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 fastest in Spain - Edwards close
10 June 2003
Valentino Rossi has taken his Repsol Honda RC211V to the top spot in the first qualifying session at the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Catalunya, Spain. The Italian rider waited...
Rossi tops qualifying at Catalunya
10 June 2003
Valentino Rossi has taken provisional pole at the sixth round of the MotoGP world championship in Catalunya, Spain. The Italian had to work hard to take provisional pole with the top spot changing...
Capirossi on provisional pole
03 June 2003
Loris Capirossi has continued his quest for speed by not only taking provisional pole for the fifth round of the MotoGP world championship, in Mugello, Italy, but also breaking the GP top speed record...
Rossi heads all-Italian podium in Italy
03 June 2003
Valentino Rossi overcame tough challenges from his countrymen to take the win at Mugello in Italy today, Sunday June 8. It was works Ducati rider Loris Capirossi who made the best start, giving the...
Rossi steals pole position
03 June 2003
Valentino Rossi has snatched the pole position for Sunday’s MotoGP fifth round at Mugello, Italy. Just beating Loris Capirossi’s time on his last lap. Capirossi didn’t manage to better his time from...
Capirossi tops 203mph in first session
03 June 2003
Lorris Capirossi has already topped the 200mph mark in the first practice at the fifth round of the MotoGP world championship in Mugello, Italy. After 14 laps of the first practice session Capirossi...
Gibernau takes victory in Le Mans
20 May 2003
Spaniard Sete Gibernau has won the French GP, benefitting from new rules which have abolished combined, overall times, and resulted in a 13-lap dash to the finish. He battled hard with reigning...
Melandri impresses in MotoGP practice
20 May 2003
The threat of a wet weekend for the fourth round of the MotoGP World championship saw all the riders trying to get their best times in a dry first qualifying session at Le Mans. Top of the pile again...
Ducati stays on at Jerez
13 May 2003
Ducati MotoGP riders Troy Baylis and Loris Capirossi stayed behind after Sunday’s race in Jerez to give their Desmosedici V4s a full workout in a private test session at the Spanish circuit...
Gibernau on provisional pole
06 May 2003
Sete Gibernau has topped the time sheets for the first qualifying session at the third round of the MotoGP World championship in Jerez. The Spanish rider put in over 20 laps to ensure he took the top...
Two-strokes ride again at Jerez
06 May 2003
Kenny Roberts’ Proton team will once again resort to their KR3 two-strokes for Sunday’s Spanish GP at Jerez. The Proton team had hoped to have its new V5 four-stroke machine up and running for...
Ducati duo collided in warm-up
06 May 2003
Troy Bayliss’ third place at his third MotoGP is even more remarkable, considering he’d just had a 160mph collision with team-mate Loris Capirossi. ” I led on the warm-up lap, and didn’t want to...
Ducati duo first and second on grid for Jerez
06 May 2003
The Ducati duo of Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss have taken first and second places on the grid for tomorrow’s MotoGP race at Jerez in Spain. Capirossi topped the time sheets with a 1:41.993s, 10...
Kiyonari to join Gibernau in MotoGP
06 May 2003
Reigning Japanese Supersport champion Ryuichi Kiyonari has been selected as Sete Gibernau’s new team-mate in the Gresini Racing Telefonica Movistar team. Gibernau was chosen as the replacement for the...
Rossi reigns in Spain
06 May 2003
Valentino Rossi has triumphed at the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez today, finishing the race in front of rival Max Biaggi, and emerging contender Troy Bayliss. Rossi, riding the factory Honda RCV, crossed...
Sombre mood for Welkom GP
22 April 2003
This weekend’s second round of the MotoGP world championship at the Phakisa Freeway in Welkom, South Africa, will not have the usual celebratory atmosphere. Instead the sport will collectively bow its...
Rossi takes provisional pole at Welkom
22 April 2003
Valentino Rossi has continued his dominance at the Welkom GP by taking the provisional pole at the end of the first qualifying session. The factory Honda rider – who was wearing a black armband in...
Burns’ WCM fails FIM inspection
22 April 2003
Chris Burns’ GP dream has been dealt another blow this weekend after his Harris WCM machine was banned from taking part in the South African GP. An FIM technical team inspected the R1-derived...
Gibernau honours Kato with pole
22 April 2003
Sete Gibernau offered a fitting tribute to his team-mate Daijiro Kato by taking the pole position at the second round of the MotoGP championship in Welkom, South Africa. Gibernau continuously improved...
McWilliams fifth fastest on two-stroke at Welkom
22 April 2003
Jeremy McWilliams has taken his two-stroke Proton KR3 to the fifth fastest time in the first practice session at the Welkom MotoGP on what is potentially the last appearance of a two-stroke bike in...
Gibernau honors Kato with Welkom win
22 April 2003
Sete Gibernau took the win at the second round of the MotoGP world championship as a fitting memorial to his late team-mate Daijiro Kato. The start of the race was delayed by 50 minutes after Kenny...
Kato succumbs to injuries
15 April 2003
Daijiro Kato, the former 250cc World Champion, has died in hospital in Japan. Kato passed away at 00:42 local time today, Sunday April 20, in the Yokkaichi Central Hospital. Kato, 26, had been in a...
Mugello test for Ducati GP team
15 April 2003
Ducati is continuing its policy of getting closer to the public after opening the gates to its latest private test at the Mugello circuit in Italy this week. More than 500 fans watched Ducati riders...
Ukawa releases statement on Kato
08 April 2003
The Camel Pramac Pons team have issued a statement to the press on behalf of rider Tohru Ukawa, which mysteriously retracts his earlier statements about the crash which seriously injured Daijiro...
Kato shows slight improvement
08 April 2003
Daijiro Kato is still in a serious condition after his horrific crash in the early stages of the first MotoGP race on Sunday. The hospital has not made any official statement but it is known that the...
Kato stable, Gibernau to race on
08 April 2003
Daijiro Kato showed some signs of improvement yesterday but is still in a critical condition after his accident at the first round of MotoGP on Sunday, in Suzuka, Japan. With the rider making it...
Rossi grabs provisional pole
01 April 2003
The first round of the MotoGP world championship kicked off the struggle for supremacy with Italian rivals Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi finishing the opening qualifying session separated by just 0.2s on Friday. The morning’s free practice saw Ducati rider Loris Capirossi topping the time sheets with a time of 2:04.604, 0.02s ahead of Valentino Rossi. All that changed for the qualifying session...
Rossi tops first GP qualifying session
01 April 2003
First official practice and qualifying for the opening round of this season’s MotoGP championship has just finished in Suzuka, Japan Valentino Rossi has provisionally qualified on pole with a time of...
Capirossi crashes, Rossi goes quickest
01 April 2003
Valentino Rossi topped the time sheets at the final pre-season IRTA test at Suzuka, beating his own lap record with a 2:04.17s. There were a number of crashes throughout the test, including Ducati’s...
Rossi wins at Suzuka
01 April 2003
Reigning Champion Valentino Rossi staked his claim to this year’s MotoGP world championship title with an impressive win at the first round in Suzuka, Japan, today. The Italian stormed away from the...
Delayed Roberts V5 launched in London
25 March 2003
Kenny Roberts finally unveiled his all-new V5 MotoGP contender in London last week. The world launch, attended by celebs including Tara-Palmer Tomkinson and the Royal Family’s Ralph Little, was also...
First outing for KTM GP bike
18 March 2003
125cc riders Arnaud Vincent and Roberto Locatelli have finally ridden their new KTM GP bikes for the first time after delays in construction forced them to miss both of the pre season IRTA tests at...
Schwantz returns to racing
18 March 2003
Kevin Schwantz is returning to full time professional racing with the launch of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto championship. The 1993 500 GP champion retired from professional racing in 1995 with an...
Rossi pays tribute to Sheene
11 March 2003
Valentino Rossi led the tributes to the late Barry Sheene at the IRTA MotoGP test on Sunday with a specially commissioned helmet design. The reigning MotoGP champion took the opportunity to make two...
Waldmann quits WCM
11 March 2003
Ralf Waldmann has quit the Harris WCM MotoGP team saying it is too late in his career for him to make the move from two-stroke to four-stroke bikes. The German rider rode the bike for the first time...
Capirossi hits 204mph on Ducati GP bike
11 March 2003
Loris Capirossi clocked a record-setting 203.9mph and set the fastest lap at the weekends IRTA tests in Catalunya. For a full report on the weekend’s activity, see this week’s issue of MCN, out March...