaks in the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth frames marked the first time a player had ever recorded centuries in four consecutive frames in a match during a ranking tournament. He scored 494 points without reply, the greatest number in any professional snooker tournament, until Ding Junhui made 495 points without reply against Stephen Hendry in the league stage of the 2007 Premier League.


2005 Grand Prix (snooker), Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2005 Grand Prix (snooker), Prize fund
Winner: £60,000Runner-up: £30,000Semi-final: £15,000Quarter-final: £11,000Last 16: £7,000Last 32: £5,000Last 64: £3,000


2005 Grand Prix (snooker), Qualifying
Qualifying for the tournament took place between 27 and 28 September 2005 at Pontin's in Prestatyn, Wales. All matches were best of 9 frames.


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II
The 2005 Grand Prix Hassan II was an Association of Tennis Professionals men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Casablanca, Morocco. It was the 21st edition of the tournament and was held from 4 April until 11 April 2005. Sixth-seeded Mariano Puerta won the singles title.


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II, Finals, Doubles
František Čermák /  Leoš Friedl defeated  Martín García /  Luis Horna 6–4, 6–3


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II – Doubles
Enzo Artoni and Fernando Vicente were the defending champions. Artoni partnered with Marcin Matkowski this year, losing in the quarterfinals. Vicente did not participate.


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II – Doubles
František Čermák and Leoš Friedl won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Martín García and Luis Horna.


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II – Singles
Santiago Ventura was the defending champion, but lost in the second round.


2005 Grand Prix Hassan II – Singles
Mariano Puerta won the title, defeating Juan Mónaco 6–4, 6–1 in the final.


2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
The 2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Rabat, Morocco that was part of the Tier IV category of the 2005 WTA Tour. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from 2 May until 8 May 2005. Second-seeded Nuria Llagostera Vives won the singles title and earned $22,000 first-prize money.


2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Finals, Doubles
Émilie Loit /  Barbora Strýcová defeated  Lourdes Domínguez Lino /  Nuria Llagostera Vives 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–5


2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Doubles
Marion Bartoli and Émilie Loit were the defending champions, but Bartoli chose not to participate in 2005. Loit successfully defended her title, alongside Barbora Strýcová.


2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Singles
Émilie Loit was the defending champion, but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives in the semifinals.


2005 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Singles
Llagostera Vives went on to win the title, defeating Zheng Jie 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


2005 Grand Prix de Denain
The 2005 Grand Prix de Denain was the 47th edition of the Grand Prix de Denain cycle race and was held on 14 April 2005. The race was won by Jimmy Casper.


2005 Grand Prix de Futsal
The 2005 Grand Prix de Futsal, also known as the Grand Prix das Américas 2005, was the inaugural edition of the international futsal competition of the same kind as the FIFA Futsal World Cup but with invited nations and held annually in Brazil.


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was played at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, and was part of the 2005 ATP Tour. It was the 19th edition of the tournament and took place from 24 October through 31 October 2005. First-seeded Andy Roddick won the singles title.


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Finals, Doubles
Michaël Llodra /  Fabrice Santoro defeated  Jeff Coetzee /  Rogier Wassen 6–3, 6–1


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals.


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro won in the final 6–3, 6–1, against Jeff Coetzee and Rogier Wassen.


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles
Robin Söderling was the defending champion, but did not participate this year.


2005 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles
Andy Roddick won the tournament, beating Gaël Monfils 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 57th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 17 races for the MotoGP class and 16 for the 125cc and 250cc classes, beginning with the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix on 10 April and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 6 November.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season summary, MotoGP class
The MotoGP championship was won by Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha. It was a season which featured a lot of dramatic races including four rain-affected races in Portugal, China, France and Great Britain. It also saw the domination of Rossi with a total of 16 podiums out of 17 races, out of which 11 of them were wins. He defeated Marco Melandri by a distant 147 points in the championship.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season summary, 250cc class
The 250cc title was won by Dani Pedrosa on a Honda.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season summary, 125cc class
The 125cc title was won by Thomas Lüthi on a Honda. He won the World championship dramatically, when Mika Kallio's teammate Gábor Talmácsi overtook Kallio at the last corner in Qatar. Kallio would have got five points more, and then the points total would be 242–242, but Kallio would have won the title with more wins (4-5).


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2005 Grand Prix season calendar
On 20 August 2004, the FIM released the initial 2005 calendar. In it, the South African and Rio Grand Prix were still on the calendar. On 10 October 2004, the FIM confirmed the 2005 calendar. In it, the Rio Grand Prix won out over the South African round, initially being scheduled on the 17th of April. The date of the Malaysian GP was also moved from 9 October to 11 September. On 22 December 2004, changes were made to the calendar.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2005 Grand Prix season calendar
Multiple dates were altered: the date of the Italian GP was moved from 29 May to 5 June, the Catalan GP from 5 to 12 June, the British GP from 19 June to 24 July, the German GP from 24 to 31 July and the Malaysian GP from 11 to 25 September. The Rio GP was also still subject to confirmation. On 18 February 2005, more changes were made. Because no contract was signed for the Rio GP, the round was dropped and the Turkish GP was added instead. The date of the Portuguese GP was moved from 30 October to 17 April as well. By this time, the race was also subject to confirmation.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2005 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2005:


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Regulation changes
The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2005 season:


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Regulation changes, Sporting regulations
This rule was additionally added on the 30th of August 2005:


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, MotoGP riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, 250cc riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, 125cc riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, Teams' standings, MotoGP
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2005 Grand Prix of Atlanta
The 2005 Grand Prix of Atlanta was the second race for the 2005 American Le Mans Series season held at Road Atlanta. It took place on April 17, 2005.


2005 Grand Prix of Atlanta, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2005 Grand Prix of Cleveland
The 2005 Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland was the fifth round of the 2005 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on June 26, 2005 at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. Due to the controversy at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, any fan who had a ticket to the 2005 United States GP was granted free admission to this race. Paul Tracy swept both the pole and the race win, his second victory of the season.


2005 Grand Prix of Mosport
The 2005 Labour Day Weekend Grand Prix of Mosport was the eighth race for the 2005 American Le Mans Series season and the twentieth IMSA SportsCar Championship race at the facility. It took place on September 4, 2005. The race was won overall by Dyson Racing drivers Butch Leitzinger and James Weaver in a MG-Lola EX257.


2005 Grand Prix of Mosport, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2005 Grand Prix of Sonoma
The 2005 Grand Prix of Sonoma was the fifth race for the 2005 American Le Mans Series season, held at Infineon Raceway. It took place on July 17, 2005. It was the last ALMS race held at Infineon. It was the last ALMS race held at Sonoma, the event being transferred to the Rolex Sports Car Series the following year.


2005 Grand Prix of Sonoma, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2005 Grand Valley State Lakers football team
The 2005 Grand Valley State Lakers football team was an American football team that won the 2005 NCAA Division II national championship.


2005 Grand Valley State Lakers football team
The team represented the Grand Valley State University in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) during the 2005 NCAA Division II football season. In their second season under head coach Chuck Martin, the Lakers compiled a perfect 13–0 record (9–0 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 434 to 159, and won the GLIAC championship. The team advanced to the playoffs and won the national championship by defeating Northwest Missouri State in the championship game.


2005 Grand Valley State Lakers football team
The team played its home games at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan.


2005 Greek presidential election
An indirect election for the position of President of the Hellenic Republic was held by the Hellenic Parliament on 8 February 2005.


2005 Greek presidential election
Running unopposed,  veteran PASOK politician and former Foreign Minister of Greece Karolos Papoulias was elected on the first ballot with the record number of 279 votes, with 163 MPs of the ruling New Democracy party, 114 MPs of PASOK and two independent MPs voting in support, four MPs absent, while the 17 MPs of Synaspismos and the Communist Party of Greece voted "present". He was sworn in on 12 March 2005, succeeding Konstantinos Stephanopoulos.


2005 Green Bay Packers season
The 2005 season was the Green Bay Packers' 85th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 87th overall.


2005 Green Bay Packers season
They failed to improve their overall record of 10–6 from 2004 and were ousted from the playoffs for the first time since 2000. It was also the Packers' worst record since their 1991 season.


2005 Green Bay Packers season
The Packers suffered injuries to wide receivers Javon Walker and Robert Ferguson and running backs Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, Tony Fisher, and Samkon Gado. As a result of the lackluster season, most of the Packers coaches were fired, including head coach Mike Sherman.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Offseason
The Packers lost veteran guards Marco Rivera (Dallas Cowboys) and Mike Wahle (Carolina Panthers) to free agency. Starting safety Darren Sharper was released by Green Bay Packers, signing with the Minnesota Vikings. With the 24th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft the Green Bay Packers selected quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the second quarterback taken in the draft. Rodgers became the Packers' starting QB in the 2008 season after Brett Favre's trade to the New York Jets and has since become a three-time NFL MVP and led the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Offseason, NFL Draft
Players highlighted in yellow indicate players selected to the Pro Bowl during their NFL career.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 1: at Detroit Lions
The Packers opened the 2005 NFL season with a loss to the Detroit Lions. Starting wide receiver Javon Walker injured his right knee and did not play the rest of the season. This would be the Lions last win over the Packers until the 2010 season.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns
The Packers lost this game to the Cleveland Browns as quarterback Trent Dilfer threw for 336 yards. The Packers retired the great Reggie White's number 92 at halftime after his unexpected death in December 2004.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won this close game as Carnell Williams rushed for 158 yards. Packers kicker Ryan Longwell missed an extra point and a field goal. It was the Bucs' first victory at Lambeau Field since 1989. It was also the Packers first 0–3 start since 1988


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 4: at Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers caused the worst start in 17 years for the Packers as they could not complete a fourth quarter comeback to win the game. The Packers lost promising rookie Terrence Murphy in a career-ending helmet to helmet collision on a kickoff return.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
After starting the season 0–4, the Packers defeat the New Orleans Saints in this blowout. Running back Najeh Davenport ended his season with an ankle injury in the second quarter. This was the largest blowout in Brett Favre's career.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 7: at Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings scored 23 second-half points after being shut out 17–0 in the first half. Paul Edinger kicked a career-long 56-yard field goal as time ran out to win the game. Packers running back Ahman Green ended his season with a career-threatening knee injury.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 8: at Cincinnati Bengals
Brett Favre threw five interceptions as the Cincinnati Bengals won this close game. It is also noteworthy for the fact that a fan ran onto the field in the closing moments of the 4th quarter and disrupted the game by taking the ball away from Favre.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were held without a third down conversion, forced three turnovers that turned into 17 points to help them defeat the Packers. Packers running back Samkon Gado scored his first career touchdown and ended the day with 62 yards.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 10: at Atlanta Falcons
On his 24th birthday, running back Samkon Gado made his first career start against the Atlanta Falcons and finished the day with 103 yards and three touchdowns to help the Packers win their second game of the year.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings won their second game against the Packers with another field goal as time expired. The Packers had only 21 yards rushing.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 12: at Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Packers as backup quarterback Mike McMahon led his team to victory.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 13: at Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears beat the Packers at Soldier Field for the first time since 1993.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 14: vs. Detroit Lions
Samkon Gado helped the Packers win this overtime game over the Detroit Lions by rushing for 171 yards and a touchdown.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Packers by 45 points as Kyle Boller passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears sweep the Packers for the first time since 1991 with this victory.


2005 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Week 17: vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Packers win their last game of the season over the Seattle Seahawks. Packer fans gave Brett Favre a standing ovation at the beginning and end of the game as it was possibly his last game, which turned out not to be the case.


2005 Green Party (Czech Republic) leadership election
The Green Party (SZ) leadership election of 2005 was held on 24 September 2005. Martin Bursík became the new Leader of the Party when he defeated Karel Helman. Bursík's only competition was Karel Helman. Election was held after previous leader Jan Beránek was removed from the position of Leader. Beránek himself decided to not run.


2005 Green Party (Czech Republic) leadership election, Voting
There were only 2 Candidates. Martin Bursík was viewed as a clear front runner as Karl Helman's candidacy was viewed as a recession. Helman himself admitted during nomination Speech that he doesn't have an Ambition to become party's leader. 147 Delegates voted. Bursík received 114 votes against Helman's 17 votes and was elected.