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2004 MotoGP 

RIDER CHANGES: 2005

Bayliss dropped by Ducati

Edwards to join Yamaha

Checa joins Ducati

WINNER, ROSSI (YAMAHA): "... To win nine races has been unbelievable for everybody and we also won the team award, which was not so bad either! The finish of the season was perfect for us, three in a row. It was more difficult for me today than in Sepang and Phillip Island because I find this track worse than them. I slid at the start and lost some time but after two or three laps I was able to recover. Tamada was looking very strong, and I had a tough fight with him until he slowed and dropped back. My rhythm improved and I was able to push 100% to the end. Then there was a fight with Biaggi behind, and he was very strong. It is unbelievable to win here, and wonderful in front of this crowd. This year really has been unforgettable for me, my mechanics and Yamaha."

2ND, BIAGGI (HONDA): "... Second place isn’t the perfect result to end the season but it’s satisfying nonetheless. The race was exciting, tough, and hard-fought especially on the first few laps. Straight away I found myself battling with Tamada, Hayden, Bayliss and Gibernau until a bit of a risky manoeuvre from the latter meant I nearly crashed. Luckily I saw him coming and I was able to brake and run a little wider. The fight-back was difficult but I enjoyed it too. Thanks to Honda and my team. They always have worked as hard as they could to get me into the best shape possible."

3RD, BAYLISS (DUCATI): "... You probably haven't seen me smile like this for a while ... It's been a tough year for me and everyone at Ducati but the bike has come good in the second half of the season. And after we tested some new stuff at Phillip Island it's felt like a new bike for me. I was a little cautious at the start, because it's not been my year, so I was a little cautious while Sete (Gibernau) and Tamada were up the inside like crazy. After that it was a really good race. I really wanted to have a go at Max but in the end I thought third was better than putting it in the dirt. I've had some great years with Ducati, with some great times together, so it's nice to leave on a happy note. I wish them all the best for the future, I know they're going to have a strong bike in 2005."

• 1 Valentino Rossi, Yamaha 30 laps
• 2 Max Biaggi , Honda +0.425
• 3 Troy Bayliss , Ducati +3.1
• 4 Sete Gibernau, Honda +6.1
• 5 Makoto Tamada, Honda
• 6 Barros, Honda
• 7 Nakano, Kawasaki
• 8 Edwards, Honda
• 9 Capirossi, Ducati
• 10 Abe, Yamaha
• 11 Hofman 12 Hopkins 13 McWilliams 14 Checa 15 Hodgson 16 McCoy 17 Lavilla 18 Aoki 19 Ellison

POLE, TAMADA (HONDA): "... We used soft tyres to make the fast time, that’s all I can say. It was a great lap and the pole came with it. We have done so much work adapting to the constant changes in the track conditions on these first two days. We still have a few details to sort out, but we have the warm-up tomorrow to do that. It’s the race where I really have to do well though.”

2ND, BIAGGI (HONDA): "... Between yesterday and today we have really made a big step forward with the set-up and at the crucial moment I made the most of the qualifying tyres also. It’s a shame that on my fast lap I had Hayden in front of me, because he was riding a lot slower at the time. He immediately got off the racing line, but when it’s this tight for pole position, even thousandths of a second make a big difference. Anyway, the most important thing is that I feel good on the bike and I’ll be setting off from the front row tomorrow. Perhaps in the warm up we will make a few slight modifications but it’s just some little tweaks. I have to thank the team and Honda for the hard work they’ve done these past days.”

3rd, ROSSI (YAMAHA): "... I hope we are ready for the last race of the season. We had a lot of problems during practice, it was a difficult one. I thought my M1 would be very good straight away on this track, but we have had more problems than we expected. Even with that I am happy because the bike is better, the feeling is not so bad, I am on the front row and we have worked very well. I think we are not at 100% yet but we still have tomorrow morning. I think we will have the same good weather as today so I hope we can make a good race."

• 1 Makoto Tamada Honda Bridgestone 1m 32.8 (2003 pole Rossi, 1m 32.478)
• 2 Max Biaggi , Honda 1m 32.8
• 3 Valentino Rossi, Yamaha 1m 32.913
• 4 Sete Gibernau Honda
• 5 Hayden
• 6 Bayliss
• 7 Hopkins
• 8 Edwards
• 9 Checa
• 10 Nakano
• 11 Hofmann 12 Barros 13 Capirossi 14 McWilliams 15 Abe 16 Melandri 17 Xaus 18
  Hodgson 19 Lavilla 20 McCoy 21 Aoki 22 Jacque 23 Ellison 24 Roberts 25 Burns

2nd Tamada (Honda):"... The temperatures were higher than in the morning and in fact we found some good set-up solutions in the afternoon. Despite this, we still have a few things to test to get up to full speed. So tomorrow I will try to improve a few things; on the tyre front I’m satisfied and if the temperature improves compared to today, we even have other tyre solutions to test.”

3rd Rossi (Yamaha): "... The bike wasn't so much fun to ride today, it's too cold and when I was accelerating the bike was difficult to control. There was an annoying wind on the track and the bike felt a bit nervous because of it. Now we will look at the data and try to find somewhere to improve our set-up. We are third so that's not so bad. We did start to reduce the problems this afternoon and the bike felt a bit stronger, and my motivation is still high. Our objective is now to do our maximum to be ready for Sunday's battle."

4th Bayliss (Ducati): "... That wasn't bad, we're going okay for the first day ... But we've got to work some more on the rear end because at the moment we're working the tyre too much. If we can fix that we'll be right, just another small step tomorrow and I'll be happy. I'm reasonably happy anyway, though on my second qualifying run I lost the front a couple of times which cost me some time going into those turns, which also lost me some drive on the way out, but the lap time still wasn't that bad."

• 1 Sete Gibernau Honda 1m 33.531 (2003 pole Rossi, 1m 32.478)
• 2 Makoto Tamada Honda Bridgestone +0.003s
• 3 Valentino Rossi, Yamaha +0.26
• 4 Troy Bayliss , Ducati +0.57
• 5 Max Biaggi , Honda
• 6 Loris Capirossi , Ducati
• 7 Colin Edwards , Honda
• 8 John Hopkins , Suzuki
• 9 Shinya Nakano , Kawasaki
• 10 Alex Barros , Honda
• 11 Checa 12 Hofmann 13 Xaus 14 Hayden 15 Abe 16 McWilliams 17 Melandri 18 Lavilla 19 Aoki 20 Hodgson

• ROSSI (YAMAHA) 2004 champion: "...We will have another great battle in Valencia ... but for sure I am staying with Yamaha next year. It is going to be hard next year because Sete and Max will be on factory Hondas, and will come back very strong. But we too will be even stronger than this year, because we have all the data from the full season"

• BIAGGI (HONDA) 3RD in standing: "... Ricardo Tormo is not among my favourite tracks for the circuit itself at least; it’s too slow and twisty. Next year they should be making it faster and this is good because even if the track doesn’t excite me, the atmosphere certainly does with a brilliant crowd who follow you over the whole lap. Racing in Spain is always special because of the passion amongst the fans there. The last races over the intercontinental trip weren’t brilliant and now I want to get a top result. The track isn’t difficult from a technical point of view and in the tests in December 2003 we went quite well. We hope to find that kind of form again and fight for the win in this race."

• TAMADA (HONDA): "... I really like the fast circuits, with the long bends and quick changes of direction, but Valencia is quite different to all of that. Although, I don’t particularly dislike it, perhaps because in the winter tests I went quite well, I felt comfortable there. The last two races haven’t gone as I expected, so I really want to prove myself now. Both the Malaysian and the Australian GPs saw me having to recover positions on the early laps. Given that it’s even more important to be up with the front group early on in Valencia, with the track being so tight, you have to qualify well and then make a good start. I’m hoping for both!

• BARROS (HONDA): "...I still have a great belief in my ability and go to every race believing we can win. We have to do this and I remember well the last race of the season two years ago when we had a fantastic battle with Valentino and we won the race. I still have the same feeing and the same hunger to go out and win. We have been trying to do this all season but without success. I like the layout of the track at Valencia and it is great to race in front of such a huge crowd – a real festival atmosphere. I know the championship is over but I am still proud and although it is impossible to climb higher in the final riders standings I don’t want to slip a place at the last race so will give as usual 100% effort for the whole weekend.”