MotoGP on MCN
Here at Motor Cycle News we deliver bespoke MotoGP news from expert reporters on the ground at every major event. We get everything that's new in MotoGP before anyone else.
Rossi on provisional pole for Jerez
28 April 2004
World champion Valentino Rossi continued to amaze with a blistering performance in first qualifying at Jerez, Spain today. He is on provisional pole for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, the first European...
Rossi tests Schumacher's F1 car
21 April 2004
Valentino Rossi has been testing Michael Shumacher’s 2004 Ferrari F1 car at the Fiorano Ferrari test track in Northern Italy. Reports suggest he was off to good start, lapping within three seconds of...
Rossi fastest in morning practice
14 April 2004
1) Rossi 1:33.450. 2) Edwards 1:33.594. 3) Hayden 1:33.710. 4) Biaggi 1:33.931. 5) Barros 1:33.950. 6) Gibernau 1: 34.122. 7) Capirossi 1:34.231. 8) Checa 1:34.262. 9) Roberts Jnr 1:34.311. 10)...
Is Rossi the greatest?
14 April 2004
Valentino Rossi has put pay to any doubts about the sanity of his move to Yamaha by winning the first race of the season in fantastic style, but is he really the best of all time? Just moments after...
Rossi wins in Welkom
14 April 2004
Valentino Rossi has triumphed at the end of a titanic battle with Max Biaggi to give Yamaha victory at the first race of the 2004 MotoGP season. The two Italians battled throughout the race, swapping...
Rossi on provisional pole for Welkom
14 April 2004
Valentino Rossi has put the Yamaha M1 on pole position for the opening round of the 2004 MotoGP championship at Welkom in South Africa. Rossi broke his own lap record by just under 0.5 seconds to...
Rossi fastest in first practice at Welkom
14 April 2004
Valentino Rossi finished fastest in the first free practice session for the opening Grand Prix of the 2004 season at Welkom, South Africa. Rossi posted a time of 1:34.405, with rival Max Biaggi 0.392...
First qualifying: 250cc
14 April 2004
1) De Puniet 1:35.925. 2) Porto 1:36.469. 3) Poggiali 1:36.999. 4) Pedrosa 1:37.292. 5) Nieto 1:37.392. 6) De Angelis 1:37.539. 7) Aoyama 1:37.673. 8) Elias 1:37.740. 9) Alex Debon 1:37.856. 10) Bataille 1:37.900. 11) Rolfo 1:37.952. 12) Matsudo 1:38.060. 13) Davies 1:38.292. 14) Battaini 1:38.375. 15) Olive 1:38.406. 16) Marchand 1:38.629. 17) Smrz 1:38.679. 18) West 1:38.750. 19) Heidolf...
Welkom result: 250cc
14 April 2004
1) Pedrosa. 2) De Puniet. 3) Porto. 4) Poggiali. 5) De Angelis. 6) Debon. 7) Nieto. 8) Elias. 9) Rolfo. 10) Battaini. 11) Aoyama. 12) Faubel. 13) Vincent. 14) Heidolf. 15) Guintoli. 16) West. 17) Olive. 18) Matsudo. 19) Marchand. 20) Nigon. 21) Smrz. 22) Sekiguchi. 23) Stigefelt. 24) Sabbatani. 25) Lefort. DNF: Gemmel. Baldolini. Bataille. Davies. Discuss these results on the MotoGP discussion...
Rainey: Rossi will be champion again
14 April 2004
As the teams prepare for first practice at Welkom on Friday, April 16, triple world champion Wayne Rainey is predicting that Valentino Rossi will hold on to his title this year. The season starts on...
Welkom Result: 125cc
14 April 2004
1) Dovizioso. 2) Locatelli. 3) Stoner. 4) Nieto. 5) Di Meglio. 6) Borsoi. 7) Giansanti. 8) Jenkner 9) Bautista. 10) Barbera. 11) Simon. 12) Kallio. 13) Pasini. 14) Corsi. 15) Ui. 16) Lorenzo. 17) Perugini 18) Harms. 19) Giuseppetti. 20) Pesek. 21) Lai. 22) Toth. 23) Gadea. 24) Kallio. 25) Angeloni. 26) Manna. 27) Carchano. DNF: Luthi. Simoncelli. Ballerini. Rodriguez. Pellino. Schouten.
Biaggi’s crew chief Cobas dies
14 April 2004
Max Biaggi’s influential crew chief Antonio Cobas has died after a long illness. The Spaniard was 52 and was technical director of Biaggi’s Camel Honda MotoGP squad. Team boss Sito Pons said: " As Technical Director of the Honda Pons team, Antonio will forever be remembered for his kindness. He has been a true companion to me for more than 25 years and I shall miss him immensely. " The...
Final qualifying: 125cc
14 April 2004
1) Dovizioso 1:40.942. 2) Locatelli 1:41.024. 3) Giansanti 1:41.193. 4) Di Meglio 1:41.195. 5) Stoner 1:41.204. 6) Nieto 1:41.373. 7) Simoncelli 1:41.483. 8) Bautista 1:41.550. 9) Ui 1:41.619. 10) Simon 1:41.644. 11) Barbera 1:41.682 12) Borsoi 1:41.754. 13) Lorenzo 1:41.762. 14) Talmacsi 1:41.866. 15) Kallio (M) 1:41.896. 16) Giuseppetti 1:41.959. 17) Lai 1: 42.038. 18) Jenkner 1:42.106. 19)...
Final qualifying: 250cc
14 April 2004
1) De Puniet 1:35.300. 2) Porto 1:35.379. 3) Poggiali 1:35.596. 4) Pedrosa 1:35.843. 5) De Angelis 1:36.251. 6) Nieto 1:36.447. 7) Rolfo 1:36.611. 8) Bataille 1:36.690. 9) Aoyama 1:36.764. 10) Battaini 1:36.819. 11) Elias 1:36.884. 12) Faubel 1:37.088. 13) Davies 1:37.172. 14) Matsudo 1:37.373. 15) Debon 1:37.382. 16) Marchand 1:37.386. 17) Baldolini 1:37.418. 18) Olive 1:37.605. 19) Guintoli...
Rossi on pole for Welkom
14 April 2004
Valentino Rossi has continued to dominate qualifying for the opening 2004 MotoGP round in South Africa by qualifying on pole for tomorrow’s race (Sunday April 18), with a time of 1:32.647. Rossi,...
British GP to stay at Donington
07 April 2004
The future of MotoGP in the UK has been sealed with the announcement that Donington Park will host the British Grand Prix for the next six years. The deal hinged on the redevelopment of the...
BBC announces TV schedule for 04 races
07 April 2004
The BBC has confirmed its initial line-up of bike racing on TV for 2004, though it is subject to changes and additions. For MotoGP: Valentino Rossi interview, Sunday April 11, Grandstand, BBC Two,...
Biaggi tops final rain-ruined tests
01 April 2004
Max Biaggi would normally have been delighted. But being top gun on the final day of these official MotoGP tests could hardly be considered setting the benchmark. Rain ruined the Thursday testing at...
BBC to show MotoGP live until 2009
01 April 2004
The BBC has announced a new five-year contract to show MotoGP and this year it will show 12 of the 16 races live. The corporation says all rounds will be shown in full whether live or not. The...
Roberts second quickest… behind Rossi
01 April 2004
Defending world champion Valentino Rossi set the fastest time in rain-interrupted official MotoGP tests at Jerez on Wednesday (March 31). His domination on his new Yamaha comes after setting the...
Sign up for MotoGP text alerts
24 March 2004
Keep up to date with the latest MotoGP tests, qualifying and race results with our new mobile phone text service from MCN. To subscribe to this great-value service just text MCN MOTOGP to...
MotoGP prepares for test showdown
24 March 2004
MotoGP teams will go head-to-head on Friday (March 26) at the start of a three-day test at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona, Spain. It’s the first real chance for all the teams to compare progress...
Rossi fastest in first shoot-out
24 March 2004
Valentino Rossi showed the rest have still got it all to do when he set the fastest time at the MotoGP test at Catalunya at the weekend. Rivals had hoped his switch from the all-conquering Honda to...
Win Ducati book signed by MotoGP stars
17 March 2004
You can win a Ducati Racing Yearbook, signed by Ducati MotoGP stars Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi. All you have to do is ask the questions you’ve always wanted answers to about the great Italian...
Rossi to test F1 Toyota
10 March 2004
After years of speculation about Valentino Rossi switching to F1 car racing, it seems he may finally get his first ride in one of the 900bhp cars, and MCN has got an exclusive interview. The...
Rossi matches previous times in Oz
10 March 2004
Three weeks after his last Phillip Island tests… and Rossi’s clocking almost exactly the same time as he did back then – but he still reckons he’s making progress. His best of 1:30.80 is a tenth of a...
Proton V5 to join MotoGP tests
03 March 2004
Proton Team KR will join the big guns for shakedown tests of its V5 at Valencia in Spain this weekend. The March 6-7 tests bring together HRC, Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki, too. Valentino Rossi and the...
Hayden quickest at Valencia tests
03 March 2004
Honda’s Nicky Hayden was fastest at the MotoGP tests in Valencia over the weekend. The test brought together Honda, Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia and Proton with Kurtis Roberts getting his first ride on the...
Weather limits Rossi’s progress in Oz
03 March 2004
Damp conditions have limited world champion Valentino Rossi’s test progress at Phillip Island, Australia. He was only able to get in 14 laps on a drying track in an afternoon bright spell. But he did...
Ducati dominates day two at Phillip Island
18 February 2004
The second day of MotoGP testing at Phillip Island, Australia, proved to be a memorable one for Ducati with rookie GP rider Ruben Xaus crashing badly and factory rider Loris Capirossi setting the...
Tyre supply hampers Hodgson’s test times
18 February 2004
WSB champion Neil Hodgson finished the third and final day of his latest MotoGP test down on time and feeling down in the dumps. He says his struggle has not been helped by a lack of the new Michelin...
Rossi ups the pace despite slower engine
11 February 2004
Valentino Rossi looks set to disprove his doubters, closing the gap on the Hondas on the second day of MotoGP testing at Sepang, Malaysia. This was despite using a prototype engine down on power from...
Hodgson crash at first major test
11 February 2004
D’Antin Ducati rider Neil Hodgson had a bad start to the opening day of GP testing in Sepang after crashing his Ducati Desmosedici only a few hours into the test. The 2003 World Superbike Champion was...
Hayden fastest in Sepang
11 February 2004
Honda’s Nicky Hayden has finished the final day of MotoGP testing at Sepang as the fastest rider, posting a time of 2:02.041 on his factory Honda RC211V. The American headed fellow Honda riders Max...
Edwards tops first day at Phillip Island
11 February 2004
Colin Edwards immediately stamped his mark at the top of the time sheets as the MotoGP circus moved on to Phillip Island, Australia, after its week-long session in Malaysia. The Honda rider clocked a...
Share your memories of Sheene
04 February 2004
Barry Sheene touched the lives of millions of motorcyclists so to commemorate his death MCN is planning a special tribute. Everyone who met the great man has a story to tell, and we’d like to hear...