Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Results
GP Marlboro Comunitat Valencia
Valencia, Spain
October 31, 2004

1. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 30 laps, 47:16.145
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, -0.425 second
3. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, -3.133
4. Sete Gibernau, Honda, -6.128
5. Makoto Tamada, Honda, -7.768
6. Alex Barros, Honda, -14.675
7. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, -23.315
8. Colin Edwards, Honda, -27.441
9. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, -29.403
10. Norick Abe, Yamaha, -31.537
11. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, -40.951
12. John Hopkins, Suzuki, -62.014
13. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, -64.637
14. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, -68.042
15. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -69.354
16. Garry McCoy, Aprilia, -75.022
17. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, -75.274
18. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, -1 lap
19. James Ellison, Harris WCM, -1 lap
20. Olivier Jacque, Moriwaki Honda, -6 laps, DNF, retired
21. Nicky Hayden, Honda, -8 laps, DNF, crashed
22. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, -19 laps, DNF, crashed
23. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, -20 laps, DNF, crashed
24. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, -20 laps, DNF, crashed
25. Kurtis Roberts, Proton, -30 laps, DNS



250cc GP Results
Valencia, Spain
October 31, 2004

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 27 laps, 44.10.176
2. Toni Elias, Honda, – 8.086 seconds
3. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, -27.412
4. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -31.620
5. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, -34.059
6. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -34.784
7. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -40.352
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, -46.761
9. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, -46.770
10. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, -58.235



125cc GP Results
Valencia, Spain
October 31, 2004

1. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 24 laps, 40:45.283
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, -0.761 second
3. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, -0.979
4. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, -1.285
5. Sergio Gadea, Aprilia, -1.338
6. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -3.708
7. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, -8.782
8. Simone Corsi, Honda, -12.425
9. Gabor Talmacsi, Malaguti, -12.515
10. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, -16.655



(Press releases posted in order of receipt.)


More, from a press release issued by Hopper Racing:

HOPKINS ENDS SEASON WITH A 12TH AT VALENCIA

VALENCIA, Spain (October 31, 2004) – John Hopkins rode his Suzuki GSV-R to a 12th-place finish in the final MotoGP of 2004. It was a below par day for the young Californian as he fought to find traction with his race set up, but ultimately Hopkins was encouraged by the positive strides Suzuki and Bridgestone made during the latter stages of the season.

“Obviously I was disappointed with the result today,” Hopkins said. “I struggled finding grip in the race. Even though it’s been tough at times this season the thing I’m taking away from this year is the improvement that was made on all fronts with the team during the second half of the year.”

Hopkins qualified seventh, indicative of the superb qualifying tires Bridgestone made available. It was a different matter in the race however. Hopkins fell to 15th by lap five before he was able to stabilize his position. As the race wore on attrition helped Hopkins move up to 12th at the checkered flag. He finished just ahead of a late-race charge by Jeremy McWilliams.

“I don’t think I passed a single rider today,” Hopkins added. “It was just one of those days where you ride as best you can and take whatever finish that gives you. There was really nothing more I could do. In the end my goal was simply to finish.”

The season comes to a close with the 21-year-old Hopkins finishing 16th in the world championship standings. He scored 45 points on the year, a major improvement over 2003. This year also witnessed Hopkins earning a career high in qualifying second in Japan and taking his highest MotoGP finish ever with a sixth in Portugal.

“I want to give a special thanks to Garry Taylor who is leaving after so many successful years with Suzuki,” Hopkins concluded. “I’m very happy about coming back with Suzuki next year. We’ve made so many strides and I feel we’re going to keep moving in the right direction.”



More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO MARLBORO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA
31ST OCTOBER 2004 – MOTOGP RACE RESULT

SUPER SHINYA SECURES TENTH PLACE FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI

Japanese ace Shinya Nakano finished his debut season with the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team by securing tenth place in the MotoGP World Championship standings in today’s Valencia Grand Prix.

Nakano was in superb form and rode his Ninja ZX-RR into seventh place in the race to leap-frog from 12th to 10th position in the final points standings. In the process the Fuchs Kawasaki rider moved ahead of Ruben Xaus and Marco Melandri.

A top ten championship position was the stated goal of Nakano and the Fuchs Kawasaki squad when they joined forces for the 2004 season.

Nakano’s team-mate Alex Hofmann finished 11th after making a horror start and dropping to 18th on the first lap. Despite a charging ride through the pack Hofmann had conceded too much time and this clearly cost him a chance of a top ten race finish.

On the way to 11th place Hofmann pulled off a series of brilliant overtaking moves on factory rivals Jeremy McWilliams and John Hopkins. Over the final laps Hofmann raced at a similar pace to Nakano and finished just 17 seconds behind his more experienced team-mate.

Hofmann finished 15th in the championship standings and second in the Rookie of the Year points in his first full MotoGP season.

Nakano made a lightning start from tenth on the third row to be seventh on the opening lap. He dropped to eighth in a mid-race battle with Alex Barros, before holding seventh against a late charge from Colin Edwards.

The Valencia Grand Prix result reflects the huge step forward taken by the Bridgestone-shod Ninja ZX-RR over the past 12 months. Nakano’s race time today was over 60 seconds faster, a massive two seconds per lap, than the best Kawasaki in the 2003 race.

The 16 race MotoGP season finished on a high note with a three day attendance of 211,468 spectators and a full-house race day crowd of 122,034.

While the race season has concluded there is still work to do for the Fuchs Kawasaki squad. On Monday there is media ride day on the Ninja ZX-RR, followed by an afternoon tyre test session.

Later in November the development program for the 2005 season kicks-off at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain, with a three day test before a seven week winter test ban.

Shinya Nakano: 7th
“My target was top ten in the championship and a strong result in the final race, so I’m happy to achieve both of those today. I made a really good start, I was seventh in turn two, and was able to hold a place in the top ten even after a battle with Alex Barros. I couldn’t run at the frontrunner’s pace, but this is an excellent result for the ZX-RR. We have learnt a lot this season, so my thanks to Kawasaki and Bridgestone. I know that next year we will make even more progress in the MotoGP World Championship.”

Alex Hofmann: 11th
“That was the worst start of my life, and it cost me a chance of a top ten result today; that makes me unhappy. I don’t know what went wrong; I either had too many revs going or not enough. For sure this is something I have to work on for next season. For us it is not easy to pass on the straights, so I had to look for other opportunities and, once I got going, I was able to overtake McWilliams and Hopkins and get some real racing experience, which is what I have been missing for the past couple of years. This is a good base for my 2005 season.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“I’m delighted that we achieved tenth in the championship with Shinya, which was a realistic goal for the Ninja ZX-RR this season. And the race performance today demonstrates all the hard work of everyone at Kawasaki and Bridgestone in what has been, at times, a difficult year. We had some mid-season tyre and engine problems, but everyone worked together to overcome those issues. Our aim next year is to move another step forward with our two contracted riders Shinya and Alex, who despite a poor start again showed his fighting spirit today. We will concentrate on two riders, but we are discussing the possibility of entering a third ZX-RR in the championship. If this can be organised and budgeted for, and a good rider is available, then three ZX-RR machines on the grid remains a possibility in 2005.”

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 47’16.145; 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.425; 3. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +3.133; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +6.128; 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +7.768; 6. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +14.675; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +23.315; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +27.441; 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +29.403; 10. Norick Abe (JPN) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +31.537; 11. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +40.951; 12. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +1’02.014; 13. Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) Proton Team KR +1’04.637

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 2004:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 304; 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 257; 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team 217; 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda 165; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 157; 6. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team 150; 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 117; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 117; 9. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 117; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team 83; 11. Ruben Xaus (SPA) dAntin Ducati Team 77; 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 75; 15. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team 51



More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

LONE PROTON KR RIDER AOKI 18th AT VALENCIA

Round 16: Valencia GP, Ricardo Tormo Circuit Race: Sunday, October 31, 2004

Nobuatsu Aoki: 18th

Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki ran another trouble-free race for the last round of the 2004 GP season at Valencia, finishing three places out of the points after a lonely ride.

The finale to a thrilling 2004 season was run in bright sunshine in front of a capacity crowd of more than 122,000 Spanish fans, packing the grandstands and hillsides of the tight 4.005km Ricardo Tormo circuit outside Valencia.

Aoki had qualified 21st, got a good start, and circulated steadily after the early-laps sorting out, running consistent lap times, although alone for most of the 30 laps. The last race of the season demonstrated that in spite of a difficult year, the rider has never given up trying, and the team likewise. The 990cc Proton KR V5 machine didn’t skip a beat, and Aoki reported improvements also in the latest Dunlop tyres.

Team-mate Kurtis Roberts, back after missing six races through injury, had withdrawn from the race on the second day, his injured left wrist still not strong enough for the fearsome demands of a 200-plus horsepower 990cc MotoGP machine.

The season has been difficult for the England-based team, the only fully independent manufacturer in the top class of racing. Development of new second version of their V5 engine had steadily improved through the end of the season.

An exciting race was won by 2004 champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), less than half-a-second ahead of Honda-mounted Max Biaggi and Troy Bayliss’s Ducati.

NOBUATSU AOKI
Another steady race. The machine was okay, and pretty good all weekend, with no major trouble. That meant I could really concentrate on riding, and I appreciate the work my guys did for that. Dunlop have also improved little by little. I picked a new Japanese rear, and it worked pretty well, with no big drop in lap times over the race. It is probably the last race for this bike, and it makes me happy and sad, because I’ve been involved with the KR V5 project from the beginning. It was a hard couple of years, but now I have many good memories of all the work we have done. I want to thank Proton and all the guys in the team.

KENNY ROBERTS: Team Principal
The bike ran good, but we were short of grip. I’ve been happy with the machine performance over the last races. It’s got reliable, but we’re just not on the pace … though we were first Dunlop finishers again. I’m looking forward to putting together a better package for next year, if possible.



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix, Valencia
Race Day
Sunday October 31 2004

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN SCORE SECOND PODIUM IN A ROW

Troy Bayliss gave the Ducati Marlboro Team the best possible leaving present this afternoon, scoring a storming podium finish in the season-ending Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix. Watched by 122,000 noisy fans the hard-riding Australian enjoyed his best race of the season, charging through the pack to challenge Max Biaggi for second place. He eventually finished third, just 3.133 seconds down on winner Valentino Rossi. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who took third place in Australia two weeks ago, had a more difficult day, finishing ninth.

“It’s really great to finish the season with podium performances at the last two races,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “And I’m really happy for Troy, it’s a nice way for him to finish his time with us. We offer him our best wishes for the future, I’m sure he’ll be a tough competitor next year! Tomorrow we begin our winter development programme, working towards producing a great motorcycle for 2005 with Loris and our new signing Carlos (Checa). They will evaluate the new frame that we tried for the first time during our Phillip Island tests, running back-to-back tests with the existing unit. This has been a tough season for us but we’ve finished on a positive note. Finally, my thanks to everyone in the team and at the factory, plus our sponsors and our technical partners Michelin and Shell Advance.”

LAST HURRAH FOR BAYLISS
Troy Bayliss rode his best race of the year today. The Ducati Marlboro Team man started from the second row, ended lap one in fourth, slipped to sixth, then began a long and determined fight back. The Aussie came on strong around half distance, lapping faster than anyone else on track as he hunted down Makoto Tamada and Nick Hayden. With nine laps to go he was up to third and chasing Biaggi, finally easing his pace to make sure of his first top-three finish of 2004.

“You probably haven’t seen me smile like this for a while,” beamed Bayliss after the race. “It’s been a tough year for me and everyone at Ducati but the bike has come good in the second half of the season. And after we tested some new stuff at Phillip Island it’s felt like a new bike for me. I was a little cautious at the start, because it’s not been my year, so I was a little cautious while Sete (Gibernau) and Tamada were up the inside like crazy. After that it was a really good race. I really wanted to have a go at Max but in the end I thought third was better than putting it in the dirt. I’ve had some great years with Ducati, with some great times together, so it’s nice to leave on a happy note. I wish them all the best for the future, I know they’re going to have a strong bike in 2005.”

CAPIROSSI BATTLES TO NINTH
Third in Australia a fortnight back, Loris Capirossi had a tough weekend at Valencia, finishing in ninth place. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider started from the fifth row of the grid after a troubled two days of qualifying and rode a dogged race, passing rivals where he could around this most tortuous of circuits.

“It’s been a difficult weekend because we started with a front-end set-up problem,” explained the Italian. “Finally we fixed that this morning but the rear-end traction problems we’d had in practice were still there. I could feel that from the second lap, so all I could do was try to finish the race and get some points. Troy’s podium result demonstrates that our bike has improved and that we have the potential to run up front. It’s very important that we stay here to test and work towards 2005.”