Yamaha

Valentino Rossi made history with Yamaha today aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine at the Africa’s Grand Prix in Welkom by becoming the first rider in the history of the premier class to take back-to-back victories with different constructors. The reigning World Champion, who joined Yamaha in January, is also the first rider in the premier class since Barry Sheene to win the opening race of the season for four years in succession, taking his 23rd consecutive podium in the process and Yamaha’s first win since October 2002. His Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team-mate Carlos Checa had a difficult race and eventually finished tenth after starting 12th on the grid.

Rossi started from pole position and led for most of the 28 lap race with less than a second between himself and Honda rival Max Biaggi. The two swapped the lead several times, Rossi fighting back with some bold overtaking before snatching the lead for the final time with two laps to go, finally crossing the finish line just two tenths of a second ahead of Biaggi, with Honda rider Sete Gibernau in third. Checa finished just over 39 seconds later than winner Rossi, having made up three places in the latter stages of the race but not feeling the confidence to push harder.

Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 riders Norick Abe and Marco Melandri finished the race close enough to each other on race time (44’ 26.861 and 44’ 34.024) with a ninth and 11th position respectively – but their races could not have been more different. Abe scorched into the top ten in his first race on a Yamaha M1 and further enhanced his reputation as a fast and determined racer while Melandri struggled after qualifying seventh fastest.

For Italian charger Melandri this was an opportunity for scoring early World Championship points that went begging. Although Marco started well and ran as high as fifth on lap one, even his massive talent wasn’t enough to stay in contention for a top ten finish as tyre wear became a factor.

Valentino Rossi, 1st: 43’ 50.218 - "This is the best race of my career, it’s a real surprise for us, for everyone, and it’s difficult to explain the emotion. The weekend was perfect, starting with Friday. I rode well and I worked very well with the team. For me the race was perfect as well, starting from pole, I had a good rhythm and a good fight with Biaggi. I want to say a big thanks to my mechanics, especially Jeremy Burgess, and to Yamaha for all their efforts. At the end of the race I had a different emotion to normal; usually when I win I’m really happy but this time it was more and I had to stop for a moment with my bike to take it all in.

“The bike was quite good at full distance, although the tyres did start to move a bit after seven or eight laps, but after that they stayed constant and the bike stayed with me. I was slower in some parts, faster in others but I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes if I wanted to win. Yamaha has made such a great effort and so much work to change their situation. Today’s race showed that the level of this sport has greatly increased since last year but winning a race like this is not a miracle, it’s down to all the hard work we’ve put in. It was fantastic!”

Carlos Checa, 10th: 44’ 29.502 - “We’ve been struggling all weekend to find a good setting and to get a better feeling, but we have not found the way. I didn’t have enough grip on the side of the tyre when the bike was at an angle and this is something we are playing with constantly to try to improve. When I’m not confident of the grip my exit from a corner is too slow and it’s difficult to pass on the brakes. I pushed hard when I caught up with Abe, but I just didn’t have enough confidence. However, this is just the first race and we can still catch up; that is our mission. We have to analyse why this happened and work out how to improve the feeling. We’ll see what happens in Jerez and I will look forward to racing there.”

Davide Brivio – Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team Director “We couldn’t have had a better weekend than this. Of course we know this is not the end of our work; we’ve only just started and we have to keep going like this the whole season and provide the best possible support to Valentino. He was just fantastic. This was the race everyone wanted to see and it was great to be the winner. I think all the fans will be so happy and everyone at Yamaha as we’ve worked so hard in the last six months. Unfortunately Carlos has struggled all weekend and didn’t have a good first race, but we can learn from this, check what’s wrong with him and try to bring him to the front for the Jerez Grand Prix. I think he has the capability to be up front as soon as possible.”

Masao Furusawa – General Manager, YMC Technology Development Division “Racing needs a good rider, bike and organisation; otherwise you can not have a win. An exceptional rider has come to Yamaha and all I can say is thank you to him and his crew. Of course there are many other people involved in the project; other riders, engineers, staff and sponsors and I’d also like to thank them. Valentino really is the genius behind the bike. We’ve only been testing with him for three months this winter and we’ve achieved the first goal, now we have another fifteen goals!”

Norick Abe, 9th: 44’ 26.861 - “I’m happy because compared to qualifying and all the pre-season tests this is a bit of a surprise. But I’m surprised and happy for Rossi too! He was an unbelievable 36 seconds ahead of me. This is my first time on this bike in a race and finally I got the set-up right. Racing is always different for me and usually faster than qualifying. Now I need to find a little more traction and that’s what we’ll be working on at Jerez.”

Marco Melandri, 11th: 44’ 34.024 - “I had chatter problems and I just couldn’t control the bike in the race. This is so disappointing after all the work we did in qualifying. I’m not happy because we could have achieved a much better result.”

Herve Poncharal (Team Director) - “We are all more than happy to see Valentino win, very happy for Yamaha too – but this race has been a disappointment for us. We had very high expectations, but the race turned out to be nowhere near as good as we expected. It’s a pity because we could have done so much better. For Norick qualifying proved difficult, but he raced well and for him to finish second Yamaha is a big plus. But overall we are disappointed.”

HRC

The win belonged to Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) but masterly Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) proved today in front of a record 45,000 Phakisa Freeway crowd that he is the man most likely to rein in the reigning World Champion with a stirring second place. Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) was a distant third after being right in contention in the early stages of the race.

As a fierce African sun beat down, the new three-abreast grid lined up for this curtain-raising race and scorched into turn one as the red lights went out. Rossi got the holeshot with Max and Sete, Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) pressing him hard.

The pace soon hotted up to the extent that only three riders could stay with it: Rossi, Max and Sete. As early as lap four the threesome fought it out with Max taking the lead at the end of the back straight before Rossi snatched it back on the same lap. Max went in front again two laps later and held the lead again before Rossi wrested it back one lap later.

But the early battle for supremacy soon settled down and Rossi and Max maintained a pace that Sete couldn’t stay with. By mid-distance of this 28-lap contest Gibernau was a second adrift of the leaders and he fell further back to finish seven seconds down at the end.

Now it was a straight fight between two intense rivals. Rossi seemed content to make the running while Max was rarely less than two feet behind him as Rossi fought to break clear of his rival. On lap 23 Max made another move down the back straight and he then lead three laps in a row before Rossi made a block pass on Max at the penultimate tight right turn.

Max was pushed wide and fought to get back on level terms with just two laps to go. Try as the Roman might, and Max set a new lap record on his final lap of the 4.242km track of 1m 33.208s, he couldn’t catch Rossi and finished just over two tenths of a second behind as they crossed the line.

“I’m happy it was such a great race,” said Max. “We kept up an unbelievable pace and had a lot of fun. I didn’t even feel tired at the end and I feel I could have run another 28 laps. The team did a fantastic job setting up the new chassis in just four hours of qualifying and this race was a great way to honour Antonio.” (Antonio Cobas, who died last week, was Camel Honda’s Technical Director)

Sete Gibernau said, “All during qualifying I was trying to improve my rhythm working on the settings of the new chassis – but we couldn’t quite get there before the race. And we ran out of time to try anything else in the morning warm-up. But I’m aiming to be fighting for the podium at every race and I have to be happy enough with this result on a weekend that wasn’t perfect.”

Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) fought hard to finish fourth after languishing in ninth on lap one. “If you qualify eighth on the third row of the grid, it’s hard work. This track is difficult to overtake on and there’s not a lot of grip off the racing line. We had a small chatter problem today which wasn’t there before, but overall today’s not such a bad result for a first race with a new team.”

Nicky Hayden’s fifth place was not what the American challenger wanted but he remained upbeat. “I knew this race was going to be difficult. I got an OK start but it was really painful watching the guys up front disappear. The team has done a great job over the weekend – it just wasn’t an easy weekend. Let’s get on with the next race now.”

Colin Edwards was hampered by chatter problems and finished seventh. “I had problems on the first lap. They were there a little bit on Friday and Saturday, but today it was just impossible to race for 28 laps. I can’t say it was a specific problem, but we’ll check the data and see what’s going on.”

Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V) riding on Bridgestone tyres finished eighth. “All weekend we’ve been making changes, but the tyres were good all race and I didn’t manage to get as much overtaking as I wanted because of a bad start. But this was more good experience for me and the team.”

Rossi leads the World Championship standings by five points from Max Biaggi as MotoGP heads to Jerez in Spain for the opening European Grand Prix of what promises to be a hard-fought title race.

The 250 race was a nail-biter with frantic action all the way down the field. The eventual winner was Danny Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) who fought a hard duel with Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) all race. De Puniet finished second and Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) third.

Porto led from the start, but on lap two the Argentine rider went off track on the ultra-fast back section of the track. He had to ride onto the banked oval that surrounds the inner circuit to slow down and regain the track – in 22nd position. His ride to third was a prime example of grit and determination employed to rectify a costly error.

But Pedrosa’s ride was remarkable. The young Spaniard, reigning 125cc World Champion, who broke both ankles in a bad crash at Phillip Island last year (having wrapped up the title in Malaysia), fully deserved a win first time out having stepped up a class for 2004. His dice with de Puniet provided a classic last lap where the lead changed hands four times.

Pedrosa clinched it with a last turn braking manoeuvre that cut off de Puniet’s turn-in point to deny him the win. But the result could easily have gone either way. The power of Pedrosa’s Honda told on the faster sections of the track, but it took supreme skill to deny the experienced de Puniet a fourth career win.

Alex Debon (Wurth Honda BQR RS250R) finished a strong sixth with Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) eighth and Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) ninth. Hiroshi Aoyama (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) snatched 11th in his first visit to Welkom while Eric Bataille (Wurth Honda BQR RS250R) was involved in a first lap crash – on his birthday.

“That was incredible,” said Pedrosa. “I still can’t really believe what happened and it’s all the hard work put in by my team in the winter helping me recover from my injuries and getting the bike to this level of competitiveness. Thank you to them all and to Honda.” Pedrosa now leads the World Championship from de Puniet by five points after one race.

The 125 contest provided a thrilling season opener in the smallest class for the Welkom crowd when Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) played a perfect waiting game to rob Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia) of a win he looked likely to keep having led for most of the race. Locatelli was second and Casey Stoner (KTM) third.

But Locatelli couldn’t shake off Dovizioso’s Honda and it looked likely that Dovzioso would line Locatelli up for a pass on the fast, flowing back section of the track. Instead he waited until the final turn on the final lap to fire his RS125R up the inside of Locatelli on the brakes, hold his line and then use all the rumble strip on the exit to breach the line first. The winning margin was just seven hundredths of a second.

Third and fourth-placed riders Stoner and Pablo Nieto (Aprilia) were in the leading group for most of the race, but as the pace hotted up at the front they were left to dispute second and third between themselves, with Stoner getting the verdict by two tenths of a second.

Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) finished 11th and Simone Corsi (Team Scot Honda RS125R) 14th. Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) crashed out on lap 17 without injury.

“Locatelli was running a really high pace,” said Dovizioso, who has now won his first ever race in this class. “On the last lap I was thinking I could overtake on the straight, but then I saw him go too wide into the last turn and went through. I want to thank the Clinica Mobile for patching me up after my practice crash and the team did a fantastic job for me too.”

Dovizioso now leads the World Championship points standings with 25 to Locatelli’s 20 and Stoner with 16.

Max Biaggi, Camel Honda (Michelin tyres) – 2nd: “This was a very important race for us. It’s a race we dedicate to the memory of Antonio. We all did everything we could, the team worked really hard on the bike, and I was going at 110%. Despite a slip at the start, on the dirtiest part of the line-up, I didn’t lose ground and I went forward to fight a duel for the head of the race. A contest at an incredible pace, and one that shows our potential, so I’d like to thank Honda for the new components we recently received. I’m also very satisfied with the performance of the tyres, for they gave top-level service right the way through to the end of the race. There won’t be any further tests until the Jerez race and during the practice for the next time round, I’m sure we’ll be able to understand the characteristics of the new components better so as to make best use of them.”

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal) “A fantastic race, very fast and with an unexpected rhythm. I’m very pleased with the team’s work as they have been able to provide Max with a bike that’s ready to contend for first place. We’ve started the championship in second place and we’ve begun a season that looks as though it’s going to be really exciting. We’ve got a manufacturer, a rider and a team that can aim for the world title. Today the Camel Honda team was in the limelight: we miss Antonio terribly, even though we know that he was with us all the way through to this brilliant team achievement.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 3rd: “ During the practices we worked on the setting of the bike but we couldn’t find the best set-up. So today my bike was not 100% ok. I have done my best and all in all I’m satisfied in fact if I scored the 3rd position with a bike which was not ok, I’m confident that I can fight for the win when my bike is ok and I have a good feeling. I will work with my team in preparation of Jerez.”

Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team: 4th: "I had a problem with the start as there were so many ahead - if you qualify eighth and on the third row, it is hard work. This track is difficult to overtake on with not so much grip off the main line. We had a small problem today with chatter - we had never had that before. Anyhow the result was not so bad for my first ride with the team. The pace was really fast and I don't believe that I can fight at this pace when I'm not 100% fit. The three guys ahead rode with a very quick rhythm. I'm quite happy to finish in not such a bad position - for the championship at this stage it is OK but this position is a minimum place to fight for the rest of the season if we want to look at the championship.

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: 5th: "I knew this race was going to be difficult. We didn't have the best qualifying and in the warm-up this morning my fastest lap was 34.0. and with the top three all running such a fast rhythm I guess fifth place or thereabouts is the best we could expect. I got an OK start but it's just really painful watching the guys ahead disappear. There were places around the track that I could hold on but others where I lost out and couldn't get the time back. The team have done a great job over the last few days - it wasn't the easiest weekend. I'm just glad to get the first race out of the way and to get on to the next one now."

Colin Edwards, Telefonica MoviStar Honda 7th: “It’s incredible, Today I had a problem of chatter since the first lap that has never stopped, the bike didn’t turn. It was a very strange feeling because on Friday and Saturday and even during the warm up I had a little bit of chatter but it was ok. So I don’t know what happened. I will study the problem with my mechanics and I’m confident that we will do well at Jerez.”

Fausto Gresini, Team Manager: “It was a tough race, Sete has been great because he pushed hard with a bike that was not in perfect conditions and despite these problems he scored the third position. I’m happy with this result, Sete has demonstrated that he is very competitive and this is the most important thing.”

Remembering Daijiro Kato: “Today for a minute the roar of the engines stopped inside the garage of the Telefonica MoviStar Honda MotoGp Team. The team commemorated with a minute of silence the tragic death of Daijiro Kato, died on the 19th of April 2003 after the tragic accident occurred at the first race at Suzuka.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager) “Makoto ended up with an eighth place that shows he gave it all he’d got, even though he started out in a difficult position, and this just shows how determined he is. We’ve got to improve performance for the entire duration of the race, especially in view of the sort of rhythm that was being kept up today. We’ll be working hard to bridge the gap that separates us from the leaders and I’m sure Makoto will soon be able to get the best out of his bike.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone tyres) – 8th – 44’26.753 “We made a few changes to my RC211V after the warm-up and this meant I was able to get a better place when the race was on. The tyres performed well even towards the end, and I must say I had indeed been hoping to claw back some places after starting out 12th. An important race, and a new experience that will help me gain a better understanding of the bike settings and of the new materials from Bridgestone.”

250
Dani Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Jnr Team, 1st: “What can I say? This victory is the best recompense I could receive, the team and all those who have supported me during the winter. Day by day they gave everything to help me recover from my foot injuries in time for this race. My Doctor, physiotherapist Alberto (Puig) my family and friends, I have so much to thank them for they all helped me to reach my goal. I never thought I would win. My idea was to follow Poggiali who had more or less the same rhythm as me in practice. In the race I got an advantage but I thought the more experienced 250 riders would catch me but it wasn’t so. Finally it was only me and De Puniet, fighting head to head with him was really nice. It’s a dream come true, the perfect way to start the year. And I’m the youngest rider ever to win a 250 GP!”

Alex Debon, Wurth BQR Honda, 6th: “I’m very content with this sixth place, primarily for the team who have worked so hard for me. I can now go to Jerez with a very high morale. Yesterday I was a long way back on the start grid (15th), but I knew my bike was perfect, I was very calm. In the race when I caught the riders on factory machines we were all pushing really hard I found I could stay with them. It’s incredible!”

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda, 8th: “In practice we had many problems with chassis and suspension settings. Yesterday we began to find solutions but in the race we had similar problems and it was a very hard race for us. I don’t like finishing in 8th place, I should be better than that. We have to solve these problems before Jerez.”

Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda, 9th: “All our work over the weekend improved the bike but just not enough. In the early part of the race I couldn’t run into the corners fast enough but I had control of the rear-end which helped but because I worked the rear tyre so hard coming off the turns it started to wear badly and go off. Then I was in trouble. Late in the race I couldn’t get on the gas and other riders just went passed going onto the straight. We have a lot of work to do now to get to the front.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Jnr Team, 11th: “I’m not happy with my position because I believed in my potential to do better. I didn’t have any problems during the race, not even with the tyres late in the race. He cold and sore throat I have did not cause me any trouble in the race. My only problem was my inexperience, I lost too much time passing other riders and lost contact with the leading group. Then I had no reference to chase the faster riders. Racing the GPs in Japan, where I have much experience on the tracks, is one thing but racing on a foreign track for the first time against riders of such a high level was very tough.”

Eric Bataille, Wurth BQR Honda, dnf: “A bad day for me, nothing to say. Chaz Davies hit me at the fist turn and that was my race over. I’m very disappointed. What else can I say?”

Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Racing Honda, 21st: “I made the wrong tyre choice and the rear end was sliding badly. The front was OK and I could push it hard but late in the race it was difficult. I’m pleased to finish the race, it’s the first time in four races for my team that I have reached the finish.”

125cc
Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda, 1st: “Ď am really, really happy with this result, my first GP victory, for me and the whole team. After qualifying I had hoped to get a good start from pole position and try and get away from the group. But in the warm up I saw how fast Roberto (Locatelli) was and I knew I would not be able to get away. So when we were at the front together I had to ride smoothly and wait my chance. I got close to him many times and it might have looked like I was pressuring Roberto but really I was closing with slipstream. I still had to wait till the very last lap. He ran a little wide in one corner and I took my chance. The bike was very good today, everything, I’m very pleased with the work the team have done here. ”

Julian Simon, Angaia Racing Honda, 11th: “I am pleased with the race even if I was 11th. I got a good start and was holding about ninth but after about 10 laps the engine started to feel a little rich and I lost some acceleration. But the chassis, suspension and tyres worked well and I managed to keep 11th place.”

Simone Corsi, Kopron Scot Honda, 14th: “I’m much happier than in qualifying but as I said yesterday I was still adjusting to the new bike and settings. I knew I would go faster in the race so I have to be happy. The only problem I had was some front wheel chatter. Everything else ran just fine.”

Robbin Harms, Ajo Motorsports Honda, 18th: “That’s not too bad for my first race on the bike. On the first lap I made a few mistakes but once I found a rhythm and was concentrating 100% I started to move forward. The bike worked well and we know there is at least another 5% to get out of the bike. Give us three to five races and we will be in really good shape.”

Dario Giuseppetti, Elit Honda, 19th: “Not bad for my first grand prix. I’m both happy and unhappy. Happy because I enjoyed my first GP, a little unhappy because I made a mistake on the last lap and let two riders pass me. I can’t wait to get to Jerez. ”

Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda, dnf: “Bad day for me. Ui hit me, twice in one corner and knocked me down. He went passed barking way too late for the corner went across me and hit my front wheel. I was sideways, my elbow on the track but I got it back only for him to hit me in the corner. What he was trying to do I don’t know! It’s a pity because qualifying didn’t go well for us but in the warm up we improved the suspension and cut out rear wheel slides. I felt good in the race with a good rhythm – then the disaster.”

Raymond Schouten, Molenaar Racing Honda, dnf: “I had a problem with the generator, right from the warm up lap. The bike was running on the battery and just lost power, after four laps I just had to stop. A pity because it was my first GP. But I learned a lot this weekend so that’s something positive to take home.”

Kawasaki

After qualifying an impressive sixth yesterday, Shinya Nakano brought his Ninja ZX-RR home in twelfth place in the Africa's Grand Prix at Phakisa Freeway this afternoon, to give the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team the best possible start to the new season.

Starting from the second row of the grid, Nakano found himself pushed back to ninth at the first turn after encountering a problem launching his Ninja ZX-RR off the line. The 26-year-old Japanese rider tried immediately to regain the lost places, but was unable to follow the leading group as they broke away at the front of the field.

By half race distance Nakano was embroiled in a frantic battle for tenth place with the factory Yamahas of Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri. After closing the gap on Melandri towards the end of the race, Nakano made a last gasp overtaking move on the former 250cc World Champion into the last corner on the final lap. The Fuchs Kawasaki rider exited with the nose of his Ninja ZX-RR slightly in front, but was unable to hold off the Italian to the line and was forced to settle for a hard fought twelfth place on his race debut as a Kawasaki rider.

Nakano's Fuchs Kawasaki teammate, Alex Hofmann, had a day he'd probably prefer to forget at Phakisa Freeway today. In his enthusiasm to start his first race as a full time Kawasaki rider, the 23-year-old German stalled his bike on the line and had to watch helpless as the pack disappeared off towards the first turn. Fast reactions from his pit crew meant Hofmann was soon on his way, but with a huge gap to make up. With the bit between his teeth, the former European 250cc Champion quickly overhauled Michel Fabrizio and was closing down Nobuatsu Aoki when he had a big crash exiting turn three on lap 16. Battered and bruised, Hofmann was treated in the circuit medical centre for mild concussion.

Shinya Nakano's impressive showing in today's race means that the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team head for the second round of the championship at Jerez on May 2nd confident of a repeat performance from the likeable Japanese rider.

Shinya Nakano: 12th - "The bike was creeping a little on the line, which meant I missed the start as I tried to hold it back. Once I got away I couldn't stay with the guys at the front as the rear of the bike felt a little nervous. The bike settled itself down towards the middle of the race and from that point onwards I was able to match my lap times from practice. I had a good fight with Abe, Melandri and Checa from the halfway point of the race, but while I was able to pass Marco into the last turn on the final lap, I couldn't quite hold him off to the line. After qualifying sixth on the grid it was a little disappointing not to have finished in the top ten here today. On the other hand, after my first race aboard the Kawasaki I now know that we are capable of beating factory bikes and battling for position with the latest factory Yamaha. Overall, although I would have liked to finish in the top ten, I'm relatively happy with the today's result."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager - "I feel sorry for Alex because he showed good potential during practice and qualifying, with lap times close to Shinya's, and he looked almost certain for a points scoring finish today. His run of bad luck started with his crash in final qualifying yesterday, which was followed by his stalling on the line and then crashing again whilst chasing hard to make up for the bad start today. Overall I'm satisfied with what we've achieved with Shinya today. Although we had a fantastic qualifying session yesterday, we knew that it was going to be difficult to maintain the same position in the race. Theoretically we knew we could hope for a top ten finish in the race and, while we were close, we just weren't quite close enough. Everyone has improved over the winter, including us, but the gap to the leading riders has not decreased significantly; which just goes to show the quality of this championship. After this weekend's performance we are looking forward to the races ahead, especially Jerez, where we had a successful test recently."

Proton Team KR

Team Proton KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki finished just two places out of the points in today’s Africa’s GP, opening round of the 2004 MotoGP season, at Welkom’s Phakisa Freeway. This was an improvement on his qualifying position – and on the team’s expectations. With the 2004 Proton KR V5 still at an early stage of development, just a finish would have been a result.

Aoki’s race saw the Japanese rider pushing hard in the closing stages, when he could see his old team-mate Jeremy McWilliams’s Aprilia up ahead. He closed to within a second or so before the Ulsterman saw him coming, and upped his pace. At the finish, Aoki was less than five seconds adrift.

This was the first race for the Mk2 version of the radical 990cc V5 racing motorcycle, which is still not in its final form as the team await engine revisions and parts. It was also the first race on Dunlop tyres, which are also at an early development stage. “We knew this would be our worst race,” said team principal Kenny Roberts. “This finish was a lot better than we’d expected, and it will keep getting better from here.”

The new machine is an advanced design, using techniques and materials new to motorcycle racing, and very integrated as an overall package. The delays to engine development mean the package is not yet complete, but the handling of the new chassis is as good as was expected, and the promise for the forthcoming races is clear. “We should see some engine improvements by the third round,” said Roberts.

Today’s opening round was run in fine sunny conditions at the high-altitude (1,500m) 4.242km Phakisa Freeway circuit, outside the Free State gold mining town of Welkom. It was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi in his first ride on a Yamaha. The next race is the Spanish GP at Jerez, in two weeks.

NOBUATSU AOKI - "This race was going to be tough, because the winter was not easy for us, and we always had little problems that meant we were unable to do any endurance testing. I did 12 laps in this morning’s warm-up … that was the most I had done on the new bike! We had picked a race tyre yesterday, and this morning we tried a different setting … but it didn’t work well, so we went back to yesterday’s setting. After that everything worked pretty well, except the gearbox – I was having problems all race getting false neutrals on upshifts. Also the tyre was sliding after 20 laps. Around mid-race I started to catch Jeremy. I pushed hard every lap, and he was coming closer … but when he saw me, he pushed again. This is just the start for us."

KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL - "That went a lot better than we’d expected. For such short notice, Dunlop did a great job, but we didn’t have a big enough window to get the engine problems fixed for this race. This is probably the worst we’re going to do all season, with the engine in its worst state. We made four engines, and just hoped we would finish … and we did that. Things go forward from here."

Dorna

Valentino Rossi made history once again today by becoming the first man ever in the history of the MotoGP World Championship to win consecutive races with different manufacturers after clinching victory on his Yamaha debut at the Africa's Grand Prix. Some 45,000 fans at the Phakisa Freeway circuit in Welkom, South Africa, bore witness to a classic duel between Rossi and his arch nemesis Max Biaggi, who went head to head from the first corner to the last. The reigning World Champion started from pole and maintained his advantage at the front over the opening laps, pushing to escape from a chasing pack with an electric pace that only Biaggi and Sete Gibernau could follow.

As Gibernau lost touch Biaggi took the initiative and attacked his compatriot with several exciting passes, only to be undone by Rossi's own brand of thrilling overtaking. After a brief lull in an energy-sapping bout, when Biaggi gathered his breath and trailed the rear wheel of Rossi to the inch for around ten laps, another frenetic duel sparked into life with six laps remaining. Biaggi was again the aggressor from behind, taking control only for Rossi to strike back within metres - the pair swapping positions until three corners from the end, when Rossi played his final ace and snatched victory from the jaws of the Honda rider.

"This was one of the best races of my career," commented an emotional Rossi, who parked his bike and sank to his haunches in tears of joy on the warm-down lap, in contrast to his usual extravagant celebrations. "It was a great show and a really good battle between myself and Max. My plan was to get a good start and set a high rhythm and I managed to do that. By the end I just tried my best for the win and I was able to do it. All I can say is thanks to all my mechanics and everybody who came with me on this new adventure. Thanks to Yamaha... thanks to everybody!"

With Gibernau reduced to a spectator in a solitary third position, attention switched from the leaders to a gritty comeback from the Spaniard's Honda colleague Alex Barros, who battled back from ninth on the opening lap to seal fourth by the end. The Brazilian overcame his team-mate Nicky Hayden at the halfway stage and broke free of the American youngster, who eventually emerged in fifth place after a skirmish with Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi. Edwards had to settle for seventh place in his first MotoGP appearance with Honda after being overtaken by the Italian Ducati rider with just five laps to go.

Makoto Tamada made it six Hondas in the top eight ahead of Yamaha trio Norick Abe, Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri. Shinya Nakano finished his Kawasaki debut in twelfth place, whilst Shane Byrne was the only MotoGP rookie to score points in fifteenth behind John Hopkins and Troy Bayliss. Fellow newcomers Alex Hofmann and Ruben Xaus crashed and retired respectively, whilst World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson also retired.

Dani Pedrosa became the youngest ever winner of a 250cc race in his debut quarter-litre appearance after a thrilling tussle with Randy De Puniet which matched the MotoGP race for action and emotion. The 125cc World Champion, at eighteen years, seven months and eleven days, broke Alan Carter's record, which had stood since 1983, with a stunning final corner manoeuvre on the French pole setter. Sebastian Porto had led the race in the early stages before running off track and on to the oval banking which surrounds the circuit, only to return in 22nd place and fight his way up to third after a breathtaking comeback. Reigning World Champion Manuel Poggiali took a lonely fourth place after losing touch with the leaders but escaped a combative five rider battle for fifth, eventually won by impressive rookie Alex De Angelis ahead of Alex Debon, Fonsi Nieto, Toni Elias and Roberto Rolfo.

Pedrosa's factory replacement at Honda in the 125cc class, Andrea Dovizioso, repeated the Spaniard's victory from one year ago to clinch the first maximum points haul of his career. The Italian teenager and veteran compatriot Roberto Locatelli, in his first race in the class for Aprilia since winning the World Championship in 2000, set the pace for much of the race with only KTM debutante Casey Stoner able to briefly deny them of the lead. The Australian youngster lost touch in the final stages of the race and was forced to battle for third with Pablo Nieto, eventually winning out on the last lap. Meanwhile, in the final corner, Dovizioso launched a perfectly timed attack on Locatelli to seal a dramatic maiden win.

Team Suzuki

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins opened his 2004 account in South Africa today, overcoming early-lap traffic problems to finish 13th in the Africa s GP, the opening round of the 2004 MotoGP season.

But the day brought disappointment to team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr., who was lying well up in the top ten after a strong start when he was sidelined by a rogue electrical problem after six of the 28 laps of the 4.242 km circuit.

The 2000 World Champion walked back to the pits but finished the afternoon in good spirits all the same. Strong qualifying performances and a good race up to that point proved that the improvements shown in pre-season tests were real and with still more to come from the factory racing department, he has real hopes of continuing the improvement.

Hopkins s ride, pushing hard to recover lost ground in blazing sunshine at the high-altitude Phakisa Freeway, took it out of the rider and the tyres, after his own good start was spoiled in a bumping match on the way out of the first corner. In spite of starting from the fourth row of the grid, Hopkins finished the first lap down in 14th place and hampered by heavy traffic. His efforts to move forward meant he had to ride harder than he wanted, and that took its toll on the tyres. By the finish, he nursed the machine home to protect his points position.

The race, first of 16 rounds, was won by defending champion Valentino Rossi.

JOHN HOPKINS 13th position: - "That's not exactly where we wanted to finish, but all round it was not an excellent race for me. I got a pretty decent jump off the start, then I got caught up in a mess out of Turn One, and that kind of threw my head a bit, because now I was so far back in the pack. Maybe I got a bit hot headed then I was running wide into turns, then I was really having to get on it hard to make up the ground I d lost and catch the riders in front of me. Then I got in a group with Checa, Nakano and Abe. I think I d used up the tyre quite a bit in the beginning. I was getting a bit of a vibration in the rear when it was sliding and it was kind of freaking me out going into the fast right-handers and having it step out. So towards the end, I was just trying to survive. We were in the points and I was pushing but there was nothing else I could do. I wanted to keep my place and stay ahead of Bayliss and go to the next one with high hopes."

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. Did Not Finish: - "I got a decent start, got into turn one eighth or so and got up to seventh at the end of the first lap. Things were looking quite okay, as in the warm up. The bike felt pretty well balanced. I was being gentle with the rear because I didn't want to hurt the tyre too much, so I was taking it pretty easy. Also, at the beginning, Melandri s bike had smoke coming off it so I backed off a bit in case his motor blew, though I think it was a tyre rubbing on something. When Loris (Capirossi) came past me I think he felt the same he got up behind Melandri then noticed the smoke and backed away too. Then Barros got me down the back straight. I was following those guys, feeling smooth and comfortable and everything felt okay when it stopped. But it was basically a good weekend overall. The improvements over the winter have shown Suzuki can get to a better position. We have some exciting stuff coming for Jerez. I think this was the worst-prepared we re going to be all year and everything from here just looks up. Sometimes you don t get finishes, and today was one of those days. On a grand scale, I think we can be pretty happy with the way the weekend went."

GARRY TAYLOR Team Manager: - "Neither John nor Kenny got the results they deserved after all their efforts and the hard work by the whole team. Kenny had a very frustrating electrical problem when he was lying well up in the top ten; John didn't get away cleanly, but he pushed hard to get the best in the circumstances."

KTM 125

The race in South Africa have been a tough one and ended with the Italian Andrea Dovizioso first. KTM took the podium with Casey Stoner, who finished 3rd while Mika Kallio finished 12th.

Stoner – "I’m very happy. I didn’t realise it was the last lap but I managed to pass Nieto just on time to finish on the podium. Good points for the championship!"

Kallio – "I absolutely didn’t have a good start and then even if the bike and the engine were fine I couldn’t find the good feeling with the front tyre."

Bartol – "It’s always good to start with a podium, Casey did a good race. Mika unfortunately didn’t have a good start, and that was the main problem but a part from that I’m confident: the championship just started."