Alex Barros 2nd - "At the beginning of the race conditions were really hard and that made it very difficult to choose the right tyres. With the combination I had no options against the riders using slicks but I did my best to get a good result. I am happy with this second position, which compensates me after my bad result in Estoril. Now I hope to be as competitive in the next four races as I have been here."

Kenny Roberts 3rd - "I wasn't the quickest guy on a Suzuki today, and the main thing is to congratulate Sete. This was a very tough race - the sort you have to win with your head. And that's what happened. The team did a great job. In the beginning, it was like riding on ice. I didn't want to jump off when I was sure it would get dry. I had slightly different tyres than Sete - I chose a softer compound. If the track had still been grimy after it dried, my tyres would have been better. As it was, the harder compound worked better, and that's what made the difference ... with six laps left, my race was run. I'm trying to be realistic about this, but it was a fun race, and it's good to be on the rostrum again."

Carlos Checa 4th - "Coming from last in those conditions was really scary. It was like riding on ice, the rear spinning up all the time. I did my best but lost the race on the warm-up lap. The track conditions were unbelievable, I just touched the throttle and the bike went away. Once we’d started I just concentrated on doing my best lap by lap, and that was all I could do. I tried to catch the guys up front and I was closing quite fast at some stages but during the last laps I realised it would be impossible to catch them, unless someone made a mistake."

Olivier Jacque 5th - "The beginning of that race was like riding around on glass. We were going so slow that it felt like the bike just wanted to fall over, but we had to. Then the track started to dry out and I was able to begin working on a rhythm. It's about this point I started making up most of the time, but I think I left it a little too late. I tried to pull in the lead group but near the end I lost the front a few times, the cut slick couldn't handle the pace so I just settled for fifth. Even so I'm happy because this was my first wet race on the 500."

Tohru Ukawa 6th - "I think that today I did the worst first lap of my life. I started very poorly, and when I arrived at the first corner, Capirossi and then Cardoso crashed. I had to brake in order to avoid hitting them, and several other riders got past me. On the second corner of the first lap, the same thing happened all over again with Haga and Aoki, which definitely opened up a huge gap between the front runners and the group I was in. From that moment on, I tried to maintain a constant pace, and I was able to recover some positions. It was a very difficult race, the track was extremely slippery, and up to mid-race, when the track finally dried up, I couldn't ride safely at all. Today, the track dried up a bit late, it's a real shame."

Shinya Nakano 7th - "I managed a great start, but I lost concentration when I saw Capirossi crash. By the time I'd gotten it all together again too many other riders had past me. Considering all of it I'm happy. I made a full race distance without any pain from my wrist. At least I now know I am back physically, and I'm looking forward to Japan."

Norick Abe 8th - "The start was so slippery. I needed a good start but all I did was wheel spin all the way down the straight. I couldn't believe it; I thought I was going backwards. Then as the race wore on things began to improve, the track was slowly drying and I was able to start making up for the ground I'd lost. That was until there was nearly a completely dry line. At this point of the race the front intermediate tyre I was using just began to push on every corner."

Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh 9th - "That was the strangest race ever! It was very, very slippery at the beginning - two people even fell off on the warm-up lap. I went very carefully - perhaps I could have tried harder, but there was a very big risk of hitting the floor. It must have looked funny to see 500s going so slowly, but it was very difficult to ride with the revs so low, right out of the power band. I even had to slip the clutch out of some corners. As it dried I was able to catch the guys in front of me, but by the time I got there I had used the best of my rear tyre. I could only hang on the back, and wait for somebody to make a mistake. Even though I was faster round the right-hand corners, it was still very difficult to pass. I enjoyed the race, but it was very unusual."

Max Biaggi 10th - "There were a lot of guys falling off, it was like riding on ice, I had to stay upright, it was vital not to crash. When I saw Capirossi crash at the first turn I knew Rossi was my target, and when I saw I was closing on him I pushed harder. Even one point can make the difference and anyway, it’s good for morale. Congratulations to Sete, he must’ve ridden a very brave race, though the guys up front aren’t fighting for the championship so they could take more risks. It’s a shame this is the last race in Europe. We now start a long journey with four ‘flyaway’ races and they can always be difficult. No matter, I’ll keep trying to the end."

Valentino Rossi 11th - "So much effort for so little return. We came here for private testing, we made four sessions of testing and found a good set-up for the machine and in the morning warm up I was fastest and put together some laps at a very good pace. Then the rain ruined everything. It came just at the right moment, at the end of final qualifying practice and today just before the race. We had to choose a conservative tyre solution, thinking of the championship so we put on intermediate tyres so we did not to risk too much in the first few laps when the track surface was really slippery. Of course when the track dried the other riders with slick rear tyres were much faster and I just had to accept the situation and make sure I reached the end of the race and score some points. If I look at the championship the result of today is not so bad because I only dropped one point and 42 points advantage with one race less to do is not too bad."

Garry McCoy 12th - "We ran a slick rear and an intermediate front with a soft dry setting and the bike seemed fine. Unfortunately on the 5th or 6th lap I had a big slide and hit my right thigh really hard with the end of the footrest. For a couple of laps my leg was completely numb and when the feeling came back it hurt so much that I couldn't load the right peg at all. In a way I was happy just to get to the end, but you couldn't call it a great day."

Anthony West 13th - "I started with a full dry set-up and the bike was a real handful in the first laps when it was still wet. I ended up almost last – everyone was going so slowly it must have looked like a joke! Even then people were still crashing and I didn't know how hard to push it. Going so slowly the engine kept fouling up. You need to rev the 'Twin' to clear it out, and it still takes half a lap to get it going cleanly. When it started to dry you couldn't really see how dry it was. This track has a sort of sandy coloured surface that doesn't show the wet patches clearly. For the last half (of the race) there was a fully dry line and the bike felt good. I was able to give it a decent try and get some good laps in. The trouble was it was a bit late by then. I needed the track to dry out sooner than it did."

Leon Haslam 16th - "I was praying for more rain but the track dried out much faster than I thought it would which wasn't good for our tyre choice. But definitely at the start you needed wets and I got up to 13th on the third lap although it was a bit of nightmare, I had to barge my way past a couple of guys. Once the track was as dry I just had to be cautious there was nothing I could to compete against the guys on slicks at that stage."

Brendan Clarke DNF - "It was a short race for me although and I made a good start and I don't mind a wet track so I was feeling comfortable. When I crashed the bike was still running when I picked it up but the gear lever was broken so it was difficult to shift. I managed to do another 12 laps but then the foot peg broke and the bike was jammed in gear, maybe first, because it was revving pretty hard so I had to stop."

Nori Haga DNF - "I went out with an intermediate front and a slick rear and the suspension backed off a little and the bike felt good. Unfortunately I gave it a little too much gas a little too early. A pity because I got a good start and like these kind of conditions."

Loris Capirossi DNF - "What could I possibly say after a day like this? It is of course a day to forget. I mounted a rain tyre on the front and an intermediate on the rear and, under those conditions I should have taken advantage at the beginning and been in the top positions."

Alex Criville DNF - "I remained very calm and collected at the start of the race, because I know these sort of races, and I didn't want to be within a crash scene in the first corners. When the track dried up halfway through the race, I upped the pace and I saw that I got closer to the front runners of the race. When I reached them, I overtook Sete, but he re-passed me again, and this game went on for a while. Then when we got close to Rossi, Sete took the inside line braking into a left-hand corner, and I had to leave some space and run a bit wide, but got onto a damp section and couldn't avoid a crash. I could have won this race, I made a good tyre choice, and I caught up with the leading group easily."

José Luis Cardoso DNF - "I was racing well, but it only lasted for two laps! I think I need to do that for a little bit longer if I want to get better results. I managed a great start and the bike felt good, even with slicks on. When Haga came through to make the pass I tried to get off the turn a little harder and the back just came around on me. We didn't touch but I think the same happened to him."