Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
MotoGP Results
28 laps
1. Sete Gibernau, Spain, Honda, 44:10.398
2. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Honda, 44:10.761
3. Max Biaggi, Italy, Honda, 44:15.471
4. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 44:23.004
5. Alex Barros, Brazil, Yamaha, 44:29.328
6. Tohru Ukawa, Japan, Honda, 44:29.511
7. Nicky Hayden, USA, Honda, 44:30.554
8. Norick Abe, Japan, Yamaha, 44:31.268
9. Carlos Checa, Spain, Yamaha, 44:32.523
10. Olivier Jacque, France, Yamaha, 44:35.616
11. Shinya Nakano, Japan, Yamaha, 44:46.301
12. Nobuatsu Aoki, Japan, Proton, 44:49.656
13. John Hopkins, USA, Suzuki, 45:00.628
14. Makoto Tamada, Japan, Honda, 45:11.839
15. Kenny Roberts, USA, Suzuki, 45:14.540
16. Andrew Pitt, Australia, Kawasaki, 45:33.481
17. Garry McCoy, Australia, Kawasaki, – 1 lap
18. Noriyuka Haga, Japan, Aprilia, -16 laps, crashed, DNF
19. Loris Capirossi, Italy, Ducati, -20 laps, mechanical, DNF
20. Colin Edwards, USA, Aprilia, -28 laps, crashed, DNF
21. Jeremy McWilliams, UK, Proton, -28 laps, crashed, DNF
250cc GP Results
26 laps
1. Manuel Poggiali, San Marino, Aprilia, 42:14.305
2. Randy De Puniet, France, Aprilia, 42:14.920
3. Franco Battaini, Italy, Aprilia, 42:19.946
4. Sebastian Porto, Argentina, Honda, 42:26.452
5. Robero Rolfo, Italy, Honda, 42:27.272
6. Anthony West, Australia, Aprilia, 42:33.874
7. Fonsi Nieto, Spain, Aprilia, 42:37.385
8. Toni Elias, Spain, Aprilia, 42:41.601
9. Sylvain Guintoli, France, 42:44.492
10. Naoki Matsudo, Japan, Yamaha, 42:45.752
21. Katja Poensgen, Germany, Honda, -16 laps, DNF, mechanical
125cc GP Results
24 laps
1. Daniel Pedrosa, Spain, Honda, 40:46.694
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Honda, 40:47.050
3. Steve Jenkner, Germany, Aprilia, 40:47.242
4. Youichi Ui, Japan, Aprilia, 40:47.448
5. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Aprilia, 40:47.533
6. Alex De Angelis, San Marino, Aprilia, 40:48.659
7. Mika Kallio, Finland, Honda, 41:00.691
8. Lucio Cecchinello, Italy, Aprilia, 41:01.484
9. Masao Azuma, Japan, Honda, 41:03.484
10. Casey Stoner, Australia, Aprilia, 41:07.343
More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:
African’s Grand Prix
Sunday, 27 April 2003
Welkom, South Africa
FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM SURVIVES A DAY OF DRAMAS
The Africa’s Grand Prix, held on April 27 at the Phakisa Freeway, Welkom, proved to be an eventful and emotional 28 lap race after Sete Gibernau (Honda) claimed victory over Valentino Rossi (Honda) and Max Biaggi (Honda), in honour of his team-mate Daijiro Kato – who passed away on Saturday, April 19 after crashing heavily during the Suzuka Grand Prix. Gibernau was one of 17 riders to survive a four bike collision on the main straight only moments after the start when Colin Edwards (Aprilia) clipped another rider. His out of control machine collided with Jeremy McWilliams (Proton KR) who in turn forced Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) into the outfield.
Fortunately both Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Norick Abe – the latter filling in for the injured Marco Melandri – escaped the incident unscathed. In fact Abe made the most of the chaotic situation to improve on his 18th place grid position; finishing the opening lap fifth, behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati), Gibernau, Biaggi and Rossi. In an impressive display the Japanese continued to hold his ground on an unfamiliar machine until an electronic glitch robbed his M1 of power on the final lap – losing three places to finish eighth.
“Today I made a perfect start, already on the first lap I was in fifth position,” said Abe. “After that my lap times were not too bad. I followed Ukawa and kept behind him as much as I could. I think if I had passed him I might have lost my pace but staying behind him kept me fast. Around the middle of the race I managed to pass him and I wanted to go faster but then Barros passed me. On the last lap I tried to overtake him but I went wide. In the last section something went wrong with the bike and Hayden and Ukawa passed me. So the end of the race was not so good. Throughout the weekend my team has worked so hard and I want to thank everybody.”
After surviving the start line mayhem Checa completed the opening lap eighth before a five-way scrap for fifth ensued with eventual fifth placed finisher Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team), Tohru Ukawa (Honda), Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Abe. Although the Spaniard improved to be as high as seventh he never really found the grip he needed to break through to the front of pack, and eventually finished the day ninth.
“In the beginning I had no grip with the rear, or stability. I couldn’t brake hard although towards the end of the race the balance changed a bit and I was able to keep the pace better. Sometimes when I was off the gas I lost the rear, which didn’t give me any confidence. At the end of the race I understood the bike a bit better and was able to go on the gas earlier. If I was able to stay in the ’34s I could have kept up and fought for fifth position. Anyway, that’s another race for me to learn from – we’ll keep trying.”
There was a further glitch in the weekend programme when, in addition to the start line crash, the Suzuki of Kenny Roberts dropped a substantial amount of oil on the racing line through turns four, five, six and nine after the V-four four-stroke suffered a mechanical failure. Initially efforts were made in an attempt to stick to the scheduled start time, but the extent of the spill was too significant and a full restart was called causing a 50 minute delay.
Davide Brivio, director of the Fortuna Yamaha Team, commented about the day, “It is fitting that Sete won the race and good to see his team on the podium. I hope that this can help them to find the encouragement to keep going. Regarding our team, Norick had a great race. He confirmed that he’s a racing rider more than a qualifier. We must apologise to him as there was a problem with his bike at the end of the race, which looked like an electronic problem. He came back into the pit lane, and the team are checking out what happened. Congratulations to him for his ride.
“For Carlos it wasn’t such an easy race, it seems that the bike started to get better in the second half of the race. He only got a good pace at the end when it was a bit too late. Anyway he rode well this weekend, now back to Europe, and time to start again. I would like to say thanks to Norick for all he has done. It looks like Melandri’s recovery is going well and we look forward to having him back in Jerez.”
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Valentino Rossi 45
2. Sete Gibernau 38
3. Max Biaggi 36
4. Troy Bayliss 24
5. Alex Barros 19
6. Nicky Hayden 18
7. Loris Capirossi 16
8. NORICK ABE 13
9. CARLOS CHECA 13
10. Shinya Nakano 12
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Africa’s GP, Welkom
Race Day
Sunday, April 27 2003
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN THE THICK OF THE ACTION AT WELKOM
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was one of the main men in this afternoon’s dramatic Africa’s GP, leading the first ten laps and taking a well-earned fourth-place finish in his and his team’s first visit to the ultra-demanding Welkom circuit. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who yesterday scored the Ducati Marlboro Team’s first front-row start, had a less successful day, withdrawing from the race on lap nine.
“For sure that was a wonderful race for the fans to watch, but not so good for us because the overall result wasn’t as good as Suzuka,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli, referring to the team’s remarkable third- and fifth-place debut performance in the season-opening Japanese GP. “We did a good job, but not a perfect job! We’re kind of happy because the bike and tyres lasted and we showed once again that we have very fast riders. Loris pulled out because he had a lot of trouble with the mess from the oil that someone dropped on the warm-up lap.”
Today’s race was delayed for 50 minutes while oil was cleared after a rival’s bike leaked lubricant during the warm-up lap.
BAYLISS LEADS, SCORES BEST MotoGP RESULT
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a storming race this afternoon – snatching the holeshot from the third row of the grid and leading the race until after one-third distance. And the hard-charging Aussie had never even ridden Welkom before Friday! Bayliss enjoyed a frantic mid-race battle with World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda), then eased his pace in the late stages as he found himself all alone in fourth place.
“My start wasn’t so bad, but I only missed Nakano by millimetres after he seemed to stall!” said Bayliss who amazed with his awesome getaway. “I was thinking: ‘I shouldn’t be out front just yet, maybe not for another couple of races!’. I took it a little steady, checking the mess from the oil, then it was just nice to be part of the action, because that’s what it’s all about. I had a good go with Valentino, it was good to be in the race, it’s been a while. The bike was working really well, the only problem was that we’d lifted the footpegs a little, and that was really uncomfortable for my knees. I kind of cruised the last ten laps because I knew then that I couldn’t do any better than fourth. The team’s done a great job here, we’ve still got some things to learn, but we’re all looking forward to Jerez.”
CAPIROSSI EXITS AFTER FRONT-ROW START
Loris Capirossi had high expectations for today’s race but his hopes were dashed on the very first lap when he ran off the track at turn two. The Ducati Marlboro Team man rejoined the race, ending the first lap down in 13th, then found it very difficult to make up places because the oil mess prevented him from taking the lines he needed to make a pass. After moving into 11th he ran off the track again on lap eight, ending up at the back of the pack. After that he
decided to retire.
“Not such a great day,” said a disappointed Capirossi. “The start was hectic, Biaggi and I collided on the way to turn one, which lost me some places, but the bike was running perfect, so I was confident. But then I ran onto the grass at turn two because of the oil mess, which was a real problem for me after that. When I ran off again and had no chance of making the points, I thought it sensible to stop. It’s a shame because I had hopes of a good race, the bike has once again shown that it’s very strong.”
Capirossi’s Desmosedici headed the top-speed charts at Welkom, just as he did at Suzuka three weeks ago, with a best speed of 274.5kmh.
More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:
Hopkins survives collision with Edwards and finishes 13th at Africa’s GP
WELKOM, South Africa – Suzuki’s John Hopkins survived a scary start of the Africa’s Motorcycle Grand Prix and went on to finish 13th for the second straight race. Aprilia rider Colin Edwards lost control of his bike on the start and shot across the track, impacting Hopkins. Edwards and Proton Team KR’s Jeremy McWilliams both crashed out of the race, but somehow Hopkins survived the hard hit from Edwards’ bike and continued on.
“I got a good jump at the start and all of a sudden I saw Colin’s bike coming across the track,” Hopper explained. “I knew we were going to collide and I just braced myself for it. I thought for sure it was going to be a big one. His bike smashed my clutch lever into my fingers, but somehow I didn’t go down. I looked up and I was still on the track, so I just kept going. We nailed each other hard. It smashed up my bike’s fairing and banged up my fingers pretty good. It was pretty wild. I was lucky to make it through that.”
Hopkins ran 11th early in the race behind Alex Barros and Olivier Jacque. He then battled with Loris Capirossi, before Capirossi retired his Ducati to the pits. Just past midway Japanese riders Shinya Nakano and Nobu Aoki got by Hopkins and after a short battle he rode a lonely race in 13th to the flag.
“I tried like crazy to stay with Nakano and Aoki,” Hopkins said. “But I was taking too many chances and they were still pulling away. There was a 10-second gap back to Tamada (in 14th) so I just settle in and brought it home safe and earned a few points.”
It marks the second straight MotoGP that Hopkins has finished 13th, but he feels this race was much better than the opening round in Suzuka, Japan.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” he added. “This week we were able to do consistent lap times and got the bike feeling a lot better. We’re supposed to have some major updates for the bike at Jerez. I doubt if we’ll make a big leap there, but we have testing scheduled afterwards and I’m sure the Suzuki will improve as the season progresses.”
Hopkins is 14th in the world championship standings after two of 16 rounds.
He and girlfriend Desiree will now head to their European base of Austria where John hopes to get in some snowboarding before the ski season ends. Then he’ll turn his attention to Jerez on May 11.
More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:
AOKI SCORES, MCWILLIAMS OUT IN START-LINE CRASH
Round 2: Africa’s GP, Welkom
Race: Sunday, April 27, 2003
Nobuatsu Aoki: 12th
Jeremy McWilliams: DNF – crash
Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki claimed the team’s first points of the season with a solid ride to 12th place today, in what might be the last time the lightweight 500cc two-stroke Proton KR3 races against the much more powerful new-generation 990cc four-stroke MotoGP machines.
Team-mate Jeremy McWilliams had a very different afternoon, after qualifying ahead of Aoki and with his eyes firmly on a top-ten finish. Instead he didn’t even make the first corner … innocent victim of a start-line crash that eliminated one other rider on the spot, and later caused a third to retire.
The incident was caused when Aprilia rider Colin Edwards lost control on the launch, spearing across the track at an angle and hitting several other machines before falling off. McWilliams was right behind, and though he narrowly managed to avoid the fallen rider he ran off the track himself and fell without injury.
Aoki’s race saw him stick with fellow-Japanese rider Shinya Nakano’s Yamaha – outpowered on the straights, but using the KR3’s legendary good handling to regain lost ground on the 4.242km Phakisa Freeway’s technical turns. Only in the very last of the 28 laps did he lose touch with the more powerful machine, finishing three seconds adrift.
The race was won by Spain’s Sete Gibernau (Honda), with the similarly mounted defending champion Valentino Rossi second and Max Biaggi third.
The Proton riders are now looking forward to testing the team’s all-new V5 990cc four-stroke for the first time on Thursday. The target is to debut the new machine at the Spanish GP at Jerez in two weeks.
NOBUATSU AOKI
For the first few laps, Capirossi’s Ducati was in front of me, and it was spraying water all around. I was expecting he would stop, but he continued, so I left a little gap behind him. If something happened to his bike, then I could also have crashed out. Then Andrew Pitt got between us, and it became his problem, not mine. After Capirossi went off I was behind Nakano. Everything was going well – the tyre stayed quite high-performance, and the bike was running okay. I just couldn’t pass him. I had to wait until he made a mistake … but he didn’t. But I am really happy that I rode 100 percent to the end.
JEREMY McWILLIAMS
I’m really frustrated. I was determined to finish in the middle of the field, and I believe a top ten would have been possible. Instead I was out because of a crash that had nothing to do with me Everyone was shoved to the left because Nakano was slow off the line, then Edwards came across. I saw him hit another bike and he fell right in front of me. It’s a nightmare when that happens. No matter how hard you brake, you can’t slow down faster than a rider sliding along the track. It would have been better if he’d been sliding straight, but he was coming across at an angle. It was all I could do to get off the track, and I thought I’d still run over his arm. Luckily I didn’t. It’s so disappointing. It seems every time we have a decent chance, something goes wrong.
CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
What happened to Jeremy was very unfortunate. It’s lucky nobody got hurt. Nobu did a great job, with a good pace, and keeping it on two wheels to get some points. There was no way he was going to get past Nakano, being so out-powered. The whole team did a great job for a trouble-free weekend, aside from Jeremy’s incident. Now we are flying straight back to work on the four-stroke. I spoke to Kenny Roberts today, and he was quite positive about what is happening with the engine tests. We’re still on schedule to test on Thursday.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:
SUZUKI CLAIM POINTS AGAIN IN STH AFRICA
Welkom, South Africa – Sunday, April 27, 2003
Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. both finished in the points again, after an up-and-down South African GP for both riders.
Hopkins, who finished 13th, was the innocent victim of a start-line pile-up, when he was struck by an out-of-control Colin Edwards, who subsequently crashed, also bringing down rider Jeremy McWilliams. “Hopper” stayed upright, but the impact crushed his clutch lever against his left hand, leaving him in severe pain for the rest of a race in which his main goal was to make the finish line in safety.
Former World Champion Kenny Roberts had a different kind of drama when a freak mechanical glitch caused the whole race to be delayed by 50 minutes. On the pre-race warm-up lap an oil pipe fractured, explained team supervisor Yasuo Kamomiya. It sprayed oil at high pressure over the machine and onto the track. This was something the team had never experienced before.
The delay came as the track was cleaned; Roberts switched to his spare machine, and finished a disappointed 15th.
The race, second of 16 rounds in the World Championship, was eventually run to full distance – 28 laps of the 4.242km Phakisa Freeway circuit outside Welkom, in front of a big crowd enjoying hot and sunny conditions. It was won by ex-Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau.
JOHN HOPKINS – 13th Position
That wasn’t a typical race! At the start when Colin Edwards got sideways I was the first one he hit. My clutch lever came back and smashed hell out of my fingers. My hand was pretty sore for the whole race. For the first laps I saw a few people in trouble on the oil and dust on the track, and I made sure to keep myself clean from that. I got in a group for a while, but when I lost touch with them I concentrated on bringing the bike home. I was pushing the front some, so I just tried to stick at it and get to the finish.
KENNY ROBERTS – 15th Position
At the first try, my bike leaked oil. That’s all I know. And that this bike is unrideable for me the way it is at the moment. I’ve nothing else to say, except congratulations to Sete. It shows what a good rider on a good bike can do.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:
Grand Prix of South Africa at Phakisa Freeway
Raceday Sunday April 27
GIBERNAU WINS EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER RACE
Under yet another burning South African sun in a cloudless sky, 44,000 race fans prepared for a race that was already charged with atmosphere. But the Africa’s Grand Prix in the aftermath of Daijiro Kato’s death was brimming with an extra emotional content that was palpable even before the pitlane observed a heart-rending minute’s silence for the hugely missed Japanese star.
The drama unfolded even before the race began when the Suzuki of Kenny Roberts laid a trail of oil around the first third of the track when an oil line fractured and sprayed the racing line with the treacherous fluid. The start was delayed for 50 minutes while the marshals cleaned up the mess and rendered the 4.242km track race-ready again.
Then the delayed start itself was a chaotic affair with Colin Edwards (Aprilia) clipping another machine after losing traction on a dirty part of the track. His bike collected his team-mate Noriyuki Haga, while Edwards himself mercifully slid through the field unscathed largely thanks to the efforts of Jeremy McWilliams (Proton) who took to the grass to avoid the Texan.
While all this unfolded Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took the opportunity to make headway at the front of the pack with Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) behind him and Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) and Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) in unfamiliarly distant pursuit.
Bayliss was making the most of his chance at the front but Gibernau was relentlessly pegging the Aussie back and by lap 11 he scythed past him and prepared to put more daylight between his RC211V and his pursuers. His biggest threat would prove to be Rossi who hunted him down in the closing stages of the race, but could not catch the scintillating Spaniard.
Gibernau won by 0.363 seconds from Rossi with Max Biaggi in third just over five seconds adrift of the winner. Gibernau’s win was one of the most warmly received victories MotoGP has seen and his dignified determination under dreadful circumstances will be long remembered. “There are no words that can say how I really feel,” he explained. “I felt Daijiro with me in qualifying and in the race and I’d like to thank everyone in the sport for giving me the courage to do this for someone we will hold in our hearts for the rest of our lives.”
Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) who had been suffering form flu all weekend recovered sufficiently to feel reasonably satisfied with second. “That was a very fun race and I am very happy with the result,” he said. “Really this is the best second place I’ve ever had. I am so happy for Sete, he rode very well and really had the feeling he was riding with a little help from Daijiro. I had a good battle first with Bayliss, then Biaggi and in the end Sete. Who knows what would have happened if there were a few more laps.”
Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) suffered a slight drop in power that was enough to prevent him making as strong a challenge as he would have liked. “On the warm-up lap I’d already noticed that the engine had lost about 10% of its power,” he said. “It was a shame because I think that we could have done even better in this race. But in any case I’m happy that Sete won, which was the best way to remember Kato.”
For a man who won here last year Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) had every right to feel slightly deflated with sixth. “I hoped for more from this weekend,” he said. “We picked a tyre that was too hard and the grip was not great in the first few laps. Despite that I pushed hard but it was really impossible to go any quicker. I wasn’t physically perfect after my Friday crash and set-up wasn’t perfect either.”
Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) continues to impress in his rookie MotoGP season and his determined attitude continues to reap results. He finished seventh. “I got a really good start,” he said. “Then some guys got past me and I fell back. But I just stayed calm and went to school on these riders and learned something. It’s another seventh place but I’m happier about this seventh than at Suzuka. I felt I really earned this one.”
Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) had a torrid time in qualifying but toughed it out in the race for 14th place. “I braked hard at the start to avoid hitting the riders who’d collided in front of me,” he said. “I was already back on the fifth row and the fact I had to slow down prevented me from achieving my main objective of moving up through the pack. Even so I think the race was important for my technicians.”
The MotoGP World Championship points table now shows a Honda top three with Rossi leading with 45 points, Gibernau second with 38 and Biaggi in close touch with 36.
Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) won the 250cc race from Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) after making up for a poor start with a steady progress into the lead by lap six. The pair exchanged fastest laps throughout their battle but Poggiali never relinquished his lead despite the best efforts of de Puniet on the final lap. Franco Battaini (Aprilia) was third.
Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) made the utmost of a finely-tuned chassis set-up to compensate for a lack of power that plagued him all weekend. He finished fourth after dicing with Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) for the final third of the race.
“The early stages of the race were not so good for me,” said the tough Argentine Porto. “I was short of grip for the first half of the race which I didn’t expect although we knew the engine was down on power. In the second half of the race everything worked better although I want to be fighting for wins, not for fourth place.”
The same power shortfall plagued Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) but once again astute machine management kept the Italian at the right end of the points table with a fifth place. “The race was not too bad,” said Rolfo. “Although the weekend itself has been a bit of a struggle. I had a clutch problem at the start and then I made a mistake a few laps from the end which let Porto past. At the start I lost touch with the group I needed to be with, but the chassis was good enough for me to make progress in the race. I’m feeling better about this result considering the problems we had.”
Eric Bataille (Troll Honda BQR RS250RW) was 13th while his team-mate Alex Debon (Troll Honda BQR RS250RW) was excluded from the results for failing to enter the pits for a stop-go penalty. Poggiali leads the World Championship standings with 50 points, with Battaini second on 27. Porto is third with 26 while Rolfo has now clawed his way into the reckoning with 20 in sixth position.
Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) won the 125cc race with a last lap charge from third into the lead in the space of two consecutive turns. He then held the lead despite the close attentions of Youchi Ui (Aprilia) who had led the race from the start after starting from pole.
Pedrosa had only qualified on row 2 after suffering engine problems over the qualifying period, but his team found a solution and Pedrosa was always in touch throughout the race. “It’s been a difficult weekend for us,” he said. “But today was good. I’d like to dedicate this win to Daijiro Kato’s family and the Gresini Team.”
Andrea Dovisioso (Team Scot RS125R) scored his first ever podium finish with a fighting second place after qualifying on the front row for the first time. “I’m really happy,” said the Italian. “The only trouble I had was with the front tyre towards the end. But this is a good result.”