2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

2003 World Champions

Valentino Rossi became the MotoGP World Champion

Manuel Poggiali (pictured in 2008) became the 250cc World Champion

Daniel Pedrosa became the 125cc World Champion

The 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 55th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted of 16 races, beginning with the Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix on 6 April 2003 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 2 November.

Defending champion Valentino Rossi won his 3rd MotoGP championship in 2003, winning 9 races, highlighted by his win at Phillip Island where he was given a 10-second penalty for passing under a yellow flag and he overcame the penalty by winning the race with more than 10 seconds in hand. Rossi had become dissatisfied with his relationship with the Honda Racing Corporation^[1] and as the season progressed and HRC tried to get Rossi to sign a new contract, Rossi demurred until finally announcing at the end of the year that he would be leaving Honda. He soon signed with Yamaha and took Jeremy Burgess with him to be his crew chief.

The season was marred by Daijiro Kato being killed at the first round at Suzuka. He lost control of his motorcycle on the approach to the Casio Triangle and hit a barrier at high speed. His heart was restarted by track paramedics, but he did not wake from a coma and died 2 weeks later. Controversy arose because the race was not red-flagged to allow Kato to be removed from the track with maximum care.^[2] Suzuka has since been removed from the MotoGP calendar. Teammate Sete Gibernau would inherit Kato's factory-spec RC211V.

MotoGP rookies for 2003 included Nicky Hayden (Rookie of the Year), Troy Bayliss, Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards. A new constructor also arrived: Ducati. After much success in Superbike racing, Ducati returned to the premier-class of GP with their GP3. It made an immediate impression with its raw speed, and they finished the constructor's championship in second place, ahead of Yamaha and behind Honda.

Just like in 1998, Honda motorcycles won 15 (9 for Repsol Honda, 4 for Gresini and 2 for Pons each) of 16 races in the premier MotoGP class season.

On 12 July 2002, the FIM confirmed the 2003 pre-calendar.^[3] The South African GP was originally scheduled to run as the new season opener before the Japanese GP on this pre-calendar. On 16 October 2002, the FIM confirmed the 2003 calendar.^[4] In it, the South African and Japanese Grands Prix were switched around again.

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2003:^[5][6]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	6 April	SKYY vodka Grand Prix of Japan	Suzuka Circuit
2	27 April	Arnette Africa's Grand Prix	Phakisa Freeway
3	11 May	Gran Prémio Marlboro de España	Circuito de Jerez
4	25 May	Grand Prix Polini de France	Bugatti Circuit
5	8 June	Gran Premio Cinzano d'Italia	Mugello Circuit
6	15 June	Gran Premi Marlboro de Catalunya	Circuit de Catalunya
7	28 June ††	Gauloises Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen
8	13 July	Cinzano British Grand Prix	Donington Park
9	27 July	Cinzano Motorrad Grand Prix von Deutschland	Sachsenring
10	17 August	Gauloises Grand Prix České republiky	Brno Circuit
11	7 September	Grande Prémio Marlboro de Portugal	Autódromo do Estoril
12	20 September ††	Cinzano Rio Grand Prix	Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
13	5 October	Gauloises Pacific Grand Prix of Motegi	Twin Ring Motegi
14	12 October	Marlboro Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit
15	19 October	SKYY vodka Australian Grand Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
16	2 November	Gran Premio Marlboro Comunitat Valenciana	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

†† = Saturday race

There were no calendar changes for the 2003 season.

The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2003 season:^[7][8]

For this year, the rules changed regarding the neutralisation of a race. This only applies to the MotoGP class. If the circumstances change in such a significant way due to weather changes, a heavy accident or any other reason, a race may be neutralised either once or multiple times and the following rules will apply:

• A white flag with diagonal red cross (indicating damp conditions) will be shown in a still manner at each marshal post.

• A safety car will enter and make one sighting lap. The subsequent pit lane exit will be closed with red lights and a red flag indicating this.

• Riders can opt to enter the pit lane at the end of their current lap or make one more sighting lap to check the track conditions, then will have to enter the pits.

• All riders who opt to ride one more lap have to catch up to the safety car on track. Any overtaking of the safety car is forbidden.

• At the end of the safety car's run, it will enter the pit lane and the circuit will be closed with indication of the red flags. All riders following the safety car must also enter the pits.

• The safety car will stop ± 50 meters behind the exit of the pit lane.

• While in the pits, all riders are allowed to make changes to their tyres, adjustments to their motorcycles, refuel or change bikes.

• If the race is neutralised before the final lap, a provisional race classification will be published. The provisional classification will consist out of the results taken at the last point where the leader, as well as all other riders on the same lap as the leader, had completed a full lap without the display of any neutralisation flags being waved. Riders who were already in the pit lane before will also be included in the provisional classification. Any rider who did not complete at least 75% of the laps completed by the race leader will not be classified. The race will be resumed if possible following the procedures of article 1.28.

• If a race is neutralised during the final lap, the following procedure will apply: if at least one rider has completed all scheduled number of laps of the original race, the final classification will be calculated according to article 1.25.1 and the race will not be resumed. If no rider has completed the final number of laps of the original race, the provision of article 1.27.8 will apply and the race will continue based on the standards of article 1.28.

• If a race is neutralised more than once, the provisional race classification for positions and allowance of participation in the resumed start will always be based on the provisional race classification from the last time a race was neutralised.

• In all cases, the provisional race classification must be displayed on the official timekeeping monitors.

In the case of a race restart after neutralisation, the following rules will apply for the MotoGP class only:

• The Race Direction will officially announce when the safety car will leave the pits to resume the race.

• The number of laps which still have to be done will be measured by the scheduled number of laps the original race had and the number of laps of the provisional race classification. If the difference is less than three, the number of laps to go will be three laps.

• If a race is neutralised more than once, the number of laps which still have to be done will be measured by the scheduled number of laps the original race had and the number of completed laps in all the previous parts. If the difference is less than three, the number of laps to go will be three laps.

• Only the riders which are included in the latest provisional race classificial are permitted to resume the race.

• Two minutes before the safety car exits the pits, the pit lane exit will be opened with indication of green lights and flags to allow all riders to bunch up behind the safety car in the order of the provisional race classification.

• Thirty seconds before the safety car exits the pits, all riders should be ready behind the safety car in the order of the provisional race classification.

• The pit lane exit will be closed with an indication of red flags and lights and the safety car will make one lap followed by all the riders upon announcement by the Race Direction. Overtaking the safety car is forbidden and any riders who remain in the pits will have to resume the race from there.

• In all cases, the time to go before the safety car leaves and the pit lane closes, must be shown on a countdown board or clock which is present in the pit lane exit or on the official timekeeping monitors.

• At the end of the safety car's lap, it will enter the pits whilst all riders continue on the circuit.

• The race will be resumed via a rolling start when the riders cross the start/finish line where two green flags will be waved on each side of the track and the green start lights will be turned on. At this time, a time penalty may be given by the Race Direction to any rider:

-who is not behind the rear wheel of the motorcycle in front of him.
-who is in a higher position than in the provisional race classification.
-who is more than three seconds behind the rider in front of him.

• After the last rider in the file has passed the pit lane exit, the green lights will be turned on and the green flag will be waved to allow the riders in the pits to resume the race.

• The final race classification will be created according to the position and the total number of laps of each rider at the time he crossed the start/finish line at the end of the race. The procedures of article 1.23.5. will apply in this case.

• Following Yamaha decided to ditch carburetor fuel feed after 2002 season, all MotoGP motorcycle entrants would begin mandatorily utilizing fuel injection for the first time.
• The exposed edge of the exhaust pipe must be rounded to avoid any sharp edges. The last 30mm of the pipe must be horizontal and parallel to the center line of the bike with a tolerance of ±10 degrees.

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	MotoGP winner	Report
1	6 April	Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix	Suzuka	Stefano Perugini	Manuel Poggiali	Valentino Rossi	Report
2	27 April	South African motorcycle Grand Prix	Phakisa	Daniel Pedrosa	Manuel Poggiali	Sete Gibernau	Report
3	11 May	Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix	Jerez	Lucio Cecchinello	Toni Elías	Valentino Rossi	Report
4	25 May	French motorcycle Grand Prix	Le Mans	Daniel Pedrosa	Toni Elías	Sete Gibernau	Report
5	8 June	Italian motorcycle Grand Prix	Mugello	Lucio Cecchinello	Manuel Poggiali	Valentino Rossi	Report
6	15 June	Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix	Catalunya	Daniel Pedrosa	Randy de Puniet	Loris Capirossi	Report
7	28 June ††	Dutch TT	Assen	Steve Jenkner	Anthony West	Sete Gibernau	Report
8	13 July	British motorcycle Grand Prix	Donington	Héctor Barberá	Fonsi Nieto	Max Biaggi	Report
9	27 July	German motorcycle Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Stefano Perugini	Roberto Rolfo	Sete Gibernau	Report
10	17 August	Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix	Brno	Daniel Pedrosa	Randy de Puniet	Valentino Rossi	Report
11	7 September	Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix	Estoril	Pablo Nieto	Toni Elías	Valentino Rossi	Report
12	20 September ††	Rio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix	Rio de Janeiro	Jorge Lorenzo	Manuel Poggiali	Valentino Rossi	Report
13	5 October	Pacific motorcycle Grand Prix	Motegi	Héctor Barberá	Toni Elías	Max Biaggi	Report
14	12 October	Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix	Sepang	Daniel Pedrosa	Toni Elías	Valentino Rossi	Report
15	19 October	Australian motorcycle Grand Prix	Phillip Island	Andrea Ballerini	Roberto Rolfo	Valentino Rossi	Report
16	2 November	Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix	Valencia	Casey Stoner	Randy de Puniet	Valentino Rossi	Report

†† = Saturday Race

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyre No. Rider Rounds Alice Aprilia Racing Aprilia RS Cube M 41 Noriyuki Haga All 45 Colin Edwards All Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati Desmosedici GP3 M 12 Troy Bayliss All 65 Loris Capirossi All WCM Harris WCM Harris WCM D 35 Chris Burns 1, 11–16 52 José David de Gea 11–16 ROC Yamaha ROC Yamaha 35 Chris Burns 8–10 Sabre V4 Sabre V4 52 José David de Gea 8–10 Repsol Honda Honda RC211V M 46 Valentino Rossi All 69 Nicky Hayden All Camel Pramac Pons 3 Max Biaggi All 11 Tohru Ukawa All Telefónica Movistar Honda 15 Sete Gibernau All 74 Daijiro Kato 1 23 Ryuichi Kiyonari 4–16 Pramac Honda B 6 Makoto Tamada All Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR D 8 Garry McCoy All 88 Andrew Pitt All 48 Akira Yanagawa 1, 6 66 Alex Hofmann 3, 5, 7, 9–10 Moriwaki Racing WCM MD211VF Proto MD211VF Proto D 25 Tamaki Serizawa 1 Moriwaki Racing Moriwaki 13 / Proton Team KR Proton KR KR3 KR5 B 9 Nobuatsu Aoki All 99 Jeremy McWilliams All Suzuki Grand Prix Team Suzuki GSV-R M 10 Kenny Roberts Jr. 1–5, 9–16 21 John Hopkins 1–13, 15–16 71 Yukio Kagayama 7–8 43 Akira Ryō 14 Team Suzuki 13 Fortuna Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 M 7 Carlos Checa All 33 Marco Melandri 1, 3–15 17 Norifumi Abe 1–2, 16 Yamaha Racing Team 4, 9 Gauloises Yamaha Team 4 Alex Barros All 19 Olivier Jacque All d'Antín Yamaha Team 56 Shinya Nakano All Source: [9]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

• After fourteen consecutive seasons since 1989 in exception of 2000 and 2001, Kanemoto Racing officially shut down its MotoGP programme due to lack of funds and sponsorship.

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Fortuna Honda Honda Honda RS250RW 3 Roberto Rolfo All Telefónica Movistar Junior Team 5 Sebastián Porto All Troll Honda BQR Honda Honda RS250R 6 Alex Debón All 34 Eric Bataille All Safilo Oxydo - LCR Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 7 Randy de Puniet All Yamaha Kurz Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 8 Naoki Matsudo All 13 Jaroslav Huleš 1–5 52 Lukáš Pešek 6, 9–16 29 Christian Pistoni 7 Équipe de France - Scrab GP Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 9 Hugo Marchand All 36 Erwan Nigon All Team Repsol Telefónica Movistar Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 10 Fonsi Nieto All 24 Toni Elías All Aspar Junior Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 11 Joan Olivé All 33 Héctor Faubel All Elit Grand Prix Honda Honda RS250R 96 Jakub Smrž 1–11 13 Jaroslav Huleš 12–16 Team Zoppini Abruzzo Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 14 Anthony West All 16 Johan Stigefelt All Kiefer Castrol-Honda Racing Honda Honda RS250R 15 Christian Gemmel All Dark Dog Molenaar Honda Honda RS250R 18 Henk van de Lagemaat All 98 Katja Poensgen 1–12, 14–15 96 Jakub Smrž 13, 16 Campetella Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 21 Franco Battaini All 50 Sylvain Guintoli All 73 Radomil Rous 16 Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 26 Alex Baldolini All Aprilia Germany Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 28 Dirk Heidolf 1–4, 8–16 29 Christian Pistoni 5 30 Klaus Nöhles 6–7 57 Chaz Davies All Oscar Competition Honda Honda RS250R 31 Christophe Rastel 6 Córdoba Patrimonio de la Humanidad Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 39 Luis Castro 3 Equipo Andalucía AMF Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 40 Álvaro Molina 3 MAS Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 6, 11, 16 Marina Park Mavi Sport Kurz Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 41 Miguel Praia 11 Equipe de France Honda Honda RS250R 42 Grégory Leblanc 3, 16 Eisen Moto Team Honda Honda RS250R 44 Vincent Eisen 4 Team Racer Bike Honda Honda RS250R 45 Samuel Aubry 4 MRTT Honda Honda RS250R 46 Jan Blok 7 J&E Sport Kunstgras Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 47 Arie Vos 7, 10 Performance Racing Honda Honda RS250R 48 Hans Smees 7 De Arend Horeca Meubilair Honda Honda RS250R 49 Randy Gevers 7 Watz Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 51 Frederik Watz 11 MS Aprilia Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 54 Manuel Poggiali All Galemain Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 58 Lee Dickinson 8 St. Neots Motorcycle Honda Honda RS250R 59 Andrew Sawford 8 AVS/Race to Win Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 60 Phillip Desborough 8 Neukirchner R.T. ADAC Sachse Honda Honda RS250R 62 Max Neukirchner 9 Bernd Hermann Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 63 Tomas Palander 9 KR-EATIV de Kehrer Racing Honda Honda RS250R 64 Nico Kehrer 9 MSC Schleizer Drejeck Honda Honda RS250R 65 Norman Rank 9 Raistila Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 66 Vesa Kallio 9–11 SP Tadao Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 67 Tomoyoshi Koyama 1, 13 71 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 1 Hitman RC Koshien Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 68 Tekkyu Kayo 1 J Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 69 Masaki Tokudome 13 Burning Blood RT Honda Honda RS250R 70 Choujun Kameya 13 Dy Do Miu Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 72 Yuki Takahashi 1, 13 KLUB Team Racing Znojmo Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 73 Radomil Rous 10 TKB AMK Brno Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 74 Michal Filla 10 Biro Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 75 Gábor Rizmayer 10 Team Underwood Diesel Express Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 76 Brett Underwood 15 Turramurra Cyclery Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 77 Mark Rowling 15 EMS Racing Honda Honda RS250R 78 Peter Taplin 15 Hardcastle Communication Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 79 Geoff Hardcastle 15 Awesome Discs Racing Honda Honda RS250R 80 Rodney Camm 15 Madifchina d'Antin Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 81 Shi Zhao Huang 14 82 Zi Xian He 14 Team Holland Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 83 Patrick Lakerveld 16 Kiefer Castrol Honda Honda Honda RS250R 84 Yves Polzer 16 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda RS250R 92 Hiroshi Aoyama 1, 13 Source: [10]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds KTM - Red Bull KTM KTM 125 FRR 1 Arnaud Vincent 1–9 10 Roberto Locatelli All 36 Mika Kallio 10–16 Sterilgarda Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 41 Youichi Ui 1–10 1 Arnaud Vincent 11–16 42 Gioele Pellino All Telefónica Movistar Junior Team Honda Honda RS125R 3 Daniel Pedrosa 1–15 Safilo Oxydo - LCR Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 4 Lucio Cecchinello All 27 Casey Stoner All Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 6 Mirko Giansanti All 58 Marco Simoncelli All Abruzzo Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 7 Stefano Perugini All 11 Max Sabbatani All Ajo Motorsport Honda Honda RS125R 8 Masao Azuma All 36 Mika Kallio 1–9 39 Hiroyuki Kikuchi 10 50 Andrea Ballerini 11–16 Elit Grand Prix Honda Honda RS125R 12 Thomas Lüthi All Seedorf Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 14 Chris Martin 1–6 88 Robbin Harms 7, 9–16 81 Ismael Ortega 8 19 Álvaro Bautista All 81 Ismael Ortega 3, 6, 11, 16 88 Robbin Harms 5 Globet.com Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 15 Alex de Angelis All 23 Gino Borsoi All Exalt Cycle Red Devil Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 17 Steve Jenkner All 79 Gábor Talmácsi All MetaSystem Racing Service Honda Honda RS125R 21 Leon Camier 1–9 50 Andrea Ballerini 10 60 Mattia Angeloni 11 63 Mike Di Meglio 12–16 78 Péter Lénárt 1–11 28 Michele Danese 12–16 Master - Mx Onda - Aspar Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 22 Pablo Nieto All 80 Héctor Barberá All Team Scot Honda Honda RS125R 24 Simone Corsi All 34 Andrea Dovizioso All Road Racing Team Hungary Honda Honda RS125R 25 Imre Tóth All Caja Madrid Derbi Racing Derbi Derbi 125 GP 26 Emilio Alzamora All 48 Jorge Lorenzo All Semprucci - Angaia Malaguti Malaguti Malaguti 125GP 31 Julián Simón All 32 Fabrizio Lai All Metis Gilera Racing Gilera Gilera 125 GP 33 Stefano Bianco 1–4, 7–16 50 Andrea Ballerini 5–6 Freesoul Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 63 Mike Di Meglio 1–10 Gilera Gilera 125 GP 41 Youichi Ui 11–16 Team Costa Cálida Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 43 Manuel Hernández 16 Grand Prix Training Centre Honda Honda RS125R 44 Joshua Waters 15 Tassie Windscreens Simmonds Honda Honda RS125R 45 Brett Simmonds 15 Matt Attack Racing Honda Honda RS125R 46 Matthew Kuhne 15 Macadam Racing Honda Honda RS125R 49 Lee Longden 8 Red Bull Rookies Honda Honda RS125R 50 Midge Smart 8 Brooklands Autobody Racing Honda Honda RS125R 51 Kris Weston 8 RZT Repsol Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 52 Jarno Müller 9 ADAC Sachsen e.V. Honda Honda RS125R 53 Manuel Mickan 9 ADAC Sachsenring Jr. Racing Services Honda Honda RS125R 54 Patrick Unger 9 OMV Team Hanusch Honda Honda RS125R 55 Igor Kaláb 10 91 Jascha Büch 9 Elcom-IPC Heron Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 56 Markéta Janáková 10 Lines Racing Honda Honda RS125R 57 Luka Nedog 10 Honda Hamamatsu Escargot Honda Honda RS125R 59 Hiroaki Kuzuhara 13 Team Leardni Honda Honda RS125R 60 Mattia Angeloni 5 RCGM Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 61 Michele Pirro 5 Engines Engineering Malaguti Malaguti 125GP 62 Alessio Aldrovandi 5 Cheung Wing Team Honda Honda RS125R 64 Cheung Wai On 1 S-Way & Revive Honda Honda RS125R 65 Toshika Kuzuhara 1 Honda Kumamoto Racing Honda Honda RS125R 13 Team Harc Pro Honda Honda RS125R 66 Shuhei Aoyama 1, 13 Team Life Hatada Team Life Honda Honda RS125R 67 Akio Tanaka 1 68 Sadahito Suma 1 94 13 4 Racing TSR Honda RS125R 69 David Bonache 3 Honda 6, 11, 16 Racing Team Gadea Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 70 Sergio Gadea 3, 6, 11, 16 Mir Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 71 Rubén Catalán 3 Equipe de France Espoir Honda Honda RS125R 72 Alexis Masbou 4 73 William Gautier 4 Racing Moto Sport Honda Honda RS125R 74 Jimmy Petit 4 DB Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 75 Adri den Bekker 7 Tennen Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 76 Jarno van der Marel 7 Schouten Racing Honda Honda RS125R 77 Raymond Schouten 7 TMR Competició Honda Honda RS125R 82 Jordi Carchano 6 SP125Racing.com Honda Honda RS125R 83 Chester Lusk 8 Banks Racing/GR Motorsport Honda Honda RS125R 84 Paul Veazey 8 Mob 77 Honda Honda RS125R 85 Xavier Herouin 4 Provence Moto Sport Honda Honda RS125R 86 Gregory Lefort 4 BNT Racing Honda Honda RS125R 87 Michele Conti 5 Racing Team MVK Honda Honda RS125R 89 Mark van Kreij 7 ADAC Berlin Honda Honda RS125R 90 Dario Giuseppetti 9, 16 BRC Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 92 Václav Bittman 10 Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 93 Manuel Manna 11 JHA Racing Honda Honda RS125R 95 Yuki Hatano 13 Source: [11]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had 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 Bike Team JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts 1 Valentino Rossi Honda Repsol Honda 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 357 2 Sete Gibernau Honda Telefónica Movistar Honda 4 1 Ret 1 7 3 1 2 1 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 277 3 Max Biaggi Honda Camel Pramac Pons 2 3 2 5 3 14 2 1 Ret 5 2 4 1 3 17 4 228 4 Loris Capirossi Ducati Ducati Marlboro Team 3 Ret Ret Ret 2 1 6 4 4 Ret 3 6 8 6 2 3 177 5 Nicky Hayden Honda Repsol Honda 7 7 Ret 12 12 9 11 8 5 6 9 5 3 4 3 16 130 6 Troy Bayliss Ducati Ducati Marlboro Team 5 4 3 Ret Ret 10 9 5 3 3 6 10 Ret 9 Ret 7 128 7 Carlos Checa Yamaha Fortuna Yamaha Team 10 9 Ret Ret 8 4 4 6 8 4 8 9 Ret 5 8 5 123 8 Tohru Ukawa Honda Camel Pramac Pons 20 6 4 7 6 6 12 Ret 6 8 5 7 7 7 5 Ret 123 9 Alex Barros Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Team 8 5 5 3 Ret 8 8 DNS Ret 7 11 12 6 15 Ret 6 101 10 Shinya Nakano Yamaha d'Antín Yamaha Team 9 11 8 14 5 5 13 9 7 14 12 8 9 8 7 Ret 101 11 Makoto Tamada Honda Pramac Honda Ret 14 6 Ret 4 7 16 13 13 9 10 3 DSQ 10 10 10 87 12 Olivier Jacque Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Team 15 10 10 4 10 Ret 5 Ret 9 11 13 Ret 13 Ret 6 Ret 71 13 Colin Edwards Aprilia Alice Aprilia Racing 6 Ret 14 10 9 Ret 7 10 14 12 14 13 17 13 16 8 62 14 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia Alice Aprilia Racing 12 Ret 11 8 Ret 12 Ret 7 Ret 13 15 14 12 12 14 15 47 15 Marco Melandri Yamaha Fortuna Yamaha Team WD 17 15 11 13 Ret Ret Ret 10 7 11 5 11 Ret 45 16 Norifumi Abe Yamaha Fortuna Yamaha Team 11 8 9 31 Yamaha Racing Team 11 10 17 John Hopkins Suzuki Suzuki Grand Prix Team 13 13 7 Ret Ret 15 15 11 Ret 17 18 DNS Ret 12 13 29 18 Jeremy McWilliams Proton KR Proton Team KR Ret Ret 12 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 19 16 Ret 17 11 12 27 19 Kenny Roberts Jr. Suzuki Suzuki Grand Prix Team 14 15 13 16 Ret 15 20 17 17 15 14 9 11 22 20 Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda Telefónica Movistar Honda 13 13 11 17 14 18 15 16 15 11 21 19 14 22 21 Nobuatsu Aoki Proton KR Proton Team KR Ret 12 9 Ret Ret 16 Ret 15 11 Ret 20 Ret 14 18 18 17 19 22 Garry McCoy Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 16 17 18 9 15 17 18 16 16 18 Ret Ret Ret 19 13 19 11 23 Alex Hofmann Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 16 14 10 17 19 8 24 Akira Ryō Suzuki Team Suzuki 10 6 Suzuki Grand Prix Team 20 25 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Suzuki Grand Prix Team Ret 12 4 26 Andrew Pitt Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 17 16 15 Ret 16 Ret 14 17 19 16 21 18 16 16 15 18 4 Tamaki Serizawa MD211VF Proto Moriwaki Racing WCM 19 0 Moriwaki Moriwaki Racing 18 Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 18 Ret 0 José David de Gea Sabre V4 WCM Ret 20 DNS 0 Harris WCM 22 19 19 Ret Ret 20 Chris Burns Harris WCM WCM DNS DNS Ret Ret Ret 20 WD 0 ROC Yamaha Ret WD Ret Daijiro Kato† Honda Telefónica Movistar Honda Ret† 0 Pos Rider Bike Team JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts r

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third 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 practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

• † – Daijiro Kato was fatally injured in an accident during the Japanese Grand Prix.

• Each constructor got the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.
• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.

Pos	Constructor	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts
1	Honda	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	395
2	Ducati	3	4	3	Ret	2	1	6	4	3	3	3	6	8	6	2	3	248
3	Yamaha	8	5	5	3	5	4	4	6	7	4	7	8	5	5	6	5	175
4	Aprilia	6	Ret	11	8	9	12	7	7	14	12	14	13	12	12	14	8	81
5	Suzuki	13	13	7	16	Ret	15	15	11	15	17	17	17	10	14	9	11	43
6	/ Proton KR	Ret	12	9	6	Ret	16	Ret	15	11	Ret	19	16	14	17	11	12	38
7	Kawasaki	16	16	15	9	14	17	10	16	16	16	21	18	16	16	13	18	19
Pos	Constructor	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts

• Each team got the total points scored by their two riders, including replacement riders. In one rider team, only the points scored by that rider was counted. Wildcard riders did not score points.
• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.

Pos	Team	Bike No.	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts
1	Repsol Honda	46	1	2	1	2	1	2	3	3	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	487
		69	7	7	Ret	12	12	9	11	8	5	6	9	5	3	4	3	16
2	Camel Pramac Pons	3	2	3	2	5	3	14	2	1	Ret	5	2	4	1	3	17	4	351
		11	20	6	4	7	6	6	12	Ret	6	8	5	7	7	7	5	Ret
3	Ducati Marlboro Team	12	5	4	3	Ret	Ret	10	9	5	3	3	6	10	Ret	9	Ret	7	305
		65	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	1	6	4	4	Ret	3	6	8	6	2	3
4	Telefónica Movistar Honda	15	4	1	Ret	1	7	3	1	2	1	2	4	2	4	2	4	2	299
		23				13	13	11	17	14	18	15	16	15	11	21	19	14
		74	Ret†
5	Fortuna Yamaha Team	7	10	9	Ret	Ret	8	4	4	6	8	4	8	9	Ret	5	8	5	188
		17	11	8														9
		33	WD		17	15	11	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	7	11	5	11	Ret
6	Gauloises Yamaha Team	4	8	5	5	3	Ret	8	8	DNS	Ret	7	11	12	6	15	Ret	6	172
		19	15	10	10	4	10	Ret	5	Ret	9	11	13	Ret	13	Ret	6	Ret
7	Alice Aprilia Racing	41	12	Ret	11	8	Ret	12	Ret	7	Ret	13	15	14	12	12	14	15	109
		45	6	Ret	14	10	9	Ret	7	10	14	12	14	13	17	13	16	8
8	d'Antín Yamaha Team	56	9	11	8	14	5	5	13	9	7	14	12	8	9	8	7	Ret	101
9	Pramac Honda	6	Ret	14	6	Ret	4	7	16	13	13	9	10	3	DSQ	10	10	10	87
10	Suzuki Grand Prix Team	10	14	15	13	16	Ret				15	20	17	17	15	14	9	11	55
		21	13	13	7	Ret	Ret	15	15	11	Ret	17	18	DNS	Ret		12	13
		43														20
		71							Ret	12
11	/ Proton Team KR	9	Ret	12	9	Ret	Ret	16	Ret	15	11	Ret	20	Ret	14	18	18	17	46
		99	Ret	Ret	12	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	19	16	Ret	17	11	12
12	Kawasaki Racing Team	8	16	17	18	9	15	17	18	16	16	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	19	13	19	15
		88	17	16	15	Ret	16	Ret	14	17	19	16	21	18	16	16	15	18
	WCM	35	DNS										DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	20	WD	0
										Ret	WD	Ret
		52								Ret	20	DNS
													22	19	19	Ret	Ret	20
Pos	Team	Bike No.	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts

• † – #74 Daijiro Kato was fatally injured in an accident during the Japanese Grand Prix.

^[12][10]

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had 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 Bike JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts 1 Manuel Poggiali Aprilia 1 1 4 Ret 1 Ret 4 2 8 3 2 1 3 2 9 3 249 2 Roberto Rolfo Honda 7 5 2 3 4 9 6 5 1 4 4 2 2 4 1 7 235 3 Toni Elías Aprilia Ret 8 1 1 6 4 13 4 7 2 1 18 1 1 11 2 226 4 Randy de Puniet Aprilia Ret 2 3 2 Ret 1 Ret 8 3 1 3 3 6 5 Ret 1 208 5 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia 6 7 7 4 2 2 Ret 1 2 6 9 Ret 8 3 3 5 194 6 Franco Battaini Aprilia 5 3 11 18 3 6 2 7 5 7 6 Ret Ret 6 4 8 148 7 Anthony West Aprilia Ret 6 5 7 9 3 1 3 6 Ret 10 8 Ret 9 2 Ret 145 8 Sebastián Porto Honda 4 4 6 Ret 8 7 5 6 4 5 5 Ret Ret 8 Ret 6 127 9 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha 8 10 8 5 7 5 Ret 9 Ret 9 8 5 7 7 6 11 119 10 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia 10 9 Ret 6 5 8 3 Ret Ret 8 7 4 Ret DNS Ret 4 101 11 Alex Debón Honda 11 DSQ 9 8 12 11 11 10 9 DNS 11 11 9 Ret 5 10 81 12 Joan Olivé Aprilia 13 Ret 10 10 10 10 23 Ret 17 16 Ret 7 19 14 18 Ret 38 13 Héctor Faubel Aprilia Ret 11 Ret 11 15 Ret 17 12 Ret 10 13 6 Ret Ret 16 Ret 34 14 Chaz Davies Aprilia 18 15 18 Ret 13 Ret 24 13 12 14 20 9 11 20 15 13 33 15 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 2 5 31 16 Erwan Nigon Aprilia 12 17 Ret 17 17 14 7 Ret 14 Ret 16 12 17 Ret 7 Ret 30 17 Alex Baldolini Aprilia Ret 12 12 13 Ret Ret 14 17 10 Ret 14 Ret 13 10 Ret Ret 30 18 Yuki Takahashi Honda 3 4 29 19 Eric Bataille Honda 16 13 13 15 DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 12 10 Ret Ret Ret 9 28 20 Johan Stigefelt Aprilia 14 14 Ret 12 Ret 13 10 Ret Ret Ret DNS 13 Ret Ret 10 17 26 21 Dirk Heidolf Aprilia Ret Ret 15 Ret 15 11 13 17 14 14 11 13 12 26 22 Christian Gemmel Honda Ret 18 14 9 16 15 8 Ret Ret 15 15 16 12 16 Ret Ret 24 23 Hugo Marchand Aprilia Ret Ret Ret 14 11 Ret 9 16 Ret 11 Ret Ret 16 13 14 Ret 24 24 Jakub Smrž Honda 15 Ret 17 19 14 Ret 12 14 13 Ret Ret 18 14 14 25 Jaroslav Huleš Yamaha 17 16 16 16 DNS 10 Honda 15 Ret 15 8 Ret 26 Tekkyu Kayo Yamaha 9 7 27 Choujun Kameya Honda 10 6 28 Jay Vincent Aprilia 11 5 29 Klaus Nöhles Aprilia 12 15 5 30 Lukáš Pešek Yamaha 16 16 17 Ret 17 Ret Ret 12 19 4 31 Max Neukirchner Honda 15 1 32 Masaki Tokudome Yamaha 15 1 33 Radomil Rous Aprilia Ret 15 1 Henk van de Lagemaat Honda 19 19 20 20 18 18 16 18 Ret Ret 23 19 20 18 17 18 0 Álvaro Molina Aprilia 19 DNS 19 16 0 Katja Poensgen Honda 20 Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ 17 18 19 18 20 Ret DNS 17 Ret 0 Vesa Kallio Yamaha 19 18 18 0 Christian Pistoni Aprilia 19 0 Yamaha 20 Jan Blok Honda 19 0 Michal Filla Yamaha 19 0 Shi Zhao Huang Yamaha 19 0 Patrick Lakerveld Aprilia 20 0 Arie Vos Yamaha 21 21 0 Luis Castro Yamaha 21 0 Frederik Watz Yamaha 21 0 Hans Smees Honda 22 0 Gábor Rizmayer Honda 22 0 Miguel Praia Yamaha 22 0 Tomoyoshi Koyama Yamaha Ret Ret 0 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Ret 0 Samuel Aubry Honda Ret 0 Christophe Rastel Honda Ret 0 Lee Dickinson Yamaha Ret 0 Phillip Desborough Yamaha Ret 0 Tomas Palander Honda Ret 0 Norman Rank Honda Ret 0 Geoff Hardcastle Yamaha Ret 0 Grégory Leblanc Honda DNS DNQ 0 Vincent Eisen Honda DNQ 0 Randy Gevers Honda DNQ 0 Andrew Sawford Honda DNQ 0 Nico Kehrer Honda DNQ 0 Zi Xian He Yamaha DNQ 0 Mark Rowling Yamaha DNQ 0 Peter Taplin Honda DNQ 0 Rodney Camm Honda DNQ 0 Brett Underwood Yamaha DNQ 0 Yves Polzer Honda DNQ 0 Teresio Isola Yamaha EX 0 Pos Rider Bike JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third 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 practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap