• This will be the 10th South African Grand Prix. In 1983/84/85 and 1992 the races were held at the Kyalami circuit. For the last five years the GP has been held at Welkom.
   
• Yamaha riders won the 500cc race at the first two visits to the Welkom circuit, Max Biaggi in 1999 and Garry McCoy in 2000. Honda have won for the last three years, with Valentino Rossi in 2001, Tohru Ukawa in 2002 and Sete Gibernau last year. Kenny Roberts’ sixth place finish in South Africa in 2000 is the best result by a Suzuki rider at the Welkom circuit.
   
• A podium finish for any of the Yamaha riders in South Africa would bring to an end the longest run of races in the premier-class without a top-three finish for the Yamaha since they entered the class with a factory supported team in 1973. The last Yamaha rider to finish on the podium was Alex Barros at the French GP last year, this being the only podium finish by a Yamaha rider in 2003.
   
• Valentino Rossi won the 250cc race in South Africa in 1999. He scored the fastest race lap in 2000, on what was his debut in the 500cc class, before crashing out on lap 12. Rossi’s victory in 2001 came after
  starting from pole for the first time in the premier-class. Welkom is one of only three circuits in this year’s calendar where Rossi has not won since the introduction of the four-stroke machines at the start of 2002; the others being Motegi and the Doha circuit in Qatar that is being used for the first time this year.
   
• If Valentino Rossi should win on his first race aboard a Yamaha he will re-write the record books and also bring to an end a barren spell for the manufacturer:
  • If he should win in South Africa he will become the first ever rider to take back-to-back victories in the premier-class riding machines from two different manufacturers.
  • A victory at Welkom would make him the first rider in the premier-class since Barry Sheene (1976, 77, 78 & 79) to win the opening race of the season for four years in succession.
  • A win for Rossi would also be the first for Yamaha in the premier-class since Max Biaggi won in Malaysia in 2002. This 18 race period without a win is the second longest for Yamaha since they entered the premier-class with factory machines back in 1973. The longest barren period for Yamaha was 22 races without a win in the 1997/98 seasons, which was brought to an end by Simon Crafar at Donington.
   
• Valentino Rossi’s victory at the last race of last year in Valencia was the 22nd successive race that he has finished on the podium. This run of consecutive podiums equals the all-time longest run of top three finishes in Grand Prix racing achieved by Giacomo Agostini over three seasons in the late 1960’s riding the MV-Agusta. The last race at which Rossi failed to get on the podium was when he retired with tyre problems at the Czech GP at Brno in 2002, which ended a sequence of thirteen races. The longest sequence of podium finishes in the other two classes are: 125cc: Carlo Ubbiali with 14 during the 1955/56/57 seasons. 250cc: Max Biaggi with 17 in the 1995/96 seasons.
   
• Sete Gibernau scored his first victory on-board a four-stroke machine last year in South Africa, after starting from pole for only the second time in his GP career. Gibernau also finished in second place at the Welkom circuit in 1999 and scored his first ever GP pole position at the South African GP in 2000.
   
• Max Biaggi gained his very first GP win in South Africa, in the 250cc class in 1992 at Kyalami beating Loris
  Reggiani and Pier Francesco Chili in an all Aprilia podium. He also took his only win of the 1999 season in
  South Africa in the 500cc class. His third place finish last year came after being off the leading pace in the previous couple of years finishing 8th in 2001 and 9th 2002.
   
• Loris Capirossi failed to finish in South Africa last year after suffering mechanical problems. He had stood on the podium at Welkom for the previous three years. Capirossi has qualified on the front row of the grid at all five previous visits to the circuit, including a pole for the 250cc GP in 1999.
   
• Alex Barros was the first Yamaha rider home last year in South Africa finishing the race in fifth position.
   
• Carlos Checa has not had a podium finish since the Portuguese GP of 2002. Last year was his first season
  since joining the premier-class that he has failed to score a top three result.
   
• Max Biaggi has scored 98 podium finishes in all classes of GP racing. This is the same number achieved by Jim Redman who won six World Championship titles during the 60’s riding Honda machinery. Rossi’s countrymen Biaggi and Capirossi are the only other current riders to appear in the following list of those who have scored more than 80 podium finishes in all solo classes of Grand Prix racing.
   
• If Ruben Xaus finishes in the top 15 he will become the first ever rider with a surname starting with ‘X’ to
  have scored points in GP racing.
   
• Three of the current premier-class riders have won at the Welkom circuit in the 250s: Rossi - 1999, Nakano - 2000 and Melandri - 2002.
   
• Even though several riders from last year, who have won races at World Championship level, are no longer competing in Grand Prix (Ukawa, Jacque, Haga, McCoy, Pitt) the strength in depth has been maintained by the introduction of three riders (Hodgson, Xaus and Byrne) who between them won 22 of the 24 World Superbike races held last year. In addition, past 500cc Grand Prix winner Norick Abe returns to compete full-time in MotoGP. The entry list comprises:
  • Eight riders who have won motorcycling World titles.
  • These eight riders have won a total of 18 World Championship titles between them.
  • Eighteen riders have had race victories at World Championship level.
  • Between them they have scored 257 World Championship race wins.
  • The winners of the last four World Superbike titles will this year race in the MotoGP class.
   
• For the fourth successive year Jeremy McWilliams is the oldest rider in the Grand Prix series, having celebrated his 40th birthday early in April. McWilliams will become the first rider over the age of 40 to compete in the premier-class of GP racing since Bruno Kneubühler back in 1989. For the third successive year John Hopkins is the youngest rider in the MotoGP class, being the only competitor under the age of 21 in the MotoGP entry list at the first race of the year. Hopkins holds the distinction of being the youngest rider to have competed in the new MotoGP class and the youngest to have scored points. The average age of the riders in the MotoGP class at the start of the year is 28 years and 45 weeks, 28 weeks higher than the start of last year, showing that experience is considered important in the senior class of Grand Prix racing.

250

• Aprilia riders have taken three victories in the 250cc class at the Welkom circuit, with Yamaha and Honda sharing one win each.
   

• Manuel Poggiali has won for the last two years in South Africa, the 125cc race in 2002 and the 250cc
  GP last year, setting new lap records on each occasion.
   

• Roberto Rolfo has scored points in 22 consecutive races since he crashed out of the Czech GP in 2002
  while battling for the lead with less than two laps to go.
   

• Dani Pedrosa, who won the 125cc GP last year in South Africa, makes his debut in the 250cc class and
  would be the youngest ever winner of a 250cc GP if he should take victory in Welkom or at the second round of the series in Spain.
   

• Franco Battaini has finished on the podium in South Africa for the last two years and also started from pole at the Welkom circuit in 2002.
   

• Last year in South Africa Chaz Davies became the youngest ever rider to score points in the 250cc
  class of Grand Prix racing at the age of 16 years and 76 days.
   

• The oldest rider in the 250cc series is Franco Battaini who is starting his eighth season as a full time rider in the 250cc GP class. Youngest rider for the second successive year is British rider Chas Davies, who will be just 16 years and 68 days old at the first race. The most experienced rider in the 250cc class is Argentinean Sebastian Porto, who has made 124 GP starts and is still just 25 years old.

125

• Aprilia riders have taken two victories in the 125cc class at the Welkom circuit, with Derbi, Gilera and Honda having one win each.
   

• With nineteen of the full-time riders in the 125cc class still teenagers, this is the youngest ever entry in Grand Prix racing. The youngest rider in the field is French rider Mike di Meglio who is competing in his second full season at Grand Prix level. The oldest competitor in the 125cc class is Youichi Ui who made his GP debut back in 1995 and who will be 31 years and 20 weeks old at the first GP of the year. The average age of riders in the 125cc class at the first race of the year is just 21 years and 25 weeks.
   

• Youichi Ui, who started from his only pole of last year in South Africa, is the only rider currently racing in the 125cc class who has previously won at the Welkom circuit, having started from pole position and taken the victory in 2001 riding a Derbi.