From a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

McWilliams ends 2004 campaign in points

MS Aprilia Racing’s Jeremy McWilliams ended the 2004 MotoGP world championship with a determined ride to 13th position this afternoon at the Valencia circuit.

In front of a bumper capacity crowd of over 120,000 fans, McWilliams overcame rear grip problems with his Cube three-cylinder machine to register a top 15 finish for the ninth time in the last eleven races.

The 30-lap race though proved to be a tough encounter for the experienced British rider, who had qualified in 14th position on the grid. Fifteenth at the end of a typically chaotic first lap at the 4km venue, McWilliams dropped out of the points before clawing his way back into contention shortly before the midway stage.

McWilliams, who finished the 2004 world championship in 19th position with 26-points, said: “It was a hard race. My rear tyre looked like being the wrong choice because the track was just too cold. When the surface temperature is down we struggle for grip. It has something to do with the fact that we always have to run a stiff chassis setting. I had a lot of fun spinning the rear tyre and playing around but that doesn’t help you go forward. The bike was off the rev limiter all the time. I got three points but it is hard to get too fired up about and I wanted to finish the season better. But when you look at people like Hopkins in 12th and Capirossi just in the top ten, it shows how tough it is out there.”

McWilliams also had some rear brake problems during the season’s finale as he tried to alleviate some of the wheelspin generated from the rear tyre. “I lost the rear brake for a few laps before it came back. I was using it so much to stop me getting high-sided and when it went away I had to slow right down, “he added.

Stand-in team-mate Garry McCoy finished his brief sojourn with the Noale manufacturer with a gritty ride to 16th position. Still suffering the effects of a flu bug picked up on Thursday, McCoy managed to fend off Suzuki substitute rider Gregorio Lavilla.

The Australian said: “I was very tired after the race because of the problems I have had with the flu all weekend. I was catching Jeremy for a while but when I started to suffer grip problems towards the end of the race I couldn’t stay with the group min front. Part of that was my physical condition because I’ve not been perfect since I arrived in Valencia. I decided to make my own pace just to make sure I finished the race.”

McCoy added: “I’d just want to say thanks to Aprilia for giving me this opportunity to join them for the last three races. I just wish I could have signed off with some points.”


More, from a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

HODGSON AND XAUS GIVE THEIR ALL IN VALENCIA

The d´Antin MotoGP riders today tried to finish the championship on a high note, although only Neil Hodgson managed to finish the race, with Rubén Xaus crashing out of thirteenth position.

The British rider finished fifteenth, and in seventeenth position overall in the standings, whilst Xaus, after his crash, was unable to hang on to tenth place in the championship and concluded his first MotoGP season in eleventh, satisfied with his Rookie of the Year Trophy.

RUBEN XAUS : “It’s a shame I crashed because I wanted to give the fans a good result. They are the most important and they deserved it. Racing here at home and seeing what the place was like today, full to the brim, I had to go for it. I was excited about finishing in the top ten in the championship and although I didn’t get a good start, I pushed forward trying to catch Melandri and pass him, because he was my main rival in the standings. I crashed though, and he crashed a bit after me, but Nakano leapfrogged us both with today’s race. To finish eleventh isn’t that bad, and of course it’s my favourite number too!

We’ve done good races throughout the season, and I think that I have to be satisfied because it has been a really tough year, and we have all worked hard. I hope to have won myself a spot in this championship.”

NEIL HODGSON : “I managed to finish, and score points, which is something I hadn’t done for three races now. I’m not satisfied, of course, because I would have liked to have enjoyed this last race, but I couldn’t get a set-up which allowed me to be comfortable. There were thousands of race fans there today, and on the lap of honour I wanted to celebrate the end of the season with them, because this has honestly been a tough year for me. “

LUIS D´ANTIN: “We’ve reached the end of a difficult year, because we had to gel well and it was our first season with Ducati. It was a shame because Rubén lost tenth position in the championship, but the important thing is that he tried and whatever the outcome, we are happy because he picked up the Rookie of the Year trophy. Neil meanwhile moved up a place in the standings and finished the race, but already we are thinking of the 2005 season which begins tomorrow. We have to begin our work for next season already.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

HOPPER CONTINUES POINTS HAUL
Team Suzuki Press Office, Valencia, Spain – October 31, 2004.

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins overcame grip problems to finish 12th in today’s Valencia GP, the last race of the 2004 season, adding another four to his score of points at a track that did not favour the Suzuki GSV-R.

Temporary team-mate Gregorio Lavilla missed out on points by two places, finally finishing 17th after earlier running 15th. The same problem meant he got the worst of a four-bike battle for the final points. The Spanish rider was substituting for Kenny Roberts Jr., who withdrew after the first free training session, in his come-back ride after missing four races through injury.

Hopkins had run strongly in practice to qualify seventh, leading the third row of the starting grid. But the problems were not unexpected. He finished the first lap tenth, and though he did all he could, he was unable to avoid losing two positions as the race wore on. After a best result this year of sixth, he was bitterly disappointed not to have finished the season more strongly – not least because it was team manager Garry Taylor’s last race.

Lavilla had been trying to catch up all weekend after missing the first hour of practice, when Roberts set fastest time before deciding his left elbow was not strong enough to complete the race. He qualified 19th, started well to finish the first lap 16th, and moved up to 15th before half distance. But he too suffered similar problems, and towards the end found himself in a torrid four-rider battle, dropping to 17th.

Hopkins’s four points secured 16th place overall in a year when bad luck and injuries have spoiled his overall chances. But he and the team can look back on a steady overall improvement during the season, especially in handling, engine response and “rider friendliness”, as well as the new-this-season Bridgestone tyres. The 21-year-old Anglo-American rider signed a contract this weekend to stay with Suzuki next year and was eager to continue the programme and to keep moving forward.

Work has already begun in Japan on an improved new engine for the GSV-R, with the aim of continuing the improvement next year, to regain a position where Suzuki can challenge for race wins and the championship.

This was the last race for team manager Garry Taylor, after 29 years with the Suzuki team. His first GP was at the end of 1976, when Barry Sheene won the first of two Suzuki World Championships. This was his 378th race, and Taylor has clocked up 57 GP wins, 154 podium finishes and 56 pole positions, plus two more World Championships with Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr. in his racing career.

JOHN HOPKINS – 12th Position:

“I just struggled all through the race, and didn’t get where I wanted to be. Not much to say about that. I do want to say farewell to Garry Taylor. Unfortunately we couldn’t close the year with the good result I hoped to give him. The crew has worked hard all year long and done a great job. Suzuki has improved the bike tremendously and the Bridgestones also. I can’t wait to have a better combination next year and to have a hell of a year.”

GREGORIO LAVILLA – 17th Position:

“It was a hard race. We’ve had the same problem during practice. I got a good start but obviously I couldn’t keep the right pace. I was suffering especially from grip at the rear and this track is all about having good edge grip. With more time in practice we could have got it a little better but not to make too much difference. Other Bridgestone tyre riders had better races. I want to thank the team for all their work and Suzuki for the chances they have given me this year.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager:

“I’d have liked a better result for my last race. Both riders gave it everything, but a rider can only do what the bike is capable of. There is a lot of work to be done over the winter. We’ve made massive improvements in our chassis performance and in the Bridgestone tyres this year and the factory will be concentrating on engine performance over the winter. I’ve already thanked all the team and the riders personally – there is nobody who hasn’t given anything but their best for this team this year.”

RESULTS (Round 16, Valencia): 1. Valentino Rossi ITA (Yamaha) 47’16.145, 2. Max Biaggi ITA (Honda), +0.425, 3. Troy Bayliss AUS (Ducati) +3.133, 4. Sete Gibernau SPA (Honda) +6.128, 5. Makoto Tamada JPN (Honda) + 7.768, 6. Alex Barros BRA (Honda) +14.675, 7. Shinya Nakano JPN (Kawasaki) +23.315, 8. Colin Edwards USA (Honda) +27.441, 9. Loris Capirossi ITA (Ducati) +29.403, 10. Norick Abe JPN (Yamaha) +31.537, 11. Alex Hofmann GER (Kawasaki) +40.951, 12. John Hopkins USA (Suzuki) +1’02.014, 13. Jeremy McWilliams ITA (Aprilia) +1’04.637, 14. Carlos Checa SPA (Yamaha) + 1’08.042, 15. Neil Hodgson GBR (Ducati) + 1’09.364, 17. Gregorio Lavilla SPA (Suzuki) +1’15.274.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (After 16 rounds): 1 Rossi 304, 2 Gibernau 257, 3 Biaggi 217, 4 Barros 165, 5 Edwards 157, 6 Tamada 150, 7 Checa 117, 8 Hayden 117, 9 Capirossi 117, 10 Nakano 83, 11 Xaus 77, 12 Melandri 75, 13 Abe 71, 14 Bayliss 71, 15 Hofmann 51, 16 Hopkins 45, 18 Roberts 37.

NEXT ROUND: April 10, 2005 – Jerez, Spain.