2003 | Page 2

Biaggi’s Motegi win overshadowed by drama

01 October 2003

Max Biaggi has won the Pacific GP at Motegi, beating longtime rival Valentino Rossi into second place. But it was overshadowed by the disqualification of Makoto Tamada and John Hopkins. The Japanese...

Dovizioso fastest in 125cc qualifying

01 October 2003

Andrea Dovizioso heads the timesheets after the first 125cc qualifying session for the Pacific GP on Sunday. Dovizioso posted a time of 1:58.988, one-tenth quicker than fellow Honda rider Daniel Pedrosa. Alex De Angelis is third on the Aprilia, with the Derbi of Jorge Lorenzo completing the front row. Australian Casey Stoner heads an all-Aprilia second row. 1) Dovizioso 1:58.988. 2) Pedrosa...

Biaggi on pole at Pacific GP

01 October 2003

Max Biaggi will start from pole position at the Pacific GP at Motegi on Sunday. The Italian headed the timesheets in qualifying with a new pole record of 1:47.696 with seconds left in the session. The...

Gibernau claims provisional pole at Motegi

01 October 2003

Sete Gibernau set a new pole record at the Motegi circuit today to put himself on the provisional top spot for Sunday’s Pacific GP. The Spaniard broke the existing record, held by former team-mate...

De Puniet on provisional 250cc pole

01 October 2003

Randy De Puniet has put his Aprilia at the front of the provisional front row for Sunday’s Pacific GP at Motegi. The French star heads Spaniard Toni Elias and Japanese wildcard Yuki Takahashi. Championship leader Manuel Poggiali settled for fourth fastest. Britain’s Chas Davies finished in 14th place on the Aprilia Germany bike. 1) De Puniet 1:53.247. 2) Elias 1:53.545. 3) Takahashi 1:54.351. 4)...

Gibernau signs two-year deal

23 September 2003

Sete Gibernau has signed a deal for the next two seasons with his current Honda Telefonica Movistar squad. The Spaniard is currently second in the world championship in his first year on the Honda...

Ryo gets wildcard GP ride

23 September 2003

The Suzuki MotoGP team has announced that factory test rider Akira Ryo will be riding as a wildcard entry in both the Motegi and Sepang rounds of the championship. Ryo made six appearances as a Suzuki...

Ukawa second quickest in final free practice

16 September 2003

Tohru Ukawa has gone second quickest in the final free practice for the Brazilian GP, with a time of 1:50.473. He finished behind fellow Honda rider Valentino Rossi, whose time of 1:50.376 was exactly...

Biaggi on provisional pole in Rio

16 September 2003

Max Biaggi is on provisional pole for tomorrow’s Rio MotoGP with a new best lap of 1:49.876. The Italian smashed his own lap record to finish at the top of the time sheets after a session which saw...

Rossi fastest in Rio practice

16 September 2003

Valentino Rossi has gone quickest in free practice for Saturday’s Brazilian MotoGP. The Italian posted a fastest time of 1:51.043 in Jacarepagua, over half-a-second quicker than championship rival...

Rossi rules in Rio

16 September 2003

Valentino Rossi took victory at the Brazilian GP with a masterful display of riding. The Italian reigning MotoGP champion followed title rival Sete Gibernau in the early stages of the race before...

Moriwaki to race at Motegi GP

09 September 2003

Japanese engineering firm Moriwaki has confirmed its entry as a wildcard for the Pacific GP at Motegi, Japan. The MD211F bike is based around the Honda V5 MotoGP engine and will be ridden by Moriwaki...

Jacque closes in on Rossi

02 September 2003

Olivier Jacque has stormed up the time sheets in the first qualifying session at the Estoril GP, knocking three seconds off his practice time to take second place on the provisional grid. But it...

Rossi dominates Portuguese GP

02 September 2003

Valentino Rossi dominated the MotoGP race at Estoril today, extending his lead in the championship. Rossi was able to pull clear from early challenger Max Biaggi and left championship rival Sete...

Capirossi takes third GP pole

02 September 2003

Italians dominate the front row of the grid forstart of the Portuguese GP, with Loris Capirossi on pole followed by Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi. Capirossi finished the warm but blustery session...

Rossi and Gibernau close in practice

02 September 2003

Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau have started their battle for the top spot early, finishing just 0.46 seconds apart in the first practice session for round 11 of the MotoGP world championship in...

WCM four-stroke to race

02 September 2003

Chris Burns will finally get the chance to race his Harris WCM four-stroke this weekend at Sunday’s GP, in Estoril, Portugal. The bike was originally due to start racing at the beginning of the season...

Kato tribute planned for Motegi GP

01 September 2003

Fausto Gresini, the former team boss of the late Daijiro Katoh, has announced he will invite 1000 people to a special ceremony in honour of the rider at the Pacific GP at Motegi on October 5. The...

Ui replaced by Vincent in 125GPs

26 August 2003

Arnaud Vincent will race for the Aprilia Sterilgarda Racing team at the next round of the 125cc championship at Estoril in Portugal on September 7, after the team terminated the contract of current...

Times tumble at Czech GP

12 August 2003

With the track dry after the morning’s downpours the afternoon qualifying session for the Czech GP in Brno has seen the top six riders lapping faster than the race lap record. Max Biaggi took the...

Rossi on pole for Czech GP

12 August 2003

Valentiono Rossi is on pole for round 10 of the MotoGP world championship at Brno in the Czech Republic. Rossi spent the most time out on the track in the final qualifying session for Sunday’s race...

Edwards tops damp first practice at Brno

12 August 2003

Colin Edwards has taken his Alice Aprilia to the top of the time sheets in a damp first practice session for round 10 of the MotoGP world championship at Brno in the Czech Republic. The skies cleared...

Rossi wins Czech GP

12 August 2003

Valentino Rossi took the win at round 10 of the MotoGP world championship in Brno after a scintillating race that went right down to the line. The race was dominated by a five way tousle between Troy...

KTM sacks world champion

05 August 2003

KTM has parted company with reigning 125cc world champion Arnaud Vincent, claiming the Frenchman will be ” released immediately from his contract. ” Finnish rider Mika Kallio will replace Vincent...

Kato monument unveiled

05 August 2003

Japanese fans of Daijiro Kato have unveiled a monument at his home track, the Autopolis circuit in the Kyusyu district of Japan. Kato, the former 250cc World Champion, began his career at the circuit,...

American GP postponed until 2005

01 August 2003

The plans to run an American Grand Prix have been postponed until 2005. ” There have been talks about having a GP in the U.S. in 2004, specifically in Birmingham, Alabama, ” says Dorna Sports CEO...

Edwards escapes 160mph fireball

22 July 2003

Colin Edwards survived a 160mph fireball in the first free practice for Sunday’s German Grand Prix, escaping with only minor burns to his left side. The American rider was going through the fastest...

Rossi takes provisional pole

22 July 2003

Valentino Rossi has taken the provisional pole position after the first qualifying session for Sunday’s German GP. The Italian knocked almost a second off his time from the morning’s practice session...

Perugini denies Stoner first win

22 July 2003

Australian Casey Stoner took his first ever podium position at the 125cc German GP. But the Aussie had to settle for second after Stefano Perugini slipped past on the penultimate lap. The leading...

Gibernau triumphs over Rossi in Germany

22 July 2003

Sete Gibernau celebrated victory at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany after a race long battle with Valentino Rossi. Rossi and Gibernau both made a clean break from the pack, with the reigning...

Biaggi steels pole from McWilliams

22 July 2003

Max Biaggi has taken pole position for the German Grand Prix after topping the final qualifying session but Jeremy McWilliams made an outstanding run on his outdated two-stroke Proton KR3 to start in...

Proton KR stays on two-strokes for German GP

22 July 2003

The Proton KR team has announced it will continue to run its two-stroke machines for the German GP at the Sachsenring on July 27. The track may favour the light and nimble strokers, but it is a...

Rolfo gets maiden win in Germany

22 July 2003

Roberto Rolfo claimed his first victory in 80 GP starts in a last lap battle with Fonsi Nieto and Randy De Puniet. His win came at round nine of the 250cc GP championship in Germany. Rolfo defended...

We ride Harris WCM bike

15 July 2003

MCN’s Trevor Franklin was at Rockingham last week getting an exclusive ride on the Harris WCM GP bike The bike has been banned from taking part in the world championship for being too similar to the...

Dovizioso on 125cc provisional pole

08 July 2003

Italian Andrea Dovizioso is on provisional pole for the 125cc race at Sunday’s British GP. Dovizioso posted a time of 1:38.297, just ahead of Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa. Both riders are on Hondas, heading the Aprilia of Stefano Perugini in third. Fourth is Hector Barbera, with Steve Jenkner fifth. Top Brit is Leon Camier in 28th place, three seconds down on Dovizioso. Wildcards Paul Veazey and Kris...

Rossi tops practice at Donington

08 July 2003

Valentino Rossi has set a hot pace right from the start of the British Grand Prix at MCN Donington Park just beating Troy Bayliss to the top spot in the first practice session. Rossi put in 29 laps in...