MotoGp 2004 - Statistical Facts prior to Rio

By winning the Dutch TT, Valentino Rossi continued the successful start to his career aboard the Yamaha, creating more new records and milestones: At the Dutch TT Rossi became the first Yamaha rider since Eddie Lawson in 1986 to win three or more consecutive races in the premier-class of Grand prix racing. This is the first time that Yamaha have had three consecutive wins since 2000 when Max Biaggi won at Brno followed by wins for Garry McCoy at Estoril and Valencia. Yamaha have had two riders on the podium at back-to-back races for the first time since the start of 2000 in South Africa and Malaysia. Rossi is the first Yamaha rider in the premier-class to win four races in a single season since Wayne Rainey in 1993.
Since the first visit to Rio for a Grand Prix in 1995 there has been one there each year, with the exception of 1998, making this the 9th Grand Prix to be held at the Jacarepagua circuit.
Honda have had six wins at Rio in the premier-class, with Mick Doohan in 1996 and 1997, and Valentino Rossi in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Yamaha have had two wins at this circuit, Luca Cadalora in 1995 and Norick Abe in 1999.
Valentino Rossi has won on each of his last six visits to Rio, the 125cc race in 1997, the 250cc race in 1999, the 500cc race in 2000 and 2001, and the MotoGP race for the last two years. This is the only circuit at which he has won on each of his four visits riding in the premier-class.
Sete Gibernau continued his impressive form with a second place finish at the Dutch TT; he has now finished in the top seven at nineteen consecutive races and stood on the podium at the last seven GPs. Gibernau’s second place finish in Rio last year was his first podium finish at the Jacarepagua circuit.
Carlos Checa has crashed out of the race at Rio four times in the last six visits to the circuit. In 2002 the crash occurred just after he had taken the lead after making his way through the field from 15th place at the end of the first lap. Checa’s only podium finish in Rio came in 2001 when he narrowly missed out on the win, with Rossi passing him on the final corner of a two-part race.
Max Biaggi has finished in the top five in each of his five GP starts at Rio in the premier-class, including three podium results. He has also had two pole positions at the Jacarepagua circuit in the premier-class.
Marco Melandri finished on the podium at the Dutch TT for the second successive race and has now scored nine more points in the first six races of this year than he did in the whole of 2003.
Last year at Rio Makoto Tamada scored his first ever Grand Prix podium and also the first ever podium for Bridgestone tyres in the MotoGP class.
Alex Barros has finished in the top five on five occasions at the Rio Grand Prix, including a single podium in 2000 when he crossed the line in the runner-up spot less than one second behind Rossi.
Loris Capirossi’s best results in the premier-class at the Jacarepagua circuit are the fifth place finishes he achieved in both 2001 and 2002.
Norick Abe won the Rio Grand Prix in 1999, after qualifying in twelfth place on the grid. In addition to this win Abe has also had two other podium finishes in Rio and has finished in the top six in each of his seven visits.
Kenny Roberts’ third place finish at Rio in 2002 was the last time that a Suzuki rider has stood on the podium in grand Prix racing.
Alex Barros arrives at his home Grand Prix having made his 200th Grand Prix start the weekend previously at the Dutch TT. Barros has started more premier-class races than any other rider in the 55-year history of motorcycle Grand Prix, 35 races more than Jack Findlay, the rider with the second most starts in the premier-class. In total Barros has competed in the premier GP class on 6 different machines: Cagiva 4-cylinder 2-stroke, Suzuki 4-cylinder 2-stroke, Honda 4-cylinder 2-stroke, Honda V-twin 2-stroke, Yamaha 4-cylinder 4-stroke, Honda 5-cylinder 4-stroke. He has managed to finish on the podium at least once on each of the machines he has ridden. The Dutch TT was the 618th premier-class Grand Prix that has been staged in the 55-year history of World Championship racing, therefore Barros has appeared in 32.4% of all premier-class races. Alex Barros has finished in the top ten 150 times and had 159 point-scoring results, both of these figures are records for the premier-class. Barros has finished in the top ten in the final premier-class championship classification for eleven successive years; the only other rider to have achieved this feat is 15 times World Champion Giacomo Agostini. He has scored a total of 1700 points in the premier-class – only Mick Doohan has a greater career points’ total.
Valentino Rossi’s victory at the Dutch TT was his 37th win in the premier-class taking him equal to the total achieved by Mike Hailwood who won the 500cc title on four successive occasions during the 1960’s. Only two riders, Mick Doohan and Giacomo Agostini have scored more victories in the premier-class.
Valentino Rossi has now finished in the top three in a total of ninety-four occasions from his 130 starts in the three different classes. This is just one less podium finish than five-times World Champion Mick Doohan scored in his 137 starts in the premier class. Only seven riders in the 55-year history of Grand Prix racing have stood on a Grand Prix podium more frequently than Valentino Rossi, who is still just 25 years old. Those riders ahead of Rossi include Agostini, Nieto, Read, Hailwood, Biaggi, Redman and Doohan.
Casey Stoner has had good results for the last two years in Rio, finishing second last year less than quarter of a second behind the winner and classifying sixth in the 250cc in 2002 when still only sixteen years old. Stoner’s pole position at the 125cc Dutch TT was the first one ever for the KTM factory.