From a press release issued by Dorna:

MotoGP crowds on the rise again in 2004

The MotoGP World Championship recorded record onsite crowds once again in 2004, with increased figures at all but one of the sixteen rounds and an average total rise of over 10% on corresponding Grand Prix attendances from the previous season. Valentino Rossi’s historic first season with Yamaha proved to be an irresistible pull to MotoGP fans all over the world, 1.7 million of whom who flocked to traditional venues across five continents as well as a new home for the series at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar.

Whilst the Qatar race made MotoGP accessible to a whole new public sector in the Middle East, established circuits such as Mugello, Catalunya, Sachsenring, Donington Park, Brno and Valencia welcomed unprecedented levels of support. Indeed, it was the Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republiky at Brno in July which recorded the highest increase, with an incredible rise of 22,766 fans on race day alone and a weekend total of 104,719 – almost 30,000 more than the previous season.

Weekend increases of more than 20% were recorded at the Gran Premio Cinzano d’Italia, at Mugello, and the Cinzano British Grand Prix, at Donington Park, whilst the Camel Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi and the Marlboro Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang also noted significantly improved attendances.

Despite being washed out by rain on race day the traditionally popular opening European round, the Gran Premio Marlboro de España at Jerez, still attracted record crowds in excess of 200,000 people. However, Spanish enthusiasm went overboard at the final round in Valencia, where a capacity race-day crowd of 122,034 boosted the overall attendance for the Gran Premio Marlboro de la Comunitat Valenciana to a massive 211,468 as local hero Dani Pedrosa celebrated his coronation as the 250cc World Champion.

The Veltins Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at Sachsenring was the third event in the season to score over the 200,000 spectators mark for the three days of action.


GRAND PRIX
RACE-DAY WEEKEND TOTAL
2003
2004
2003
2004

SOUTH AFRICA – Welkom
44.621
45.051
56.521
58.764

SPAIN – Jerez
128.423
124.933*
203.324
206.936

FRANCE – Le Mans
73.225
75.560
133.770
136.645

ITALY – Mugello
72.901
85.169
104.127
126.707

SPAIN – Catalunya
96.054
102.301
147.303
168.498

NETHERLANDS – Assen
90.345*
90.322
130.900
130.438

BRAZIL – Rio
50.326
55.726
67.882
73.582

GERMANY – Sachsenring
91.808
93.408
204.061
207.745

G. BRITAIN – Donington Park
72.000
82.091
107.020
129.738

CZECH REPUBLIC – Brno
44.865
67.631
74.960
104.719

PORTUGAL – Estoril
X
X
50.112
55.115

JAPAN – Motegi
56.008
67.158
80.238
94.703

QATAR – Losail
x
2.951
x
5.089

MALAYSIA – Sepang
30.150
40.025
39.699
46.318

AUSTRALIA – Phillip Island
40.960*
42.536
87.154
87.332

SPAIN – Valencia
121.342
122.034
201.366
211.468



* Under rain conditions