Loris Capirossi 2nd - "My start was perfect but Kenny pushed me wide at the first turn, that pushed me down to sixth and it's so difficult to overtake here. I just kept trying and finally I got with Rossi for the last ten laps. He rode so well, he didn't make a single mistake and even though my tyres were 100 per cent I couldn't get close enough to pass. But I'm happy enough, second is fantastic."

Tohru Ukawa 3rd - "I'm so happy, to climb on to the podium in my second 500 GP is really great, the early laps weren't so easy, but the bike was coming better and so I was able to attack later."

Shinya Nakano 4th - “I got a good start, but like in Japan maybe I was a little hesitant in the first part of the race. At least I was with the lead group, and in the end when I started to feel better and the bike was still working well I began to ride it harder. When I began my attack I made it past Kenny, and then went after Norick. Eventually I passed him too, but Tohru Ukawa (Honda), who was in third was just too far away and so was a podium finish. I’m happy to be the first Yamaha home and running equal third in the championship.”

Norick Abe 5th - “I’m not so happy about that race. Sure it was a good result but I felt that with the way I was riding I could have won the race. It was looking good when I worked my way past Rossi and took the lead, but then my front tyre began to slide a lot. I nearly crashed twice trying to stay there, that’s why I eventually lost time and those positions. It’s a tyre that I like, and it seems to work everywhere, but maybe not here.”

Alex Criville 6th - “The start was a pity, and I wasn’t too happy with my position on the third row of the grid yesterday, because I knew in advance that it was going to be very difficult to stop the leading group from making the break. In the first lap, Sete almost crashed in front of me and I had to hit the brakes a bit, which was enough to allow the others to open up a gap of two seconds. After that, when I started to make up ground, the crashes of Haga and McCoy left fuel on the track, and from this moment on, it was impossible to get closer to the front group. If I had gotten a normal start, I’m sure that I could have made the podium. But I’m happy anyway, because as the weekend went on, I felt better on the bike.”

Kenny Roberts 7th - "That was hard work - but I feel I rode a good race, and got the best result possible. I didn't have any particular problems. I thought at one stage I had damaged a tyre, but it was fine. You always get out what you put in, and we haven't put in as much development as the other machines. I went much faster than last year. The problem was, so did everyone else."

Max Biaggi 8th “Mama mia that was a bad start. Everything that could have happened on the first lap did. Someone almost crashed after the second turn and I had to slow to avoid them. I lost so much time. Then I was stuck behind (Alex) Barros (Honda) and although he’s hard to pass I managed it eventually. Then I tried to get Kenny on the last lap and nearly crashed. Our set-up wasn’t quite right here. It meant I couldn’t ride the way I wanted and that made the race very difficult for me to improve.”

Sete Gibernau 10th - "I got a good start and I was pretty happy - but then there was a big melee in the early corners, and I got the worst of it. Somebody ran into me, and when I got going again I was right at the back. I tried to come back, but I was really pushing the front and losing time again. So I decided to settle down, look for my pace, and make sure I finished the race."

Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh 11th - "It was not our weekend. I really needed to get a good start, but I had some trouble with the clutch grabbing on the warm-up lap. I said to myself then: That's it for me. At the start I took it to peak revs and dropped the clutch. It just grabbed, and the engine bogged down, and I was very slow away. I was able to make up some positions, but of course there was no chance of getting in the group of V4s. They had already gone. Then I also had some problems with the gear shifting - the speed shifter seemed to cut out, and I was having to shut off every lap. The engine was not running very well either - I lost about 300 or 400rpm. I'd also chosen a slightly softer rear tyre - I thought I would get away with it, but I didn't. With all this, I just had to make the most of it. I did the best I could - but I'm not very happy."

Olivier Jacque 16th - “I was getting ready for the start but I didn’t expect the clutch to grab as quickly as it did. It meant that I jumped the start and had to come back in for the stop and go. It made it really difficult to get back in the points, but apart from that it was a good race. I managed to finish even though my wrist is hurting now, and gave the bike and myself a good workout. It’s just what I needed.”

José Luis Cardoso 13th - “It was a much better day for me than at Suzuka. I finished the race and that’s always a good start. The bike was also working better. The changes that we made this morning made a big difference. All I need now is to clock up a few more miles on the bike.”

Garry McCoy DNF 11 laps: “That didn’t go quite to plan. I just couldn’t get off the turns the way I needed to make the passes I wanted. I was being held up under brakes almost everywhere, but because I lost so much time off the turns I just spent my time playing catch up under brakes. When I saw that Rossi and that were making a break after passing Roberts I thought I had to take a chance to get by. Guess it didn’t work too well.”

Noriyuki Haga DNF 24 laps: “This was not a good day. I high-sided coming out of the right-hander and couldn’t do anything about it. My feeling was that I didn’t have the grip I needed to make the passes. I could stay with them, but not get past. I’m still trying to get the front exactly how I like it, and though it’s getting better I still didn’t want to push too hard under brakes. The crash looked worse that what it was, and though I’ve hurt my left hand I will be fine for the next race.”