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2003
MANUFACTURER CHAMPION: HONDA
; its 15th title and 3rd consecutive win
-
Ducati
in its debut season finished 2nd overall with 1 win, 9 podiums, 3
poles. It also set the fastest speed record ( 332 kph at Italian GP)
2003
MOTOGP FINAL STANDING
- 1 ROSSI,
357 pts
- 2 GIBERNAU,
277
- 3 BIAGGI,
228
- 4 CAPIROSSI 177
- 5 HAYDEN 130
- 6 BAYLISS, 128
- 7 UKAWA 123 ; =7
CHECA 123
- 250cc
& 125cc GP
ROSSI
RECEIVED NEW CHAMPION'S TROPHY:
4 times
world champion Valentino Rossi received the inaugural "
RIDE THE WORLD" trophy during the official IRTA pre-season
test at Barcelona (March 27, 2004). The trophy designed by Lorenzo Quinn
will be awarded to world champion (MotoGP) each season. It is 70cm high
and weighs 30kg. A detailed bronze carving depicts the history of motorcycle
Grand Prix, while the titanium/carbon-fibre base represents the state-of-the-art
technology.
ROSSI: "... I like the trophy and I hope to have my name
inscribed on it many more times ... It reminds me of the Indy
Car trophy and I think it's a good idea. Hopefully I will have a few
more of these replica models to fill my house before the end of my career"
2003
MotoGP RACE RESULTS:
-
R16
of 16, VALENCIA, SPAIN, Nov 2
*** final race of 2003 *** - Rossi wins (9th
win)
-
R15
of 16, PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, Oct 19 -
Rossi wins (8th win)
-
R14
of 16, SEPANG, MALAYSIA, Oct 12
- Rossi wins (7th win)
*** ROSSI WINS 2003 CHAMPIONSHIP ***
" ...I'm
very, very happy .... It
was a good fight throughout the year, winning some and losing
some ... We were quite consistent and so we were able to finish
first .."
-
R13
of 16, MOTEGI, JAPAN, Oct 5 - Biaggi wins
(start of 3 races in 3 weeks: Japan, Malaysia, Australia)
-
R12
of 16, RIO, BRAZIL, Sept 20 - Rossi wins (6th
win)
*** HONDA WINS MANUFACTURER CHAMPIONSHIP ***
-
R11
of 16, ESTORIL, PORTUGAL, Sept 7 - Rossi wins
(5th win)
-
R10
of 16, BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC, Aug 17 - Rossi wins
(4th win)
-
R9
of 16, SACHSENRING, GERMANY, July 27 - Gibernau
wins (4th
win)
** GRID: 1 Biaggi 2 McWilliams +0.002s the closest gap ever
in premier class **
-
R8
of 16, DONINGTON, UK, July 13 - Biaggi wins **
Rossi's win overturned after the race **
-
R7
of 16, ASSEN, NETHERLAND, June 28 - Gibernau wins
*** SATURDAY RACE ***
-
R6
of 16, CATALUNYA, SPAIN, June 15 -
Capirossi wins ** maiden win for Ducati **
-
R5
of 16, MUGELLO, ITALY, June 8 - Rossi wins (3rd
win)
-
-
-
-
MANUFACTURER
STANDING:
-
1
Honda 370 (2003 CHAMPION)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
16
ROUND CHAMPIONSHIP (April 6 - Nov 2)
-
ALL
ROUNDS IN 2003 CALENDAR ARE IDENTICAL TO LAST YEAR
- THERE
ARE NO CHANGES TO VENUE OR RACE ORDER.
CAPIROSSI'S
SPEED RECORD
During Friday Qualifying at Mugello (Italian GP), Capirossi
was quickest by setting the fastest speed ever on a Grand Prix bike.
Since joining the new Ducati team this year, Loris Capirossi has broken
the speed record twice:
- top
record speed of 328.9 kph / 205 mph (Capirossi, Ducati
4 stroke); June 6, 2003, qualifying at Mugello, Italian GP
-
top record speed of 325.9 kph / 202.5 mph (Capirossi,
Ducati 4 stroke); March 15, 2003, IRTA pre season test
- top
record record: 324.5 kph / 201.6 mph (Ukawa, Honda
4 stroke) at Mugello Italian GP 2002
QUOTE
PRE SEASON: ROSSI (2002 CHAMPION): " .... This year everybody
is ready to fight from the beginning of the season and this championship
will be thrilling ... I think it will be impossible to win the same
number of races as last year (he won 11 out of 16 last year) ... Max
Biaggi will be my first and strongest rival and it will be fantastic
to fight with the same bike ... "
2ND
YEAR OF 4 STROKE 1000cc GP BIKES
All bikes this season are 4 strokes except Proton KR team which
will start with 2 stroke until its new 4 stroke bike becomes available
later in the year.
FINAL
PRE-SEASON IRTA TEST, SUZUKA, MAR 31, 2003
- 1
Rossi, Honda, 2m 4.17 (vs 2002 pole 2m 4.226)
- 2
Ukawa, Honda +0.189s
- 3
Biaggi, Honda +0.397
- BEST
HONDA: Rossi, 1st
- BEST
YAMAHA: Barros, 4th
- BEST
APRILIA: Edwards, 7th
- BEST
DUCATI: Capirossi, 8th
FINAL
PRE-SEASON IRTA TEST, CATALUNYA, MAR 31, 2003
- 1
Capirossi, Ducati, 1m 43.634 (vs 2002 pole 1: 44.523)
- 2
Barros, Yamaha, 1m 44.154s +0.52s
- 3
Rossi, Honda, 1m 44.324 +0.69s
- BEST
HONDA: Rossi, 3rd
- BEST
YAMAHA: Barros, 2nd
- BEST
SUZUKI: Hopkins, 13th
- BEST
DUCATI: Capirossi, 1st
- BEST
KAWASAKI: McCoy, 17th
- BEST
PROTON: McWilliams, 15th
- BEST
ROOKIE RIDER: Melandri, Yamaha, 8th
2003
RIDER / TEAM CHANGES
- Major
Manufacturer changes MotoGP 2003:
DUCATI - MotoGP debut
riders: Capirossi, Bayliss
KAWASAKI - return for first full season
riders: Pitt, McCoy
- Major
Rider changes MotoGP 2003:
HAYDEN - MotoGP debut by Nikcy Hayden (AMA US superbike champion 2002)
BAYLISS - MotoGP debut by Troy Bayliss (world superbike champion 2001)
EDWARDS - MotoGP debut by Colin Edwards (world superbike champion 2002)
PITT - MotoGP debut by Andrew Pitt (world supersport champion 2001)
MELANDRI - MotoGP debut by 2002 250cc world champion
McCOY - change from Yamaha to Kawasaki
BARROS - change from Honda to Yamaha factory team
BIAGGI - change from Yamaha to Honda Pons team
HOPKINS - change from Yamaha to Suzuki factory team
ABE - will becomes factory Yamaha test and developement rider
KIYONARI - Ryuichi Kiyonari joins Honda replacing the late Daijiro Kato
- 250cc,
125cc riders in 2003
QUOTES
BEFORE 2003 SEASON OPENER
VIEWS
OF MICK DOOHAN: (General Manager Honda Racing; 5 times world
500cc champion)
- re
MANUFACTURERS " .... This year we're going to see a greater
variety of manufacturers than ever before, with Ducati coming in, Kawasaki
committing to a full season, and Aprilia expanding to a two-rider team
.... During the era of 500cc two-stroke bikes the championship was mostly
between the Japanese manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki, with the
likes of Cagiva joining in from time to time, and then Kenny (Roberts)
with his Modenas and Proton bikes ......The switch to four-stroke motorcycles
was always going to attract more manufacturer interest, and all these
extra works bikes mean greater depth in the racing. Finishing in the
top 10 is going to be much harder than last year when there was a mixture
of four-stroke and two-stroke 500cc machines ...
- re
TESTING .. It's difficult to read too much into what we've
seen in testing. Rossi and Honda have been consistent, Barros has been
the quickest guy on the Yamahas most of the time, and Ducati are putting
in some competitive lap times ..
- re
HONDA .. Honda has won eight championships in the past 10 years
and will mount a strong campaign. The 2003-spec bike is an evolution
of what Honda ran last season. Things like the clutch, which was a bit
of a problem, have been improved. Basically everything has been refined
... Sometimes you hear people say Rossi might have an advantage over
the other Honda riders because he's in the official factory team. However,
I don't agree because Barros beat Rossi a few times on a so-called 'customer'
bike last year ...
- re
BIAGGI .... Max Biaggi is back on a Honda this year and I'm
sure he's keen to beat Rossi. So far Biaggi's results haven't been as
good as Rossi's in 500s and MotoGP, so it will be interesting to see
what happens with this rivalry ....
- re
YAMAHA .... Yamaha haven't won a championship since '92 with
Wayne Rainey, but they should be the main opposition for the leading
Honda riders ..
- re
SUZUKI, KAWASAKI, DUCATI .... It's hard to predict how Suzuki
or Kawasaki will go. Maybe they will be more competitive in race-trim
than they've been in testing. Time will tell ... Ducati have created
a lot of interest. They probably don't have the resources of some of
the Japanese manufacturers, but they know how to put together a winning
program, which they've shown in the World Superbike Championship and
elsewhere ..
- re
RIDERS..... Capirossi will be quick on occasions on the Ducati,
as we've seen in testing, but Bayliss could be more consistent over
the season in terms of race results ..... The development of some of
the younger riders, such as Suzuki's John Hopkins, Rossi's new team
mate Nicky Hayden, and last season's 250cc world champion Marco Melandri
will be interesting. They are all good riders, and MotoGP needs a progression
of talent. ...
- re
OPENING RACE .....Looking at this Sunday's race it's difficult
to know what will happen, especially when there's always a chance of
wet weather at Suzuka at this time of year .... "
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