MotoGP 2003 news archive

2003 Movistar Honda RC211V
2003 Movistar Honda, in tribute to Daijiro Kato

Rossi fastest again at Jerez

02/04/04: Yamaha rider Rossi topped the timesheets again at the two day IRTA test at Jerez in Spain, the final outing before the season begins on 18 April at Welkom, South Africa. His time of 1 min 42.656 was 0.1 secs faster than his lap record from 2003, but 0.7 second slower than Capirossi's stunning 2003 pole time of 1min 42.788secs.

Although the Yamaha was far from the fastest machine in a straight line, Rossi took it around the twisty circuit faster than any other riders. Suprise second fastest man was Suzuki-mounted Kenny Roberts, followed closely by Colin Edwards. Changes to the GSV-R for 2004, notably a simplification of the rather complex and troublesom electronics fitted for 2003, seem to have provided the 2000 world champion with a smoother, more tractable machine. KR was decidedly upbeat, and even had praise for the Bridgestone tyres that are new to the team for 2004. Also on the Japanese rubber were Kawasaki, who appear to have improved similarly over the Winter, largely due to a new chassis developed with Eskil Suter. Shinya Nakano managed seventh fastest aboard the heavily revised green machine.

The Proton team were struggling with a somewhat underpowered bike, and they hoped to have more power fairly early in the season (echoes of 2003?). The 2004 Ducatis of Capirossi and Bayliss appeared to be more powerful than the previous year, but that power did not translate to faster lap times. There is still work for Ducati to do before they pose a serious challenge to Honda, and the team may well be eclipsed by a hugely invigorated Yamaha this year.

The second day was decidedly wet, and a number of riders chose not to ride, fearing the risk of injury so close to the start of the season. The sodden conditions did nothing to deter Max Biaggi who, after having trouble with both the engine and chassis changes to the new RC211v, lapped fastest. Second fastest rider was Ruben Xaus. Among those not riding were Rossi, Edwards, Gibernau and Kenny Roberts.

A full report and listing of times can be found at this crash.net report.

Also, Dennis Noyes offers some insights after observing the pre-season tests at Speed TV.

Rossi wins the BMW car at Barcelona

28/03/04: Valentino Rossi clocked the quickest time during the pre-season 'showdown' at the Catalunya circuit in Spain, and won the prize of a BMW Z4 car in the process. Despite a phenomenal top speed of 324km/h by Loris Capirossi's Ducati down the track's long main straight, he only came fourth in the competition. Colin Edwards, fastest for most of the session, was pipped by Rossi on the Yamaha in the last few minutes of the period.

Suzuki, Kawasaki and Aprilia test at Phillip Island

25/02/04: Kawasaki finished the 3 day test in a positive frame of mind, after new signing Shinya Nakano managed to improve his lap time by 2 seconds over the course of the three days. His best lap time was 1'32.61. Although struggling with rear grip, the data and feedback will give Bridgestone plenty to work with before the GP season begins on 18th April. There will be more testing in March. Hofmann's best time of 1'33.75 frustrated the German, and was only attained after much work in the pits working on a similar lack of rear grip.

Strong winds, a Phillip Island trademark, gave the riders testing conditions, but Hofmann clocked 1’32.92 in the blustery conditions, 0.02 seconds faster than Nakano. Hofmann, who had previously been slower than his teammate, was quite pleased to match the Japanese rider's times.

Hondas dominate at Phillip Island test

19/02/04: Valentino Rossi finished the 3-day test at Phillip Island fifth fastest, over half a second slower than fastest man Max Biaggi. Although he matched the times of the Hondas on day two, four of the Honda riders went faster on the final day - Biaggi, Edwards, Gibernau and Hayden. Yamaha are trying a new engine spec, in an attempt to get better driveability and acceleration from the M1's powerful engine. At the conclusion of the test Rossi said:
"I'm pretty happy. This test's been quite good and we have already improved a lot since we began testing. I still need more horsepower and it is more difficult to ride at the moment because I have to push much harder. Today I did more than 25 consecutive laps and already the bike seems to work quite well when the tyres are wearing down, which is very important to know.

In an ideal world I will have more horsepower for the next test here in two weeks time! Yamaha have worked so hard and so quickly so I am sure we can continue in this way."
Colin Edwards lapped fastest on day one, with a time of 1'31.06, and was pleased to have found a chassis setup for the demanding circuit very quickly. Gibernau was 0.31 seconds behind, and Rossi just 0.03 slower than Gibernau.

On day two Loris Capirossi set the fastest time of 1'30.71 with Rossi in second place at 1'30.75. Day two didn't go so well for Ducati pilot Ruben Xaus, who had to attend hospital after a big crash. Fortunately, it appears that he only has a sore shoulder. Aprilia's Jeremy McWilliams crashed on day two, and flew home with a broken rib, missing the final day.

Factory Ducati riders Capirossi and Bayliss both reported good progress with the brand new GP4 machine, and Bayliss spent a lot of time adapting to the behaviour of the 16.5" tyre. Shane Byrne will have suprised a few people by going faster on his Aprilia than WSB champion Neil Hodgson, who struggled to find a decent setup for his D'Antin Ducati throughout the test.

Day Three times
Max Biaggi (Honda)           1'30.21   (62 laps)
Colin Edwards (Honda)        1'30.45   (31 laps)
Sete Gibernau (Honda)        1'30.60   (41 laps)
Nicky Hayden (Honda)         1'30.68   (83 laps)
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)     1'30.80   (78 laps)
Alex Barros (Honda)          1'30.88   (74 laps)
Loris Capirossi (Ducati)     1'30.97   (56 laps)
Troy Bayliss (Ducati)        1'31.64   (68 laps)
Carlos Checa (Yamaha)        1'31.96   (92 laps)
Marco Melandri (Yamaha)      1'32.00   (80 laps)
Shane Byrne (Aprilia)        1'32.28   (67 laps)
Neil Hodgson (Ducati)        1'32.44   (64 laps)
Norick Abe (Yamaha)          1'33.76   (80 laps)
More detail, with times and team reports at superbikeplanet.com news (formerly known as AMASuperbike.com).

Rossi struggles to match Hondas at Sepang

13/02/04: Valentino Rossi found chasing the Hondas to be hard work at the Malaysian circuit. The three day test concluded with HRC rider Nicky Hayden fastest overall, with a time of 2'02.041. Close behind was Max Biaggi with 2m 02.108 followed by Sete Gibernau a further .39 seconds back. Rossi's time of 2'02.74 with a prototype engine placed him fifth behind Colin Edwards (2'02.59).

Kenny Roberts crashed heavily from his Suzuki, but in a brief interview for motograndprix.com said that they were "not different than last year but smarter. The 30 year old also felt that Suzuki have learnt from their mistakes with the early prototype versions of the GSV-R. More in the interview (requires RealPlayer or Windows Media Player). Otherwise their test went well, although Bridgestone ran out of tyres.

Times
Nicky Hayden (Honda)        2'02.041
Max Biaggi (Honda)          2'02.108
Sete Gibernau (Honda)       2'02.496
Colin Edwards (Honda)       2'02.597
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)    2'02.746
Makoto Tamada (Honda)       2'02.962
Carlos Checa (Yamaha)       2'03.100
Loris Capirossi (Ducati)    2'03.530
Troy Bayliss (Ducati)       2'03.554
Alex Barros (Honda)         2'03.558
Kousuke Akiyoshi (Suzuki)   2'03.729
Shinichi Itoh (Honda)       2'04.076
Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki)    2'04.625
Neil Hodgson (Ducati)       2'04.674
Marco Melandri (Yamaha)     2'04.753
Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki)   2'05.756
Alex Hofmann (Kawasaki)     2'04.817
Ruben Xaus (Ducati)         2'04.929
Norick Abe (Yamaha)         2'05.059
Shane Byrne (Aprilia)       2'05.150
Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) 2'06.574
Andrew Pitt (Moriwaki)      2'06.912

Sepang test - January 2004

26/01/04: Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki teams were testing at the Malaysian circuit, though Yamaha were present a few days after the other teams. Max Biaggi reeled off fast laps with relative ease and topped the timesheet with a terrific best lap of 2min 2.585 - just 0.1 seconds off Rossi's 2003 pole time. Sete Gibernau managed 2min 2.7, though felt there was room for improvement. Both Hayden and HRC test rider Ukawa recorded 2min 3.2, and Gibernau's new teammate Colin Edwards 2min 3.3. The Honda riders were riding 2003 RC211v bikes with new parts. The 2004 spec bikes will appear at a later test.

Yamaha's test, a few days later, saw Rossi acclimatise to the Yamaha quickly. His fastest time at the end of the test was nearly a second faster than Checa, and the 2min 2.75 - slower than only Biaggi and Gibernau - will give the Honda riders some food for thought.

Yamaha appear determined to give Rossi a good chance of chasing the title; newly appointed head of MotoGP sports department at Yamaha, Masao Furusawa, admitted that they have four types of engines and four chassis to try. Jeremy Burgess was satisfied with the work done:
"I guess we're doing okay. We've achieved enough for a fast time and we were running according to the Michelin test programme. Things have been very harmonious in terms of integration with Yamaha and now we'll go away and work on whatever the Yamaha Development Group have got for us."
Kawasaki riders Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano tested a choice of rear suspension linkages and Bridgestone tyres. They recorded best times of 2min 4.43 and 2min 4.38 respectively over the course of the four day test.

Sepang test fastest laps
1.  Max Biaggi (Honda)         2'2.585
2.  Sete Gibernau (Honda)      2'2.7
3.  Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)   2'2.75
4.  Tohru Ukawa (Honda)        2'3.2
5.  Nicky Hayden (Honda)       2'3.2
6.  Colin Edwards (Honda)      2'3.3
7.  Makoto Tamada (Honda)      2'3.41
8.  Carlos Checa (Yamaha)      2'3.57
9.  Shinya Nakano              2'4.38
10. Alex Hofmann               2'4.43
11. Norick Abe (Yamaha)        2'4.90
12. Marco Melandri (Yamaha)    2'4.90
Images (at superbikeplanet.com)
  • Honda riders
  • Rossi on the Yamaha M1
  • Kawasaki looking for better things in 2004

    15/01/04: The Team Green MotoGP outfit are looking to improve on their dismal showing in 2003. Team manager Harald Eckl is hoping that a heavily updated ZX-RR and a change of riders, as well as a move to Bridgestone rubber from Dunlop, will bring the improvement that all Team Green fans have been hoping for.
    "We have applied the lessons learned in 2003 and, as a result, we head into the coming season with a new team structure, an updated version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR, a new tyre supplier and two new riders. Expectations are high."
    Changes to the ZX-RR include a revised 990cc inline four-cylinder engine housed in a new chassis, designed to create a more compact machine with a lower centre of gravity. Alex Hofmann was a wild card rider in 2003, but was soon able to match the pace of regular riders McCoy and Pitt. He is hoping that his 2004 season performance will benefit from the presence in the team of ex-Yamaha star Shinya Nakano. Nakano has had promising performances in the premier class. Finishing 2003 joint ninth with Barros doesn't really indicate his potential.

    KRT will test for four days at Sepang between the 20th and 26th January, and again from 11th February for 3 days. They then have a 4-day test at Phillip Island scheduled for 23-26 February before the IRTA tests at Catalunya and Jerez.

    Barros joins Repsol Honda, Nakano goes Green

    13/01/04: Alex Barros has finally confirmed that he has a contract with Honda for 2004, replacing Valentino Rossi at the factory Repsol team. Barros, who had a troubled 2003 season dogged by injury, and will be keen to get back to speed. Despite his injuries, Barros finished the season in sixth position. In 2002 he provided Rossi with some competition towards the end of 2002 when Honda let him ride the RC211v, including a nail-biting duel at Valencia.

    Yamaha development rider Norick Abe is expected to replace Barros at the Fortuna backed Tech 3 team.

    Moriwaki join the fray for 5 races in 2004

    Moriwaki Engineering Ltd have announced plans to contest five rounds of the 2004 MotoGP World Championship as a wildcard entry after failing to negotiate a full-time slot on the grid. Their MD211VF (a Honda RC211V engine in their own design frame) will be seen in action Sepang for a 3-day test, starting on the 20th January.

    New rules for 2004 season

    08/01/04: Dorna, the MotoGP organisers, have announced a series of changes to the rules for 2004. Among the details are these interesting points:

    No Jacque this year?

    Olivier Jacque is without a ride for 2004 after Marco Melandri moved from the Fortuna Yamaha team to the Galoises team. The Frenchman has not been offered a competitive ride, so has elected to sit out 2004. However, he suggested that he will consider any vacant position that appears during the season.

    OJ's Former teammate Shinya Nakano, whose MotoGP debut season (2001) resulted in a fifth place finish, has signed for the Kawasaki team. Nakano was also looking for a ride, after the D'Antin elected to run the Ducatis of Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus for 2004.

    End of Season Reflection

    Some rambling thoughts on the 2003 MotoGP season and possibilites for 2004 here.

    2003 Moto GP Review on DVD & Video and 2003-2004 Motocourse

    A DVD of the 2003 season plus the annual hardback volume Motocourse have been published. The links are to the items at Amazon UK.

    Our review of the 2003 MotoGP season review
    This single disc DVD gives a good overview of the 2003 season. Its 220 minutes packs in many of the memorable moments during the season. Each round has brief qualifying notes, an onboard lap as well as the race. Not suprisingly, you don't get the full race coverage - more a generous highlights package. This isn't a big suprise, as each race is about 45mins long. However, it does give a good overview of the significant events during each race.

    In addition there are a few 'extras', as is the case with most DVD releases. These proved a little disappointing: some 'time out' and PR activities, plus a look around the inside of the Yamaha team's engine trailer. This part was a little disappointing, as there are many scenes race fans would love to see.

    "Rossi will win on Yamaha" - Capirossi

    15/12/03: Loris Capirossi reckons Rossi will be competitive on the Yamaha. He was quoted on the Motograndprix.com website, saying
    I am certain that we will see the potential of his combination with Yamaha very early. At the moment nobody really knows what to expect but for sure it is a good bike and it’s not the worst out there. I think it is possible that he will win races next year.
    He also admitted that the 2004 Ducati will feature some changes to counter the wheelspin under acceleration and poor handling when braking. The two factory riders had used 2003 spec bikes with development parts for the recent test at Valencia, while Vittoriano Guareschi rode the prototype 2004 machine.

    Meanwhile Yamaha pilot Marco Melandri, who will ride for the Yamaha Tech 3 team in 2004, warned Rossi that the handling of the Yamaha still required improvement to make it competitive:
    This year, we at Yamaha were a bit behind Honda. Our bike is very manageable during slow curves, but for fast curves it becomes unstable.

    McCoy leaves for Superbikes

    15/12/03: After a miserable season on the Kawasaki popular Aussie rider Garry McCoy has announced that he will be riding for the NCR Ducati team in World Superbikes for the 2004 season.

    Biaggi tops Valencia MotoGP test - December 2003

    12/12/03: Max Biaggi recorded the fastest lap of the test on day two, while Troy Bayliss was second quickest, recording his best time on the final day of the 3 day test at Valencia. Biaggi said new engine parts helped, though he struggled with some front end chatter and was a second slower on the final day.

    The Ducati riders were testing 16.5" and 17" front tyres, as was third place Sete Gibernau. Colin Edwards struggled a little until his forks were swapped with those from his VTR1000 World Superbike machine; he instantly knocked 0.5 seconds off his time, lapping consistently in the mid-1min 33s.

    Sandwiched between the Ducatis of Xaus and Hodgson was Kurtis Roberts, who has signed to ride the Proton V5, replacing Jeremy McWilliams. A few tenths behind was British Superbike champion and MotoGP rookie Shane Byrne on the Aprilia, Jeremy McWilliams teammate at Aprilia for 2004.

    Overall times after three days:
    1.  Max Biaggi (Honda)         1'32.8
    2.  Troy Bayliss (Ducati)      1'33.1
    3.  Sete Gibernau (Honda)      1'33.2
    4.  Colin Edwards (Honda)      1'33.4
    5.  Loris Capirossi (Ducati)   1'33.4
    6.  Makoto Tamada (Honda)      1'33.5
    7.  Ruben Xaus (Ducati)        1'34.5
    8.  Kurtis Roberts (Proton KR) 1'34.6
    9.  Neil Hodgson (Ducati)      1'35.1
    10. Shane Byrne (Aprilia)      1'35.3
    11. Nobuatsu Aoki (Proton)     1'36.2

    Yamaha confirms Rossi contract while Edwards nets RC211V ride

    Christmas came early for Colin Edwards. Two days after the final Grand Prix of the year he was aboard a Honda RC211V for a brief familiarisation ride at the Catalunya circuit in Northern Spain. Honda have brought their two times World Superbike champ back to the fold. Edwards, now looking forward to a season as teammate to Sete Gibernau, was very impressed with the bike, saying
    The Aprilia was abrupt, peaky and 'torquey' but this thing is smooth - it has power everywhere. You can think of where you're going as opposed to where you've just come from. Next year is going to be really good and to be honest I just can't hide my enthusiasm for it - I'm stoked!
    Using Gibernau's settings, he set a time that was 0.1 seconds inside Rossi's lap record, which was set during the race there five months earlier.

    A week after Rossi won his last race for Honda Yamaha suprised no-one with the announcement that Valentino Rossi was to ride for them alongside Carlos Checa. It appears Jeremy Burgess, the man who was most prominent in the team that helped Mick Doohan to a run of five world titles, and several key team members will also be moving to Yamaha with Valentino.

    However, Honda are unwilling to release him from his contract early, so he is unable to ride the Yamaha until 1st January 2004. This is because his contract expires on 31st December, and not after the last race of the year. Honda understandably see releasing him early as effectively handing an advantage to their rival.

    At the Valencia circuit several teams were testing - there was a new Deltabox frame for Yamaha, while Lucchi was on the Aprilia RS3 ahead of British Superbike champion Shane Byrne's arrival at the team. Capirossi's Ducati clocked 1:33.4, 0.5 seconds faster than his fastest race lap at the circuit, after the riders worked through a range of improvements to both the engine and chassis. Bayliss managed to knock 1.1 seconds off his best time. World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson is to ride for Ducati in the D'Antin Ducati satellite team for 2004, and his WSB teammate Ruben Xaus will be alongside him. They will get 2003 spec bikes while the factory team benefit from new developments.

    Kawasaki's Andrew Pitt lapped nearly two seconds quicker with an all-new ZX-7RR and after switching to Bridgestone tyres.

    2003 MotoGP Final Standings

    1   Rossi           357
    2   Gibernau        277
    3   Biaggi          228
    4   Capirossi       177
    5   Hayden          130
    6   Bayliss         128
    7   Checa           123
    8   Ukawa           123
    9   Barros          101
    10  Nakano          101
    11  Tamada           87
    12  Jacque           71
    13  Edwards          62
    14  Haga             47
    15  Melandri         45
    16  Abe              31
    17  Hopkins          29
    18  McWilliams       27
    19  Roberts          22
    20  Kiyonari         22
    21  Aoki             19
    22  Mccoy            11
    23  Hofmann           8
    24  Ryo               6
    25  Pitt              4
    26  Kagayama          4

    Constructors' championship

    Honda        395
    Ducati       225
    Yamaha       175
    Aprilia       81
    Suzuki        43
    Proton KR     38
    Kawasaki      19

    2003 Moto GP Review on DVD & Video and 2003-2004 Motocourse

    A DVD of the 2003 season plus the annual hardback volume Motocourse have been published. The links are to the items at Amazon UK.

    Opinion: our review of the 2003 MotoGP DVD
    This single disc DVD gives a good overview of the 2003 season. Its 220 minutes includes many of the memorable moments during the season. Each round has brief qualifying notes, an onboard lap as well as the race. Not suprisingly, you don't get the full race coverage - more a generous highlights package. This isn't a big suprise, as a full race is about 45mins long. However, it does give a good overview of the significant events at each round.

    In addition there are a few extras, as is the case with most DVD releases. These proved a little disappointing: some 'time out' and PR activities, plus a look around the inside of the Yamaha team's engine trailer. However, as most of the excitement occurs during the race I think the disc does a good job of reminding us that, while Mr Rossi may have dominated the points, it wasn't plain sailing.

    Rossi bids farewell to Honda with yet another win

    Valentino Rossi ended his 3 years with Honda in style, by winning the Valencia round of the MotoGP world championship. Despite finishing less than a second ahead of a battling Gibernau, Rossi, who qualified on pole, was in charge throughout the race. Capirossi brought Ducati another podium, finishing ten seconds back.

    Gibernau conceded that Rossi beat him fairly: "Everything worked perfectly - the bike, the tyres - but Valentino was stronger once more". If the Yamaha M1, which Rossi is surely to ride next year, is as good as Melandri made it look at Phillip Island, Gibernau can't be sure of an easy run to the title next year.

    The Japanese factory will be massively disappointed that it has not secured the champ's services for 2004, but will be counting on Gibernau, Hayden and now Colin Edwards to keep the championship in the Honda camp. Meanwhile popular Tohru Ukawa announced he would beretiring from racing. Ukawa was the only rider to challenge Rossi in 2003 (but then he was the only other rider on an RC211V), but failed to find real form in 2003. Nice bloke, a better 250cc rider than many admit.

    Rossi rode with a special paintjob, selected from a huge entry by Spanish race fans (see a large photo at speedtv.com).

    This how Rossi described his departure from Honda:
    "After the race win in Sepang, I seriously thought of a new challenge next season," said Rossi. "I'd won on the Honda in the wet and in the dry and at circuits I like and circuits I don't like. Throughout my career I've always needed a challenge to be totally motivated and that´s why I think it´s time to move on. I will never forget my time at Honda and the people who have made all the success so possible and I thank them all."
    Result
    1   Valentino Rossi     47'13.0
    2   Sete Gibernau           0.6
    3   Loris Capirossi        11.2
    4   Max Biaggi             16.2
    5   Carlos Checa           20.8
    6   Alex Barros            30.8
    7   Troy Bayliss           37.7
    8   Colin Edwards          38.9
    9   Norick Abe             40.2
    10  Makoto Tamada          46.5
    11  Kenny Roberts        1'01.4
    12  Jeremy McWilliams    1'04.5
    13  John Hopkins         1'05.1
    14  Ryuichi Kiyonari     1'06.0
    15  Noriyuki Haga        1'06.1

    Phillip Island rocks with Rossi

    19/10/03: Valentino Rossi, who still has not signed for 2004, won in fine style at the Australian coastal circuit. The race began with Troy Bayliss, Max Biaggi and Gibernau jostling for the lead, with rookies Marco Melandri (Yamaha) and Nicky Hayden (Honda) mixing with the big boys.

    However, the race changed dramatically after Bayliss clipped the rear wheel of Melandri's Yamaha under braking and slid off onto the grass. The following lap pole sitter Rossi, who after a poor start by now had caught the leaders, overtook Melandri at the same spot while yellow flags were being waved. He made his way to the front and began to pull away.

    A few laps later he was given a 10 second penalty for the overtaking move. By this time he was several seconds ahead of Capirossi, who had moved past the others and into second spot. Rossi was informed of the time penalty, set a string of fast laps to which Capirossi seemed unable to respond. As a result he more than made up the deficit and won the race convincingly.

    Melandri crashed while fighting with Gibernau, which allowed Nicky Hayden to challenge for a podium position towards the end of the race. Jeremy McWilliams gave the Proton V5 its best finish yet, finishing 12th after a good scrap with Kenny Roberts.

    Rossi in commanding form at Sepang

    12/10/03: Valentino Rossi won convincingly at the hot and humid Malaysian circuit, demonstrating that he was still the man to beat. In doing so, he secured his third consecutive World Championship in the premier class, and his fifth in total. He dominated the race, which saw Gibernau give chase but to no effect, and Biaggi trail the Spaniard home to third spot on the podium.

    Honda have still not secured his services for 2004, the differences apparently centre on Honda's demand for a two-year contract and Valentino's desire to sign for asingle years. Rumours abound of a $10 million offer from Yamaha, whose bikes appear to be impoving after Checa secured second spot in qualifying and Nakano was on the second row. Still, if winning means more than money Rossi would be a fool to leave both the enormously successful Honda RC211V and a superb team led by Jeremy Burgess.

    Biaggi claims Pacific win in Motegi

    06/10/03: Italy's Max Biaggi comfortably won the Pacific MotoGP on Sunday ahead of world championship leader Valentino Rossi. Rossi sped off the track after outbraking himself on the seventh lap, but rejoined in ninth place and surged back to claim second place at the flag. Biaggi opened up a 5 second lead of the chasing trio of Gibernau, Tamada and Hayden, and when Rossi passed them with 5 laps to go he could not make an impression on Biaggi's lead.

    Japan's Makoto Tamada clashed with Sete Gibernau into the dirt on the final lap, and was disqualified after finishing third "for riding in an irresponsible manner causing danger to other riders." Tamada's disqualification moved American Nicky Hayden into third place and Gibernau into fourth.

    Result
    1.  Max Biaggi         43'57.5
    2.  Valentino Rossi        3.7
    3.  Nicky Hayden           5.6
    4.  Sete Gibernau         19.4
    5.  Marco Melandri        19.9
    6.  Alex Barros           20.9
    7.  Tohru Ukawa           22.3
    8.  Loris Capirossi       27.8
    9.  Shinya Nakano         41.7
    10. Akira Ryo             50.1
    11. Ryuichi Kiyonari      53.2
    12. Noriyuki Haga         53.5
    13. Olivier Jacque      1'05.6
    14. Nobuatsu Aoki       1'07.5
    15. Kenny Roberts       1'09.0
    16. Andrew Pitt         1'11.5
    17. Colin Edwards       1'27.5
    18. Tamaki Serizawa     1'33.0
    19. David DE GEA         1 lap  

    Honda whitewash in Rio

    21/09/03: Valentino Rossi once again took charge at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and looked to be in a class of his own at the Nelson Piquet circuit. Loris Capirossi had grabbed pole position with a stunning time, but this was not to be repeated in the race as both Ducatis were eclipsed by a swarm of Hondas.

    While little Loris hit the front at turn one, Gibernau muscled through and took the lead. But it was only a matter of time before that man Rossi, with his hair dyed yellow and green (the colours of the Brazilian flag), was following close behind. While Gibernau seemed a touch tentative, Rossi was climbing all over his rear tyre. Once past at one third race distance Sete had no answer and Mr Rossi controlled the race from the front. Max Biaggi, surely frustrated at his inability to go with the two factory bikes, was resigned to be settle for third before being passed by Tamada. The top 5 riders were on Hondas.

    Further back two rookie Honda riders had great results. The 2002 AMA superbike champ Nicky Hayden confirmed his talent by stalking Ukawa throughout the race, while Tamada, riding the Bridgestone-shod RCV picked his way past a number of riders, including Biaggi to take third position.

    Result
    1.  Valentino Rossi     44'36.6
    2.  Sete Gibernau           3.1
    3.  Makoto Tamada           7.2
    4.  Max Biaggi              9.2
    5.  Nicky Hayden           11.1
    6.  Loris Capirossi        14.8
    7.  Tohru Ukawa            17.3
    8.  Shinya Nakano          21.2
    9.  Carlos Checa           21.5
    10. Troy Bayliss           22.9
    11. Marco Melandri         32.9
    12. Alex Barros            40.1
    13. Colin Edwards          54.0
    14. Noriyuki Haga          57.2
    15. Ryuichi Kiyonari       57.6
    16. Jeremy McWilliams    1'06.0
    17. Kenny Roberts        1'09.4
    18. Andrew Pitt          1'22.4
    19. David De Gea          1 Lap
    

    Suzuka not on the calendar for 2004

    Suzuka has been dropped from the MotoGP calendar following Daijiro Kato's fatal accident at the track in April. It seems that safety work cannot be carried out in time, so the Motegi round will be termed the Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuka is expected to return to the schedule in 2005.

    Moriwaki RCV to appear at Motegi

    15/09/03: Moriwaki Racing announced their intention to field Tamaki Serizawa on a Honda RCV-engined Moriwaki MD211VF at the Pacific Grand Prix on 5th October, as a wild card entry. This is to prepare the team for a full season entry in 2004.

    Chili's WSB Ducati is faster than half of the MotoGP grid

    11/09/03: Qualifying at the flowing Assen circuit provided a fascinating comparison between the times set by the World Superbikes last week and the MotoGP bikes, who visited the Dutch track in June. Frankie Chili's pole time on a year old privateer Ducati 998 would have put him 11th on the MotoGP grid, just 1.1 seconds behind MotoGP polesitter Loris Capirossi, despite the v-twin being 20kg heavier and 50bhp down on power.

    Kawasaki privateer Ivan Clementi even out-qualified Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy, despite only having a 750cc engine in his ZX-7RR, while Gregorio Lavilla's GSX-R1000 was just 0.6 secs slower than the GSV-R of Kagayama. One has to wonder at the direction of Suzuki and Kawasaki development when their Superbike riders secured times comparable with those in MotoGP.

    Honda 2004 news

    07/09/03: Honda will be fielding only six RCVs next year, one down on this year. They say the 2004 bike will have 10% more power (240bhp!) with a smoother torque curve, slight changes to the aerodynamics and mods to other minor components. Read the detail in Julian Ryder's report at AMA Superbike.com.

    Honda and Rossi are said to be in final contract negotiations for 2004. The Italian star is holding out for a one-year contract, against the wishes of the Big H, who want him to sign for two years. The Italian star has been offered big money from Yamaha, who seem further off the pace than ever, and has keenly eyed a Ducati ride. However, only a fool would desert what is most clearly the best bike in the paddock, and with Jeremy Burgess' crew, certainly be best team.

    Rossi shows who's Boss at Estoril

    Valentino Rossi took the Portugese Grand Prix by the scruff of the neck and showed why he is the hottest talent in motorcyle racing. After the disappointment of allowing Gibernau to win at the Sachsenring Rossi was determined not to let a similar error happen again. He secured his sixth pole of the year before dominating the race from start to finish.

    He hit the front early in the race and, while Max Biaggi stuck with him for some time, no-one looked capable of catching him, letting alone getting past. Gibernau had to be content with a distant and disappointing third place.

    Result
    1.  Valentino Rossi     46'48.0
    2.  Max Biaggi              2.0
    3.  Loris Capirossi         5.2
    4.  Sete Gibernau           5.2
    5.  Tohru Ukawa            10.5
    6.  Troy Bayliss           14.2
    7.  Marco Melandri         16.1
    8.  Carlos Checa           18.0
    9.  Nicky Hayden           18.2
    10. Makoto Tamada          21.8
    11. Alex Barros            24.0
    12. Shinya Nakano          27.0
    13. Olivier Jacque         27.6
    14. Colin Edwards          31.5
    15. Noriyuki Haga          57.1
    16. Ryuichi Kiyonari     1'01.4
    17. Kenny Roberts        1'01.5
    18. John Hopkins         1'06.6
    19. Jeremy McWilliams    1'10.9
    20. Nobuatsu Aoki        1'11.5
    21. Andrew Pitt          1'18.5
    22. David De Gea          1 Lap
    

    Rossi wins by 4/100ths at Brno

    Valentino Rossi reasserted his position at the top of the MotoGP tree at the Czech circuit, winning a thrilling race by just 0.042 seconds from fellow Honda rider Sete Gibernau. After a four-way scrap for the lead Rossi turned up the heat on the last lap, and performed a memorable scything pass on Gibernau before the flag. The move was a carbon copy of the one which won him the 125cc grand prix, his first ever GP victory, seven years ago.

    Carlos Checa showed a return to form (and perhaps an improvement in the Yamaha) by taking fourth position after overtaking Max Biaggi while in front of him Troy Bayliss came home third for Ducati for the second consecutive race. Rossi's victory was the 54th of his Grand Prix career, equalling Mick Doohan's tally.

    Result
    1.  Valentino Rossi     44'18.9
    2.  Sete Gibernau           0.0
    3.  Troy Bayliss            0.6
    4.  Carlos Checa            5.3
    5.  Max Biaggi              8.7
    6.  Nicky Hayden           11.0
    7.  Alex Barros            11.4
    8.  Tohru Ukawa            13.5
    9.  Makoto Tamada          23.2
    10. Marco Melandri         26.4
    11. Olivier Jacque         26.6
    12. Colin Edwards          30.7
    13. Noriyuki Haga          39.5
    14. Shinya Nakano          41.2
    15. Ryuichi Kiyonari       44.6
    16. Andrew Pitt            55.4
    17. John Hopkins           55.6
    18. Garry Mccoy          1'00.7
    19. Alex Hofmann         1'08.1
    20. Kenny Roberts        1'14.5
    

    Gibernau wins again at the Sachsenring

    28/7/03: Sete Gibernau got the better of world champion Valentino Rossi to take his fourth MotoGP victory of the 2003 season at a packed Sachsenring circuit. Max Biaggi had been on pole position, with Jeremy McWilliams, riding the two-stroke KR3 bike once more, alongside him. However, neither got off the line well, and Rossi, starting from fourth on the grid, headed the pack into the first corner.

    The Italian star set a blinding pace, pulling out a 3 second lead within as many laps. It looked to be a solo run, but it didn't stay that way. Gibernau moved into second place and clawed back at Rossi's lead, a few tenths at a time. After Gibernau eventually caught up with his rival, Rossi let him pass.

    Neither rider wanted to make a move to early, and they circulate together for a number of laps. Finally, Rossi pulled out and passed Gibernau on the approach to the very last corner. However, a miscalculation saw him run wide, and Gibernau kept a tight line and turned his bike earlier and inside Rossi. As they powered the short distance to the line together Gibernau was able to put the power down earlier, and won by a few feet. After the race Rossi admitted that he had made a silly mistake; it was obvious from his face that he was annoyed with himself (and so he should be).

    Behind the leading pair there was plenty going on. Luckless McWilliams dropped back through the pack with fuel problems, and Biaggi, making ground on the leaders, slid off in dramatic style with another front-end tuck. It seems that his 250-style cornering technique places great demands on the front tyre. This echoes what happened in the 2001 season, when he fell in this manner in several consecutive races.

    Biaggi's loss was Troy Bayliss' gain, and the Australian made his second trip of the year onto the MotoGP podium. The Aprilia team had an awful time, and the Kawasaki and Suzuki teams continued to struggle.

    Result
    1.  Sete Gibernau       42'41.1
    2.  Valentino Rossi         0.0
    3.  Troy Bayliss           13.2
    4.  Loris Capirossi        16.5
    5.  Nicky Hayden           16.5
    6.  Tohru Ukawa            18.7
    7.  Shinya Nakano          18.8
    8.  Carlos Checa           26.1
    9.  Olivier Jacque         28.2
    10. Norick Abe             29.1
    11. Nobuatsu Aoki          29.3
    12. Jeremy Mcwilliams      30.4
    13. Makoto Tamada          49.5
    14. Colin Edwards          53.4
    15. Kenny Roberts          57.5
    16. Garry Mccoy            59.5
    17. Alex Hofmann         1'05.2
    18. Ryuichi Kiyonari     1'05.3
    19. Andrew Pitt           1 Lap
    20. David De Gea          1 Lap
    

    Rossi dominates at Donington, but . . .

    14/07/03: Valentino Rossi secured yet another victory at the British Grand Prix, leading home Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau for an all-Honda podium. The record 70,000 crowd (almost double last year's attendance) were treated to some great races in the hot sun, and the great atmosphere was even better when the pit lane was opened to the crowd for the podium celebrations.

    Rossi qualified in fourth, with Max Biaggi (pole), and a poor start from Rossi saw him in seventh place while Max took the lead. However, Rossi showed his pace very quickly, passing riders like backmarkers, and within a couple of laps was close behind Biaggi.

    The two Honda riders eventually pulled away from Sete Gibernau, and it looked like it would be a close race. However, Biaggi hit a neutral at the Foggy esses, and this provided Rossi with the opportunity. From there the Repsol Honda rider didn't look back, building and retaining a 2 second gap over Biaggi for the rest of the race.

    The two Ducatis of Capirossi and Bayliss took fourth and fifth, while Checa held off a charging Haga to take sixth place. Marco Melandri qualified on the front row and started well, but a lowside at Foggy's ended his race, while fellow Yamaha rider Olivier Jacque highsided dramatically (it could be described as "doing a James Haydon") at the Melbourne hairpin.

    In my mind Rossi is likely to have won even if Max had not found that 'hole' in the gearbox. He had followed the Camel Honda rider closely for several laps without too much effort. To be fair to Biaggi, he still looked like the only rider to be able to match Rossi - they looked to be in a class of their own. Gibernau rode to a solid third, but was unable to bring his lap times down to match the two Italians.

    But the story doesn't end there!   It transpired that Rossi passed Loris Capirossi under a yellow flag, after Tohru Ukawa's crash at Redgate. He was subsequently given a 10 second time penalty that lost him the race.

    Result
    1.  Max Biaggi          46'06.6
    2.  Sete Gibernau           7.1
    3.  Valentino Rossi         8.7
    4.  Loris Capirossi        13.0
    5.  Troy Bayliss           16.2
    6.  Carlos Checa           27.0
    7.  Noriyuki Haga          27.6
    8.  Nicky Hayden           32.0
    9.  Shinya Nakano          34.7
    10. Colin Edwards          35.0
    11. John Hopkins           48.1
    12. Yukio Kagayama       1'00.4
    13. Makoto Tamada        1'06.1
    14. Ryuichi Kiyonari     1'14.8
    15. Nobuatsu Aoki        1'30.2
    16. Garry Mccoy           1 Lap
    17. Andrew Pitt           1 Lap
    

    Gibernau makes it three at wet Assen

    Sete Gibernau led almost the entire race to take an emphatic victory in the wet conditions at Assen, his third of the season. The Honda rider was accompanied by Max Biaggi for much of the race, but the Italian was struggling with rear grip throughout the race and had to settle for second place.

    The conditions meant the field was spread out, the riders tentatively searching for grip on the soaking track. Even Rossi could only manage third place. Both Ducatis struggled in the wet conditions, Bayliss showing his characteristic grit to climb from dead last to ninth after a visit to the gravel trap. Kawasaki test and wildcard rider Hofmann suprised everying by finishing in the top ten, several places above his teammates.

    Result
    1.  Gibernau            42.39.0
    2.  Biaggi                 10.1
    3.  Rossi                  13.8
    4.  Checa                  36.9
    5.  Jacque                 40.3
    6.  Capirossi              42.1
    7.  Edwards                50.5
    8.  Barros                 59.0
    9.  Bayliss              1'33.5
    10. Hofmann              1'36.4
    11. Hayden               1'39.0
    12. Ukawa                1'42.3
    13. Nakano               1'43.6
    14. Pitt                  1 lap
    15. Hopkins               1 lap
    16. Tamada                1 lap
    17. Kiyonari              1 lap
    18. McCoy                 1 lap

    Capirossi makes history in Catalunya

    16/06/03: Loris Capirossi gave Ducati their first MotoGP win for 30 years on Sunday, as he brought the V4 Desmosedici home at the scorching Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in Spain. This achievement is even more striking when you consider that they did not have a working prototype until the middle of 2002.

    Capirossi was challenged for most of the race by Valentino Rossi, but Rossi ran wide twice, the second time going through the gravel trap. He returned to the track in sixth place and put in a string of blistering laps, over a second faster than anyone else, to pass several riders and eventually grasp second place. This was a truly awesome performance, and was a superb demonstration of the Italian's ability.

    Nobu Aoki brought the Proton KR V5 bike home in 16th place - the bike's first finish in only its second race. Disappointingly, the WCM-Harris bike failed scrutineering again.

    Result
    1.  Loris Capirossi     40'00.0
    2.  Valentino Rossi         3.0
    3.  Sete Gibernau           4.3
    4.  Carlos Checa            4.9
    5.  Shinya Nakano           5.0
    6.  Tohru Ukawa            20.5
    7.  Markato Tamada         22.9
    8.  Alex Barros            24.9
    9.  Nicky Hayden           27.1
    10. Troy Bayliss           30.3
    11. Ryuichi Kiyonari       33.1
    12. Noriyuki Haga          40.4
    13. Marco Melandri         40.4
    14. Max Biaggi             42.3
    15. John  Hopkins          48.6

    Rossi pleases home fans at Mugello

    09/06/03: Valentino Rossi led home Loris Capirossi and Max Biaggi to produce an all-Italian podium at the Mugello circuit, the three riders' home Grand Prix. After a typically average start, Rossi managed to catch leaders Capirossi and Biaggi on lap 3, and eventually took the lead on the twelfth lap. From there he managed to eke out a small lead, as his two pursuers swapped places. Once in front of Biaggi, the Ducati rider put his head down, and despite the obvious handling deficiency of his Ducati, was catching Rossi's Honda. After 23 laps a relieved Rossi crossed the finish line 1.4 seconds in front of Capirossi, with Biaggi a further 3 seconds behind.

    During the race Capirossi's Ducati recorded an incredible 206.6mph (332.4km/h) down Mugello's long home straight.

    Suprise result of the day was Tamada's fourth place. The Japanese Honda rider impressed many, and his quickest lap was beaten only by those of Rossi and Capirossi. The Proton team debuted their V5 four-stroke machine, but both riders retired with fuel pump problems.

    Result
    1.  Valentino Rossi     43'28.0
    2.  Loris Capirossi     43'29.4
    3.  Max Biaggi          43'32.5
    4.  Markato Tamada      43'41.2
    5.  Shinya Nakano       43'41.4
    6.  Tohru Ukawa         43'41.6
    7.  Sete Gibernau       43'42.2
    8.  Carlos Checa        43'50.8
    9.  Colin Edwards       44'01.0
    10. Olivier Jacque      44'06.8
    11. Marco Melandri      44'06.9
    12. Nicky Hayden        44'16.6
    13. Ryuichi Kiyonari    44'18.1
    14. Alex Hofmann        44'22.2
    15. Garry McCoy         44'51.2

    Sete grabs the win at Le Mans

    25/05/03: Sete Gibernau sealed his second win of the season at the famous Le Mans circuit today, taking the lead on a dramatic last lap that had everyone guessing. The race was stopped more than once, as rain played havoc with tyre selection. For the 13 laps that counted towards the result Rossi, Gibernau and a rejuvenated Alex Barros pulled away from the rest of the field. Both Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa started from pit lane after a last minute change of tyres. New rules mean that there are no split or aggregate times if a race is stopped and restarted.

    All three podium men looked like they could win, but a decisive move by Gibernau demonstrated his determination after they circulated on a drying circuit with both bone dry and soaking sections. He passed Rossi twice on the last lap, the champ running wide enough to allow Sete, now riding the factory Honda machine, through to take the chequered flag.

    Jeremy McWilliams rode brilliantly to secure the 3-cylinder two stroke Proton's best ever result, as the wet conditions meant the powerful four-strokes could not use their power advantage. He tested the V5 four stroke on Saturday, and the new bike will debut at the next round. See the KR team website for more info and photos. Garry McCoy gave the Kawasaki team something to be cheerful about, bringing the first green bike home in ninth place.

    Both Ducati riders qualified on the front row of the grid, but neither finished the race.

    Result
    1.  Sete Gibernau        24'29.6
    2.  Valentino Rossi          0.1
    3.  Alex Barros              1.7
    4.  Olivier Jacque          29.9
    5.  Max Biaggi              31.4
    6.  Jeremy McWilliams       33.9
    7.  Tohru Ukawa             35.4
    8.  Noriyuki Haga           36.2
    9.  Garry McCoy             51.2
    10. Colin Edwards         1'01.8
    11. Norick Abe             1 lap
    12. Nicky Hayden           1 lap
    13. Ryuichi Kiyonari       1 lap
    14. Shinya Nakano         2 laps
    15. Marco Melandri        2 laps
    16. Kenny Roberts         2 laps

    Rossi dominant in Spain

    Valentino Rossi showed who was boss at the tight Jerez circuit, leading for the entire race and never really challenged. For his championship rivals this must be a difficult thing to consider.

    Result
    1.  Valentino Rossi      46'50.3
    2.  Max Biaggi               6.3
    3.  Troy Bayliss            12.0
    4.  Tohru Ukawa             16.1
    5.  Alex Barros             18.6
    6.  Makoto Tamada           24.1
    7.  John Hopkins            30.9
    8.  Shinya Nakano           31.2
    9.  Nobuatsu Aoki           36.0
    10. Olivier Jacque          37.5
    11. Noriyuki Haga           43.7
    12. Jeremy McWilliams       43.8
    13. Kenny Roberts           48.8
    14. Colin Edwards           52.1
    15. Andrew Pitt           1'08.1
    16. Alex Hofmann          1'08.3
    17. Marco Melandri        1'31.0
    18. Garry McXoy            1 Lap

    Gibernau cheers team in South Africa

    Sete Gibernau took an emotional victory in South Africa, holding off a late charge by Valentino Rossi. The race was delayed after Kenny Roberts' Suzuki leaked oil onto the track during the warm-up lap. Then a startline fluff by Nakano ended with both Colin Edwards and Jeremy McWilliams on the floor and unable to continue.

    The first third of the race saw WSB champion Troy Baliss leading on the Ducati. Gibernau subsequently took charge of the race, and looked to be in control. Rossi slowly caught and passed other riders, having chosen hard tyres to cope with the dusty track, which is particularly hard on tyres. Rossi, who had swapped places with Bayliss a number of times during the race, caught the Spaniard at the rate of half a second a lap, but was unable to get on terms before the chequered flag. Gibernau gave his Telfonica Movistar team something to celebrate less than a week after the death of his popular teammate Daijiro Kato.

    Chris Burns' Harris WCM bike was excluded on Friday for a technical infringement, after FIM scrutineers deemed the crankcase to be "based on a production model". FIM rules state all such items must be prototypes.

    Result
    1.   Sete Gibernau       44'10.3
    2.   Valentino Rossi         0.3
    3.   Max Biaggi              5.0
    4.   Troy Bayliss           12.6
    5.   Alex Barros            18.9
    6.   Tohru Ukawa            19.1
    7.   Nicky Hayden           20.1
    8.   Norick Abe             20.8
    9.   Carlos Checa           22.1
    10.  Olivier Jacque         25.2
    11.  Shinya Nakano          35.9
    12.  Nobuatsu Aoki          39.2
    13.  John Hopkins           50.2
    14.  Makoto Tamada        1'01.4
    15.  Kenny Roberts        1'04.1
    16.  Andrew Pitt          1'23.0
    17.  Garry Mccoy           1 Lap
    In the 250cc race 16 year old Welsh schoolboy Chaz Davies became the youngest rider ever to score points in the class. Chaz rides for the Aprilia Germany racing team.

    Kato has died

    19/04/03: Gresini Racing announced that Daijiro Kato has died as a result of the injuries he sustained in a crash at the Japanese grand prix.

    KR V5 to wait until Jerez

    18/04/03: as expected, Team Roberts will wait until the Jerez GP to field their V5 four-stroke GP bike. The 3-cylinder two-stroke will be raced in South Africa.

    Ducati test at Mugello

    15/04/03: The Ducati team tested at the Italian circuit of Mugello this week, in the break between the Japanese and South African Grands Prix. Several hundred Ducatisti (the passionate fans of the marque) went to watch, the first time the circuit had been open to the public for a team's practice.

    Rossi takes pole and victory at Suzuka

    06/04/03: Valentino Rossi underlined his position as favourite for 2003 the MotoGP title with a convincing win at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. The start saw Checa, Capirossi, Biaggi and Rossi get a good start, and after a few laps the three Italians pulled away while Checa dropped back through the pack. Rossi took the lead on lap five and was never challenged, pulling away gradually to gain a 6 second lead over Biaggi and Capirossi by the end of the race.

    Troy Bayliss impressed on the second Ducati, coming home in fifth ahead of Aprilia's Colin Edwards and Honda rookie Nicky Hayden. Alex Barros gritted his teeth and managed to finish in eighth place after a heavy fall in the morning warm-up.

    The Moriwaki Racing team also made its public race debut at the Japanese GP with their RCV-powered MD211VF, ridden by Tamaki Serizawa.

    Japanese Honda star Dajiro Kato crashed badly in the early part of the race, and at the time of writing was in a coma and fighting for his life.

    Result
    1.   Valentino Rossi     44'13.1
    2.   Max Biaggi	             6.4
    3.   Loris Capirossi         8.2
    4.   Sete Gibernau          13.2
    5.   Troy Bayliss           23.0
    6.   Colin Edwards          29.0
    7.   Nicky Hayden           29.1
    8.   Alex Barros            30.5
    9.   Shinya Nakano          33.4
    10.  Carlos Checa           40.2
    11.  Norick Abe             44.7
    12.  Noriyuki Haga        1'03.3
    13.  John Hopkins         1'03.9
    14.  Kenny Roberts        1'04.0
    15.  Olivier Jacque       1'09.9
    16.  Garry McCoy          1'16.5
    17.  Andrew Pitt          1'17.3
    18.  Akira Yanagawa       1'23.6
    19.  Tamaki Serizawa      1'35.4
    20.  Tohru Ukawa          1'57.1
    
    

    Melandri breaks leg in Suzuka practice

    04/04/03: A fall during Friday practice for the 2003 Suzuka GP has ended with Yamaha rider Marco Melandri being sent to hospital with a suspected double fracture of his right leg. It will probably mean he cannot ride for at least two months.

    * * * For older GP1 four-stroke news visit the 2001 and 2002 news archive pages. Click here for current MotoGP news.

    Weight limits for the class

    Cylinders  Weight
    3135kg
    4-5145kg
    6155kg


    The two-strokes were restricted to a maximum of 500cc, 4 cylinders, and 131kg.

    Relevant links
    Lots of MotoGP news from crash.net
    Honda Grand Prix
    Yamaha Racing
    Suzuki Racing
    Ducati World Championship racing
    Aprilia Racing
    Gresini Racing
    Harris WCM
    Eurosport MotoGP coverage
    Team KR news of Team Roberts and the MotoGP championship
    Kawasaki Racing MotoGP team
    Comprehensive results archive from Europark.com


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