2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Valentino Rossi won the world championship with the new four-stroke Honda RC211V.

The season marked the start of a new era in the premier class with the arrival of 990cc four-stroke bikes. Four factory teams, Repsol Honda, Marlboro Yamaha, Suzuki and Aprilia, raced with the new four-stroke bikes while all the satellite teams raced with the 500cc two-stroke bike.[4] The season also marked the return of Dunlop and the entry of Bridgestone to the premier class.[5] Dunlop supplied the tyres for Suzuki, Aprilia, Yamaha WCM and Pramac Honda.[6] Bridgestone supplied the tyres for Team Roberts and Kanemoto Racing.[7][8][9] Michelin supplied the tyres for the remaining six teams. However, after only two races, Suzuki switched back to Michelin tyres for the remainder of the season.[10][11]

Valentino Rossi, riding the four-stroke Honda RC211V bike, won the first race of the season at Suzuka under wet conditions. Suzuki's test rider Akira Ryō, who raced as a wildcard entry, and Yamaha's Carlos Checa completed the all four-stroke podium.[12] Rossi's teammate, Tohru Ukawa, won the second race before Rossi went on to dominate the championship by winning seven consecutive races. Max Biaggi handed the four-stroke Yamaha YZR-M1 its first win in the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, while Rossi had to retire due to tyre problems.[13] In that race, Honda also expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the RC211V bike for Honda Gresini rider Daijiro Kato.[14] Rossi then won two consecutive races in Portugal and Brazil, clinching the world championship in the latter.[1]

In the Pacific Grand Prix, Honda Pons rider Alex Barros won his first race riding the RC211V bike.[15] In that race, Kawasaki returned to the world championship after 20 years absence. Kawasaki, with their four-stroke Ninja ZX-RR, raced as wildcards in the last four races of the season as a preparation before entering the championship full-time in the following season.[16] In the following race at Sepang, Yamaha expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the YZR-M1 bikes to Tech 3 pair Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano.[17] Another Yamaha rider, Norifumi Abe, raced the fifth YZR-M1 on the grid for the last two races of the season.[18]

Rossi ended the season with 355 points from 11 wins and four second places. Biaggi finished second to Rossi with 215 points and two race wins. Ukawa and Barros completed the top four with 209 and 204 points respectively. Previous year's 250cc champion Daijiro Kato finished in seventh position with two podium finishes and was named as the Rookie of the Year.[19] All races were won by the four-stroke bikes, while the two-strokes only managed to record five podiums finishes. Honda won the constructors championship with 390 points and 14 wins, followed by Yamaha who won the other two races. Repsol Honda team won the teams championship by winning 12 races and scoring 564 points from Rossi and Ukawa. Marlboro Yamaha and Honda Pons who won two races each was second and third respectively.

Marco Melandri (left) won the 250cc world championship.

The 250cc class was certain to have a new champion as previous year's champion Daijiro Kato and 1993 champion Tetsuya Harada, who finished second to Kato last year, both moved up to the MotoGP class. Only three riders remained from previous year's top six: Marco Melandri, Roberto Rolfo and Fonsi Nieto. Melandri was the only rider in the 250cc class who has previously won a 250cc race; he won his first and only race in the 2001 German Grand Prix.[20] The 250cc entry list also included three former 125cc World Champion: Haruchika Aoki, Roberto Locatelli and Emilio Alzamora.

The season started with a wet race at Suzuka which was won by Japanese wildcard rider Osamu Miyazaki, who was riding for Daytona Yamaha team.[21] Honda's wildcard rider Daisaku Sakai and Aprilia's Randy de Puniet completed the podium.[22] In the following race at Welkom, Aprilia's Marco Melandri took his second career 250cc win.[23] Fonsi Nieto then took his first ever race win in the Spanish Grand Prix.[24] Nieto also took the lead in the championship standings from de Puniet and Franco Battaini. Nieto then won the following race at Le Mans before Melandri won the next three races and overtook the championship lead from Nieto after the Dutch TT.[25] Melandri continued his streak to six consecutive wins and extended his lead in the standings to 37 points after the Czech Republic Grand Prix.[26]

Nieto won the Portuguese Grand Prix for Aprilia's tenth consecutive victory. Nieto, who crashed in lap 13, recovered from seventh position to win the rain-soaked race over Melandri.[27][28] Aprilia's winning streak was broken when Yamaha's Sebastián Porto won the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix under wet race condition.[29] Rookie Toni Elías won the following race at Motegi after a last-lap battle with Melandri. Melandri finished second and increase his lead over Nieto in the championship standings to 52 points.[30] With 52 points lead and three races to go, Melandri only need to finish in front of Nieto in the Malaysian Grand Prix to clinch the championship.[31] However, he suffered a mechanical failure on the first lap, while Nieto won the race to reduce the gap to 27 points.[32] Melandri finally clinched the 250cc title in the Australian Grand Prix with a close win over Nieto. They fought until the last lap and Melandri won the race with just 0.007 second gap at the finish line.[2] Melandri became the youngest 250cc world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days.[33]

Melandri ended the season with 298 points from nine race wins, three second-place finishes and one fourth-place finish. Nieto finished second in the standings with 241 points and four wins, followed Honda's Roberto Rolfo and rookie Toni Elías with 219 and 178 points respectively. Elías, who recorded one race win and four further podium finishes, was named as the Rookie of the Year.[34] Aprilia won the constructors championship with 382 points and 14 race wins from Melandri, Nieto and Elías. Honda finished second in the standings with 244 points but failed to record any race win. Yamaha, who won two races courtesy of Miyazaki and Porto's wins in the wet, finished third with 211 points.

Arnaud Vincent (pictured in Valencia) won the 125cc world championship.

The 125cc entry list was headlined by defending champion Manuel Poggiali and two-time championship runners-up Youichi Ui and Noboru Ueda. There were five other riders who have previously won a 125cc race: Masao Azuma, Lucio Cecchinello, Stefano Perugini, Simone Sanna and Arnaud Vincent.

Arnaud Vincent, who returned to Aprilia after a year with Honda, won the opening race at Suzuka under wet condition.[35] He then extended his lead in the championship with two second places in the second and third race behind Manuel Poggiali and Lucio Cecchinello respectively.[36][37] In the following race at Le Mans, Cecchinello won his second successive race ahead of Poggiali, while Vincent finished fourth.[38] Poggiali then took over the championship lead from Vincent after winning the Italian Grand Prix.[39] Poggiali won the following race at Catalunya with a late overtake at the finish line over Spanish teenager Dani Pedrosa.[40] Two weeks later, Pedrosa bounced back to win his first ever race in the 2002 Dutch TT, with Poggiali finishing in second place.[41]

Vincent, who led the championship in the first four races, returned to the top of the podium with two consecutive wins at Donington Park and Sachsenring.[42][43] After finishing third behind Cecchinello and Pedrosa at Brno, Vincent won the wet Portuguese Grand Prix and retook the championship lead from Poggiali.[44][45] Honda riders, Masao Azuma and Pedrosa, won the following two races at Rio de Janeiro and Motegi while Poggiali reduced Vincent's lead to just eight points courtesy of two podium finishes and Vincent's mechanical problem at Motegi.[46][47] Vincent extended his lead by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix while Poggiali finished in fourth.[48] However, Poggiali won the following race at Phillip Island while Vincent finished in fourth to reduce the lead back to eight points.[49] In the last race of the season at Valencia, Vincent finished second behind Pedrosa to clinch the 125cc title while Poggiali finished in seventh place.[3]

Vincent ended the season with 273 points and five race wins, 19 points ahead of defending champion Poggiali who scored 254 points and four race wins. Pedrosa and Cecchinello finished third and fourth in the standings with three wins each. The Rookie of the Year title was won by Finnish rider Mika Kallio who scored 78 points with the Red Devil Honda team. Aprilia won the constructors championship with 341 points and eight race wins from Vincent and Cecchinello. Honda finished second in the standings with 285 points and four wins from Pedrosa and Azuma while Gilera finished third with 254 points and three wins from Poggiali.

• The Malaysian and Australian Grand Prix swapped places. The Malaysian round became the 14th round, while the Australian round became the 15th round on the calendar.
• The Valencian Community Grand Prix swapped position with the Rio Grand Prix. The Valencian round became the last race of the season as the world championship returned to Europe after four flyaway races that started with Rio Grand Prix.

• The name '500cc', which was already used formally since 2000 on promotional material, is now officially changed to 'MotoGP'.

• All riders in the new MotoGP class must possess an FIM Grand Prix Super License.

• The maximum age of new riders to participate in the 125cc class has been set at the new standard of 25 years. This also counts for wildcard riders.

• It is now mandatory for manufacturers in all classes to own a FIM Manufacturers License.

• If a rider has been entered for participation of a 125cc or 250cc race, the team is not allowed to replace said rider after 17:30 on the first day of the event, which is Friday. An exception is made in the case of the MotoGP class where substitutions can be made up until 12:00 on the second day of the event, which is Saturday.

• In case of a home grand prix, each grand prix host federation (FMNR) may enter three wildcard riders for the 125cc and 250cc classes.

• The MSMA can also nominate one wildcard entry for the 250cc and MotoGP classes at all given races.

• The FIM may nominate two wildcard entries for the 125cc and 250cc classes as well.

• Dorna, together with the FIM, can nominate one wildcard entry for the MotoGP class at all races.

• The timetable for qualifying has been changed: The start time for the 125cc has gone from 13:15 to 13:45, the start time for the MotoGP has gone from 14:00 to 15:00 and the 250cc start time has gone from 15:15 to 16:00.

• Restrictions are imposed on the practice sessions. If there is a break in the championship that lasts two or more consecutive weekends, the testing exceptions will not apply from 09:00 that Wednesday until the start of the following race. The winter testing for the 125cc and 250cc teams will either be restricted to their own continental zones or official IRTA tests.

• Starter engines may now also be used on the grid. The number of people for each rider on the grid has been set to seven in the MotoGP class and to a maximum of two, three minutes before the start of a race.

• Riders will only be permitted to start the race from their assigned grid position if they complete at least one sighting lap. It is forbidden for anyone, even the rider, to push the motorcycle onto the grid from the pit lane.

• Riders are allowed to complete more than one sighting lap via the pit lane if they make any changes on their main bike, swap bikes or have to refuel.

• Riders who fail to complete at least one sighting lap will have to start the warm-up lap at the back of the grid from the pits under instructions of a marshal who is positioned at the pitlane exit. These riders are not allowed to have any tyre warmers on and cannot change wheels after the display of the "3 minutes" board.

• In case of two or more riders starting from the back of the grid, they will line up in the order of which they qualified during the Saturday qualification.

• It's forbidden to communicate anything between a moving motorcycle and anyone who is connected to the motorcycle's rider. Exceptions are made for the signal from the timekeeping transponder, the on-board camera's or the voice communication between the rider and team.

• All teams will from this season onwards compete for a MotoGP Team Championship and all teams will be consisting out of two riders. The names of the teams will consist out of multiple elements. The first one is the name of the manufacturers of the motorcycle or engines, which is mandatory. The second one is the name of the team, which is mandatory except when the team name is the same as the manufacturer name. The third is the name of the main sponsor, which is optional. All the points which are scored by both riders in the team, including the substitute or replacement riders, will count towards the team's constructors championship. If the team consists out of only one rider, the points by said rider will also count. An exception is made for wild card entries, which do not score any points.

• In case of an entry, a rider is considered to have taken part the race weekend if he has, at least, participated in one practice session. A rider is considered to have started a race if he, at least, participates in the first lap.

• For a rider to be classified as a finisher of the race and be included in the final results, he must cross the finish line on the circuit and not in the pitlane within five minutes of the race winner. The rider must, at all times, be in contact with his motorcycle also.

• The white line which indicates the pole position must be painted one meter before the start/finish line.

• From 1 January 2003 onwards, races which have changes in the climate because of rain or mixed conditions and have thus changes in adhesion of the circuit, will no longer be stopped.

• The 500cc two-stroke machines - in use since the late 1970s - are going to be phased out this season for the new 990cc four-stroke machines.[56]

• Helmets must now conform to one of the recognized international standards and be of the full face type. The European standards are ECE 22-04 & ECE 22-05 'p', the British standards are BS 6658 Grade A and the American standards are USA: DOT Federal Standard n? 218/SNELL M95 & M2000.

• The use of materials has been restricted. The basic structure of the crankshaft and camshafts must be created from either steel or cast iron. It is not allowed to use composite structures which use either carbon or aramid fiber reinforcing material on components such as pistons, cylinder heads and cylinder blocks. It is mandatory to have brake calipers which are made from aluminium material with a modulus of elasticity that does not exceed the 80 GPA. None of the parts on the bike can be made from metallic materials which have a specific elasticity modus that is greater than 50 GPA.

FIM released a 20-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.[57] Àlex Crivillé, who was listed on the entry list, was replaced by Pere Riba at the Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antin team before the start of the season.[58]

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds MS Aprilia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS Cube D 55 Régis Laconi All Repsol Honda Team Honda Honda RC211V M 11 Tohru Ukawa All 46 Valentino Rossi All Team HRC 72 Shinichi Ito 1 West Honda Pons 4 Alex Barros 13–16 Honda NSR500 1–12 65 Loris Capirossi 1–7, 10–16 66 Alex Hofmann 8–9 Fortuna Honda Gresini 74 Daijiro Kato 1–9 Honda RC211V 10–16 Pramac Honda Racing Team Honda NSR500 D 31 Tetsuya Harada All Kanemoto Racing B 17 Jurgen van den Goorbergh All 72 Shinichi Ito 15 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR D 48 Akira Yanagawa 13 84 Andrew Pitt 14–16 / Proton Team KR Proton KR Proton KR3 B 9 Nobuatsu Aoki All 99 Jeremy McWilliams All 29 David García 16 Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Team Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R D 10 Kenny Roberts Jr. 1–2 M 3–8, 10–16 51 Yukio Kagayama 9 15 Sete Gibernau 3–16 D 1–2 33 Akira Ryō 1 M 6–10, 14 Marlboro Yamaha Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR-M1 M 3 Max Biaggi All 7 Carlos Checa All Yamaha Racing Team 45 Wataru Yoshikawa 13 Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 19 Olivier Jacque 14–16 56 Shinya Nakano 14–16 Yamaha YZR500 19 Olivier Jacque 1–13 56 Shinya Nakano 1–13 50 Sylvain Guintoli 10 Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antin Yamaha YZR-M1 6 Norifumi Abe 15–16 Yamaha YZR500 1–14 20 Pere Riba 1–3, 5–8, 10–11, 13 30 José Luis Cardoso 4, 9, 12, 14–16 Red Bull Yamaha WCM D 8 Garry McCoy 1–3, 8–16 18 Jean-Michel Bayle 4–5 66 Alex Hofmann 6–7 21 John Hopkins All Source: [59]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

The FIM released a 25-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.[57] Alex Hofmann, who was listed on the entry list, withdrew before the start of the season.[58]

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds Aprilia Germany Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 28 Dirk Heidolf All Aspi Honda Honda NSR250 D 37 Yann Lussiana 4 Bird Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 63 Gábor Rizmayer 10 Burning Blood R.T. Honda Honda NSR250 D 49 Chojun Kameya 1 Campetella Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 6 Alex Debón All 17 Randy de Puniet All Cibertel Honda BQR Honda Honda NSR250 D 12 Jay Vincent All 19 Leon Haslam All 34 Eric Bataille 3, 6, 11–12, 16 Cordoba Patrimonio Hum. Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 39 Luis Castro 3, 16 Dark Dog Yamaha Kurz Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 8 Naoki Matsudo All 13 Jaroslav Huleš 10–16 76 Taro Sekiguchi 1–9 DeGraaf Grand Prix Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 11 Haruchika Aoki All 29 Henk van de Lagemaat 10 30 Rob Filart 11 41 Jarno Janssen 1–9 96 Jakub Smrž 12–16 Edf Espoir Honda Honda NSR250 D 36 Erwan Nigon* 4 EMS Racing Honda Honda NSR250 D 78 Peter Taplin 15 Endurance Honda Honda NSR250 D 50 Daisaku Sakai 1 Equipe de France – Scrab GP Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 25 Vincent Philippe 1–9 36 Erwan Nigon* 10–16 51 Hugo Marchand 1–10, 12–16 57 Grégory Lefort 11 Faster by Fuller Racing Honda Honda NSR250 D 43 Christopher Sansome 8 Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 44 Andrew Whittley 8 Ferro Moto Sport Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 93 Hervé Mora 4 Fortuna Honda Gresini Honda Honda NSR250 D 4 Roberto Rolfo All 7 Emilio Alzamora 1–9, 11–16 84 David García 10 Heierli Racing Pvm Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 65 Roger Heierli 10 Hitman RC Koshien Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 68 Tekkyu Kayo 13 Imola Circuit Exalt Cycle Race Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 21 Franco Battaini All Impact Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 80 Earl Lynch 15 Ipone Tecmas Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 35/77 Thierry van den Bosch 4, 7, 9 Jovink Raps Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 61 Jarno Boesveld 7 Kehrer Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 54 Nico Kehrer 9 Kiefer Castrol Honda Honda Honda NSR250 D 52 Christian Gemmel 9 Klub Racing Team Znojmo Honda Honda NSR250 D 62 Radomil Rous 10 Morinokumasan Miztec RT Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 70 Ryuji Yokoe 13 Motoracing / TU Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 15 Roberto Locatelli All Motorex Daytona Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 89 Osamu Miyazaki 1 MRTT – Hugen Racing Honda Honda NSR250 D 58 Jan Blok 7 59 Peter Politiek 7 MS Aprilia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 3 Marco Melandri All Neukirchner Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 53 Max Neukirchner 9 Petronas Sprinta Yamaha TVK Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 9 Sebastián Porto All 18 Shahrol Yuzy All Racing Damas Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 74 Ángel Rodríguez 16 RFME Equipo Nacional Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 22 Raúl Jara All 32 Héctor Faubel All RGV Spares Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 79 Russell Holland 15 RM Racing Honda Honda NSR250 D 47 Jason Boyce 8 Safilo Oxydo Race LCR Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 27 Casey Stoner All 42 David Checa All Sierhekwerk W v/d Pol Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 60 Gert Pieper 7 Slovnaft Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 64 Vladimir Častka 10 SP Tadao Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 69 Nobuyuki Osaki 13 STU Avant – Msr – Elf Honda Honda NSR250 D 81 Mark Stanley 15 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda NSR250 D 92 Hiroshi Aoyama 1, 13 Team HRC Honda Honda NSR250 D 72 Yuki Takahashi 13 Team Kotake RSC Honda Honda NSR250 D 48 Shinichi Nakatomi 1 Team Racer Bike Honda Honda NSR250 D 45 Samuel Aubry 4 Team Stargel Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 90 Chuck Sorensen 16 Technospeed Nakasuga Yamaha Yamaha YZR250 D 71 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 13 Telefónica Movistar – Repsol YPF Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 10 Fonsi Nieto All 24 Toni Elías All UGT 3000 – Abruzzo Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 26 Ralf Waldmann 7, 9–10 Source: [60]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Notes

FIM released a 33-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.[57]

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds ADAC Sachsen Honda Honda RS125R D 93 Manuel Mickan 9 ADAC Sashsen Motorrad Unger Honda Honda RS125R D 92 Patrick Unger 9 Atletico de Madrid Aprilia Aprilia RS125R B 51 Álvaro Bautista 3, 6, 16 Bikecards.com Honda Honda RS125R D 98 Chris Peris 16 Bossini Sterilgarda Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 11 Max Sabbatani * 1–5, 8–11 32 Gianluigi Scalvini 6–7 33 Stefano Bianco 1–8, 10–16 B 50 Andrea Ballerini * 12–16 Caja Madrid Derbi Racing Derbi Aprilia RS125R D 41 Youichi Ui All 48 Jorge Lorenzo 3–16 CMSA Protectaprint Honda Honda RS125R D 81 Tim Inkster 15 CWF – Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 28 Ivan Goi 8–9 37 Marco Simoncelli 10–12, 14–16 39 Jaroslav Huleš 1–7 57 Chaz Davies All DB Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 89 Adri den Bekker 7 De Graaf Junior Team Honda Honda RS125R D 61 Raymond Schouten 7 Dinky Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 68 Akira Komuro 1, 13 Elit Grand Prix Honda Honda RS125R D 18 Jakub Smrž 1–7 B 77 Thomas Lüthi 9–12, 14–16 97 Hideyuki Nakajo 13 FCC – TSR Honda Honda RS125R B 50 Andrea Ballerini * 1–11 72 Dario Giuseppetti * 12–16 83 Josh Waters 14–15 Gilera Racing Gilera Aprilia RS125R D 1 Manuel Poggiali All Giuseppetti Viba Team Honda Honda RS125R D 72 Dario Giuseppetti * 9 Holmes Earth Moving Honda Honda RS125R D 64 Peter Holmes 15 Honda Kumamoto Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 65 Toshihisa Kuzuhara 1, 13 Imola Circuit Exalt Cycle Race Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 21 Arnaud Vincent All Italjet Racing Service Italjet Italjet F125 D 7 Stefano Perugini All 8 Gábor Talmácsi * 1–5 42 Christian Pistoni 9–16 B 24 Leon Camier 6–8 International Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 79 João Pinto 11 Kart Centrum Honda Honda RS125R D 56 Lukáš Pešek 10 Kiefer Castrol Honda Honda Honda RS125R D 73 Claudius Klein 9 Master – Aspar Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 22 Pablo Nieto All 47 Ángel Rodríguez 1–9 80 Héctor Barberá All MG Parts – RG Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 60 Randy Gevers 7 MIR Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R B 71 Ruben Catalan 3, 16 Motoracing / TU Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 11 Max Sabbatani * 13–16 16 Simone Sanna All OMV Team Hanusch Honda Honda RS125R D 49 Igor Kalab 10 PEV Moto ADAC Sachsen Honda Honda RS125R B 8 Gábor Talmácsi * 7–16 10 Jarno Müller 1–3 12 Klaus Nöhles 1–5, 9–16 30 Gaspare Caffiero 5 66 Shuhei Aoyama * 7–8 Polini Honda Honda RS125R D 87 Simone Corsi 5 Provence Motor Sport Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 86 Gregory Lefort 4 Racing Moto Sport Honda Honda RS125R D 63 Jimmy Petit 4 RCGM – Rubincone Corse Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 54 Marco Petrini 5 Red Bull Rookies Honda Honda RS125R D 90 Guy Farbrother 8 91 Midge Smart 8 Red Devil Honda Honda Honda RS125R D 36 Mika Kallio All 88 Robbin Harms 10 RMS Honda Honda RS125R D 85 Gregory Leblanc 4 Roteg Racing Honda Honda RS125R B 62 Gerald Perdon 7 RPS Racing Saalfeld Honda Honda RS125R D 74 Jascha Büsch 9 Ruffnuts/Gulf Western Honda Honda RS125R D 82 Jeremy Crowe 15 Safilo Oxydo Race LCR Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 4 Lucio Cecchinello All 15 Alex de Angelis All Scot Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 6 Mirko Giansanti All 34 Andrea Dovizioso All Semprucci Angaia Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 9 Noboru Ueda 1–5, 11–16 20 Imre Tóth All 44 Alessandro Brannetti 6 72 Dario Giuseppetti * 10 75 Fabrizio Lai 7–8 76 Matej Smrž * 9 76 Matej Smrž * 10 Sergi Motos Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 D 94 Filipe Costa 11 Showa Denki Honda Honda RS125R D 66 Shuhei Aoyama * 1, 13 Sutthisam Vaewsamana Honda Honda RS125R D 46 Suhathai Chaemsap 1 Team Gabrielli Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 53 Gioele Pellino 5, 10 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda RS125R D 95 Takashi Yasuda 13 Team Italia Gilera Aprilia RS125R D 31 Mattia Angeloni All 84 Michel Fabrizio All Team Machado Honda Honda RS125R D 55 Javier Machado 6 Team Philippe Coulon Honda Honda RS125R D 59 Vincent Braillard 4, 16 Team Plus One Honda Honda RS125R D 67 Hideyuki Ogata 1, 13 Team Technimoto Cavaillon Honda Honda RS125R D 58 Yohann Tiberio 4 Telefónica Movistar jnr Team Honda Honda RS125R D 25 Joan Olivé All 26 Dani Pedrosa All 52 Julián Simón 3, 6, 11 Tribe by Breil Honda Honda RS125R B 5 Masao Azuma All TZM Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 78 Pedro Monteiro 11 UGT 3000 – Abruzzo Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 17 Steve Jenkner All 19 Alex Baldolini All 23 Gino Borsoi All UK Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 69 Christian Elkin 8 Wilson Racing Honda Honda RS125R B 70 Chris Martin 8 Source: [61]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Notes

[62][63]

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.
• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards.

Pos Rider Constructor JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Points 1 Valentino Rossi Honda Repsol Honda Team 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ret 1 1 2 2 1 2 355 2 Max Biaggi Yamaha Marlboro Yamaha Team Ret 9 DSQ 3 2 4 4 2 2 1 6 2 Ret 1 6 3 215 3 Tohru Ukawa Honda Repsol Honda Team Ret 1 3 2 3 2 5 WD 3 3 3 Ret 4 4 3 5 209 4 Alex Barros Honda West Pons 6 Ret 5 8 5 5 2 3 Ret 9 5 4 1 3 2 1 204 5 Carlos Checa Yamaha Marlboro Yamaha Team 3 5 Ret Ret 4 3 3 Ret 4 5 2 Ret 5 7 11 Ret 141 6 Norifumi Abe Yamaha Antena 3 Pramac d'Antin 5 7 6 4 7 16 9 4 6 8 7 6 8 10 DNS 10 129 7 Daijiro Kato Honda Fortuna Gresini 10 4 2 Ret Ret 8 12 7 Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret 5 4 4 117 8 Loris Capirossi Honda West Pons 9 3 4 7 6 6 Ret 6 Ret 5 3 9 Ret Ret 109 9 Kenny Roberts Jr. Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret Ret 8 5 Ret 7 6 14 11 4 3 6 8 9 Ret 99 10 Olivier Jacque Yamaha Gauloises Tech 3 Ret 6 11 Ret 9 9 14 5 Ret 10 Ret 7 7 Ret 8 9 81 11 Shinya Nakano Yamaha Gauloises Tech 3 Ret 8 17 13 11 Ret 8 10 5 Ret 12 Ret 16 6 13 6 68 12 Nobuatsu Aoki Proton KR Proton Team KR 7 Ret 7 6 Ret Ret Ret 9 8 Ret Ret 12 9 Ret 7 Ret 63 13 Jurgen van den Goorbergh Honda Kanemoto Racing Ret 11 12 15 14 Ret 10 15 12 12 Ret 9 13 13 5 7 60 14 Jeremy McWilliams Proton KR Proton Team KR Ret Ret 16 10 Ret 12 Ret Ret 7 7 9 Ret 10 12 10 8 59 15 John Hopkins Yamaha Red Bull WCM 12 14 13 11 12 10 7 8 DNS Ret 8 14 14 18 16 11 58 16 Sete Gibernau Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret 16 9 12 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 Ret 8 Ret 14 12 13 51 17 Tetsuya Harada Honda Pramac Racing Team 11 12 10 Ret 10 13 13 11 Ret 15 10 13 15 Ret 14 14 47 18 Akira Ryō Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki 2 11 15 13 11 14 11 41 19 Régis Laconi Aprilia MS Aprilia Racing 8 15 14 9 8 14 Ret 16 Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 17 Ret Ret 33 20 Garry McCoy Yamaha Red Bull WCM Ret 10 15 12 9 13 11 10 17 15 18 Ret 33 21 Shinichi Ito Honda Kanemoto Racing 4 Ret 13 22 Alex Hofmann Yamaha Red Bull WCM Ret 11 11 Honda West Pons 17 10 23 José Luis Cardoso Yamaha Antena 3 Pramac d'Antin 16 13 11 16 15 Ret 9 24 Jean-Michel Bayle Yamaha Red Bull WCM 14 13 5 25 Wataru Yoshikawa Yamaha Marlboro Yamaha Team 12 4 26 Andrew Pitt Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 19 17 12 4 27 Pere Riba Yamaha Antena 3 Pramac d'Antin DNQ 13 Ret Ret 15 Ret DNS DNS Ret DNS 4 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha Gauloises Tech 3 17 0 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret 0 Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team Ret 0 David García Proton KR Proton Team KR Ret 0 Pos Rider Constructor JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.
• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards.

Pos Rider Constructor JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Points 1 Marco Melandri Aprilia Ret 1 Ret 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 2 Ret 1 1 298 2 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia 13 3 1 1 3 3 5 2 4 4 1 Ret 4 1 2 Ret 241 3 Roberto Rolfo Honda 8 4 2 5 8 2 3 5 2 Ret 4 2 6 3 4 2 219 4 Toni Elías Aprilia 11 16 10 6 4 10 2 3 6 3 13 5 1 2 5 10 178 5 Sebastián Porto Yamaha 5 8 7 8 7 Ret 4 Ret 3 2 3 1 8 4 3 Ret 172 6 Franco Battaini Aprilia 10 2 4 Ret 6 5 9 4 8 Ret Ret 3 7 5 7 7 142 7 Emilio Alzamora Honda 4 7 3 7 11 9 Ret 12 Ret 6 7 5 8 13 3 120 8 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia 16 5 5 4 2 Ret 7 13 5 7 5 Ret 9 13 Ret 5 119 9 Randy de Puniet Aprilia 3 6 Ret 3 5 4 Ret 6 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 6 6 4 119 10 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha 6 11 9 11 14 7 14 8 7 8 Ret 8 16 7 14 8 92 11 Alex Debón Aprilia 9 9 8 9 Ret 13 12 9 10 13 Ret Ret 10 Ret 9 9 72 12 Casey Stoner Aprilia Ret Ret 6 Ret DNS 6 8 11 Ret 5 Ret 6 17 11 10 13 68 13 David Checa Aprilia DNS 10 Ret 10 10 12 16 15 15 18 8 12 21 10 8 6 60 14 Haruchika Aoki Honda Ret 13 12 Ret 12 11 6 7 Ret 9 Ret Ret 13 12 11 12 58 15 Shahrol Yuzy Yamaha Ret Ret 13 13 9 8 10 10 11 Ret Ret 9 18 9 15 11 58 16 Osamu Miyazaki Yamaha 1 25 17 Daisaku Sakai Honda 2 20 18 Leon Haslam Honda Ret 15 19 Ret 18 18 Ret 17 13 17 7 10 Ret 17 18 17 19 19 Ralf Waldmann Aprilia 11 9 11 17 20 Dirk Heidolf Aprilia DNQ 14 Ret 18 Ret 21 20 18 12 14 9 14 20 18 16 19 17 21 Yuki Takahashi Honda 3 16 22 Jay Vincent Honda Ret 12 17 15 15 19 19 16 14 12 Ret Ret 19 14 Ret 14 16 23 Héctor Faubel Aprilia Ret Ret 11 14 16 20 Ret 20 18 Ret 10 17 22 Ret 19 15 14 24 Jaroslav Huleš Yamaha Ret Ret 11 15 15 12 16 11 25 Raúl Jara Aprilia 15 Ret 16 19 17 15 13 Ret 17 15 11 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 26 Chojun Kameya Honda 7 9 27 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 12 11 9 28 Erwan Nigon Aprilia 16 12 13 23 Ret Ret 20 7 Honda 20 29 Taro Sekiguchi Yamaha Ret Ret 15 12 Ret 16 17 14 16 7 30 David García Honda 10 6 31 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha 12 4 32 Vincent Philippe Aprilia Ret Ret 18 16 13 17 15 Ret Ret 4 33 Hugo Marchand Aprilia 14 Ret Ret DNQ Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 DNS Ret 4 34 Eric Bataille Honda 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 35 Ryuji Yokoe Yamaha 14 2 36 Jakub Smrž Honda 15 24 16 17 Ret 1 Jarno Janssen Honda Ret 17 20 17 Ret 22 18 19 Ret 0 Ángel Rodríguez Aprilia 18 0 Max Neukirchner Honda 19 0 Henk van de Lagemaat Honda 19 0 Gábor Rizmayer Honda 20 0 Russell Holland Yamaha 20 0 Peter Politiek Honda 21 0 Andrew Whittley Aprilia 21 0 Chuck Sorensen Aprilia 21 0 Jarno Boesveld Aprilia 22 0 Gert Pieper Aprilia 23 0 Thierry van den Bosch Honda Ret DNQ Ret 0 Shinichi Nakatomi Honda Ret 0 Christian Gemmel Honda Ret 0 Nico Kehrer Honda Ret 0 Vladimir Častka Yamaha Ret 0 Grégory Lefort Aprilia Ret 0 Tekkyu Kayo Yamaha Ret 0 Noboyuki Osaki Yamaha Ret 0 Radomil Rous Honda DNS 0 Yann Lussiana Honda DNQ 0 Samuel Aubry Honda DNQ 0 Hervé Mora Aprilia DNQ 0 Jan Blok Honda DNQ 0 Christopher Sansome Honda DNQ 0 Jason Boyce Honda WD 0 Roger Heierli Honda DNQ 0 Rob Filart Honda DNQ 0 Peter Taplin Honda DNQ 0 Earl Lynch Yamaha DNQ 0 Mark Stanley Honda DNQ 0 Luis Castro Yamaha DNQ 0 Pos Rider Constructor JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.