Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 42:02.041
2. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 42:11.823
3. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 42:13.175
4. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 42:13.368
5. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 42.13.455
6. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 42:22.978
7. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 42:24.546
8. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR-M1, 42:28.683
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 42:28.733
10. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 42:34.035
11. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 42:36.604
12. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 42:40.868
13. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR-M1, 42:47.459
14. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 42:54.583
15. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha YZR500, 42:54.806
16. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 43:14.210*
17. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 43:14.237
18. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, -1 lap**
19. Shinichi Itoh, Honda, -16 laps, DNF
20. Regis Laconi, Aprilia, -17 laps, DNF
21. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, -25 laps, DNF

*crashed, rejoined race
**pitted, rejoined race


More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha WCM:

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Sunday 20th October 2002

SPEED TO NO AVAIL

The Aussie crowd were expecting the best from their hero, Garry McCoy at today’s Australian Grand Prix and his fans launched him off the grid to the chant of Aussie, Aussie Aussie ­ McCoy, McCoy, McCoy.

But elation soon dropped to bitter disappointment when McCoy pulled into the pits on Lap 14 with a blistered Dunlop rear tyre. A quick tyre change by Garry’s pit crew and he was back out in the race, fighting head to head with the leading pack of Rossi and Barros but a lap behind.

Setting a lighting speed lap of 1:32.877 McCoy set the third fastest lap of all riders on Lap 18, when his second Dunlop started to perform perfectly for him. His two-stroke machine keeping pace with the four-stroke giants. But it seemed it was too little too late for the Australian as he ended the day in 18th place.

Hopkins was not impressed with his ride today either and is hoping for his best result in Valencia to finish his rookie year in the Top Ten. Hopkins, who raced today for the first time in Phillip Island, is looking forward to returning to Valencia, a track that he has tested on in pre-season testing.

GARRY McCOY, ­ 18th
World Championship Classification ­ 20th on 53 points
“What can I say, ­ better luck next year.

“I think unfortunately the tyre we chose for the race must have been just the bad one in the batch, as we used exactly the same tyre in the second half of the race and it seemed okay.

“The four strokes got a good jump off the start, compared to us and it wasn’t looking too bad at the start. We started to scrap out there and the tyre started to drop off quickly, losing grip mid-corner nearly spitting me off a couple of times. No point to continue, so I just came in for a new tyre.

“I did not think about passing Barros or Rossi, I could of passed them when they went wide but I just backed off and kept out of their way.”

JOHN HOPKINS,­ 16th
World Championship Classification ­ 13th on 33 points
“I got off the start alright but I was riding a bit off the pace in the beginning and I was a fraction shy on the braking markers early on. I started going backwards after a few laps and I calmed myself down and the rear then started to slide around a bit.

“By the time I was back on the pace, the tyre had no edge grip. I got too hot on the corner around the back horseshoe and lost the front on the grass. I picked it up and rejoined the race;­ at the least, I had to beat Pitt.”

PETER CLIFFORD ­ DIRECTOR OF RACING
“It doesn’t get much more on an anti-climax than that. Words inadequately express the disappointment. A single bright point to take away from this is the skill and determination exhibited by Garry and John.”


More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, PHILLIP ISLAND
Race Day, Sunday October 20 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA MEN TAKE POINTS ON ISLAND
Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa completed a difficult weekend at cold and windy Phillip Island with sixth- and 11th-place finishes in today’s Australian Grand Prix, just a week after Biaggi had scored a brilliant win in Malaysia. The pair, who had qualified eighth and 20th, struggled to get the usual performance from their M1s at this unique high-speed venue.

“It’s been a difficult weekend,” admitted Marlboro Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. “We struggled all weekend to find a good compromise with our settings, which has been especially frustrating after Max’s fantastic win at Sepang, but that’s racing. Max and Carlos couldn’t ride the way they want to ride, the general concern has been front-end confidence and the bike moving around. Now we will analyse all the data from this weekend and try again at Valencia, where we hope our riders and bikes will get the results they deserve.”

The Valencia GP, last race of the first four-stroke-based MotoGP season, takes place at the Spanish track on November 3.

BIAGGI GIVES IT THE MAX TO STAY SECOND
Max Biaggi rode a super-determined race at Phillip Island this afternoon, coming home sixth after a long and entertaining contest with Nobuatsu Aoki (Proton), Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) and Kenny Roberts Junior (Suzuki). The Marlboro Yamaha Team man battled back and forth with his three rivals, eventually emerging at the front of the group. The result keeps him in second place in the MotoGP World Championship standings, albeit just one point ahead of today’s third-place finisher Tohru Ukawa (Honda).

“It was impossible to do better than that,” said the Marlboro Yamaha Team star. “I tried everything but I’m not happy with the result. Things have been difficult all weekend, and though we tried many settings changes throughout practice and qualifying, we couldn’t really resolve our problems. At least I’m still second in the World Championship, so I’ve simply got to do better than Ukawa at Valencia, it’s imperative for me to finish second overall, for Yamaha and for myself.”

CHECA RECOVERS FROM FIFTH-ROW START
Carlos Checa recovered well from a gruelling two days of qualifying to score an 11th-place finish, just behind Jeremy McWilliams (Proton), who had started the race from pole position. The Marlboro Yamaha Team rider made major changes to bike spec overnight, which allowed him to move up the order, after starting from 20th on the grid. Checa still retains fifth overall in the points chase, with just his home-country Valencia GP to go.

“Last night we changed to our previous-spec chassis, but then I had engine problems in warm-up, so I couldn’t fully test the settings we’d decided upon,” explained the Spaniard. “I was able to give some feedback though, so we could make some small adjustments to the suspension balance for the race. The early laps were okay, then we lost some stability through the high-speed turns. I tried everything – different lines, moving my body position around on the bike and using the throttle differently – but with no real effect. The main thing is that we’ve learned a lot this weekend, which will help us build a better bike for 2003.”

ROSSI WINS AGAIN AFTER TWO-RACE LULL
World Champion Valentino Rossi scored his first victory in three races today, beating fellow Honda rider Alex Barros after a tantalising race-long duel. The pair were side by side on the final lap when Barros ran off the track as they braked for a hairpin turn, Barros recovering to take second.

“Alex’s rhythm in the early stages was incredible,” said Rossi after his 50th GP win. “But when he started sliding around I knew I could attack, and when he ran off on the final lap the battle was over.”

RESULTS
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA Team (RC211v) 42:02.041

2. Alex Barros (BRA) West HONDA Pons (RC211v) +9.782

3. Tohru Ukawa (JPN) Repsol HONDA Team (RC211v) +11.134

4. Daijiro Kato (JPN) Fortuna HONDA Gresini (RC211v) +11.327

5. Jurgen vd Goorbergh (NED) Kanemoto Racing (NSR500) +11.414

6. MAX BIAGGI (ITA) Marlboro YAMAHA Team (YZR-M1) +20.937

7. Nobuatsu Aoki (JPN) PROTON Team KR (KR3) +22.505

8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Gauloises YAMAHA Tech 3 (YZR-M1) +26.642

9. Kenny Roberts (USA) Telefonica Movistar SUZUKI (GSV-R) +26.692

10. Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) PROTON Team KR (KR3) +31.994

11. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Marlboro YAMAHA Team (YZR-M1) +34.563

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 335
2. MAX BIAGGI (JPN) 199
3. Tohru Ukawa (JPN) 198
4. Alex Barros (BRA) 179
5. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) 141
6. Norick Abe (JPN) 123
7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) 109
8. Daijiro Kato (JPN) 104
9. Kenny Roberts (USA) 99
10. Olivier Jacque (FRA) 74


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

PITT JUST OUT OF THE POINTS IN SECOND GP FINISH

New South Wales rider Andrew Pitt was just two places out of the World Championship points in his and the all-new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR’s second GP finish, claiming 17th place in today’s Australian GP.

Run in dry and sunny conditions at the sweeping and picturesque seaside circuit of Phillip Island, the race represented another step forward for the newest of the new 990cc four-strokes: the Ninja ZX-RR is taking part only in the final four races of this season, in preparation for a full entry next year.

The latest full-prototype-spec machine, run for the first time last month in its lightweight chassis and with new fuel injection, qualified closer than ever to the leaders. The aggressively styled lime-green bike ran perfectly throughout a lonely race for the Australian, who was brought in as a last minute substitute after factory tester Akira Yanagawa was injured in a race crash in the bike’s first outing at Motegi a fortnight ago.

One more round remains of the 2002 MotoGP World Championship. After that the new Kawasaki will undergo a winter of extensive testing and development in preparation for the factory’s full time GP return in 2003.


Andrew Pitt – 17th 43:14,237: “The biggest bonus today is that I finished 35 seconds closer to the race winner than I did in Malaysia last week. But it was hard work to ride on my own again. I had a good start, and on the first lap I actually passed Carlos Checa, and raced with Tetsuya Harada for a while. But they passed me back. I still didn’t ride the bike like a big bike should be ridden, I was carrying too much corner speed on the very edge of the tyre. Only towards the end of the race, I started to square the corners off and open the throttle earlier, and doing that, I chopped a second off my lap time immediately!”

Harald Eckl – Team Manager: “In Malaysia, Andrew was five seconds behind the leaders, here in Phillip Island he cut it down to 2.6 seconds on his fastest lap in comparison to Rossi’s one, and I’m sure we will be able to cut another half a second when we go to Valencia. Andrew’s problem is that he still doesn’t ride the bike at its limit. He is actually slower on new tyres with a lot of grip, where slides are more difficult to provoke and to control, than later in the race. That was clearly visible towards the end, when he battled nicely with John Hopkins. But we are definitely on track, with Andrew’s riding as much as with the technical development of our bike. We were ninth in top speed today, less than 10 kph down on Valentino Rossi!”


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

HEROIC RIDING YIELDS ANOTHER DOUBLE TOP TEN FOR PROTON

Round 15: Australian GP, Phillip Island Race: Sunday, October 20, 2002

Nobuatsu Aoki: Seventh
Jeremy McWilliams: Tenth

Proton Team KR riders Nobuatsu Aoki and Jeremy McWilliams overcame manifold disadvantages to claim another double top ten finish in today’s Australian GP It is the fourth such in the three-cylinder lightweight two-stroke KR3’s run-out season, before it is replaced with a new 990cc V5 four-stroke next year.

In some ways, it was a major disappointment, after McWilliams started from the KR3’s first ever pole position, with Aoki also on the front row. McWilliams got off the line slowly, then ran into a braking problem while forcing his way back up through the field. He ran off the track, rejoining right at the back for an enjoyable and yet frustrating charge through to the top ten again – several times the fastest man on the track as he scythed through the mid-field.

Aoki had no problems, and had the 40,000-strong crowd thrilled as he battled back and forth with Max Biaggi’s factory Yamaha for almost the full 27 laps of the 4.448km circuit by the sea south of Melbourne. With a speed advantage of almost 20mph, the big four-stroke would surge past Aoki every time down the start-finish straight … only for the determined Japanese rider to get back ahead with his much faster corner speed on the infield section. At the finish he was still less than two seconds behind the GP-winning four-stroke, and both outdistanced the four-stroke Yamaha of Olivier Jacque and the factory Suzuki of Kenny Roberts Jr.

The race was run in cool but sunny conditions, with less wind than during practice and the threat of rain failing to materialise. Just one more round remains of this year’s first MotoGP mixed two-stroke/four-stroke championship – the Valencia GP in two weeks. That will be the two-stroke KR3’s last race. From next year the Proton riders will be aboard the all-new V5 four-stroke currently under development at the team’s headquarters in England.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
“That was just frustrating. I never do get a good start, so that was no surprise. In fact Tom (O’Kane) has set the carburetion a bit richer this morning, so it was even more woolly than normal. Half our problem is just down to the horsepower difference, and as I was trying to outbrake a couple of guys on lap four at Honda Hairpin I guess the front carbon discs weren’t warm enough, and they grabbed. I ran on straight and onto the grass, and got back on right at the back. After that my lap times were good and I was having fun passing the four-strokes all over the place … but if I hadn’t gone off I believe I could have been fighting for sixth or seventh.”

NOBUATSU AOKI
“Everything worked perfectly today – engine, chassis, suspension, tyres, and myself. I thought I’d made a good start, but after a couple of hundred metres – boom, boom, boom – the four-strokes came flying past me so fast. I knew right away it would be a hard race. After ten or 12 laps I started fighting with Max. I could see he was struggling through the infield, from Honda Hairpin to the last turn. If I could pass him before that then my lap time was in the low 1:33s; if I didn’t pass him it was a second slower. So I really concentrated on being in a position to get ahead every time he passed me. I must have been like a fly to him, buzzing round his head – but if I wanted consistent times I had to do that. It was always hard to pass, and I had to take risks. Then he would pass me so easily again on the straight. I think it was quite spectacular for the fans, and I kept as close to him as I could. Many thanks to my team staff, to Bridgestone and to everyone.”

KENNY ROBERTS – Team Owner
“I know what I have to do … buy the track and redesign it without the straight. Then we’d be winning. Both our guys rode real well, but Jeremy had a problem with the brakes. Sometimes they’re not consistent on application when they’re not up to temperature. I’ve figured it out now: it’s like when you have a really old dog and you have to take her to the vet to be put down … and in the car she gets real frisky. That’s what our bike is doing right now.”



More, from a press release issued by Suzuki:

ROBERTS TAKES TOP TEN FINISH IN AUSTRALIAN GP

Phillip Island, Australia – Sunday, October 20, 2002:

Team Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts finished ninth in today’s Australian GP, after a steadfast ride holding eighth position in a close fight between the new 990cc four-strokes and the defending 500cc two-strokes, only to lose one place by inches over the line. Team-mate Sete Gibernau finished 12th, after running with Roberts in the early stages.

The race was run in windy but sunny conditions, round 27 laps of the scenic seaside Phillip Island circuit, where a crowd of 40,000 watched new MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi claim his 11th win of the season.

There is just one more race, in two weeks, in the first ever MotoGP season, with the premier motorcycle racing class opened to 990cc four-strokes as well as the traditional 500cc two-strokes. Suzuki joined the four-stroke brigade from the start of the year with the all-new V4 GSV-R prototype racer, now nearing the end of its first year of on-track race development.

KENNY ROBERTS – Ninth Position.
It was the same old thing, really. We started the race not so bad, but straight away I was suffering – At this stage of the development our engine has too much torque, so that the power is not so usable when it is on its side, then we get beaten down the straight. The bike stayed consistent throughout the race, but consistently too aggressive. I was spinning the wheel so badly from maximum lean until the bike was completely upright. Nothing I did made any difference – moving body position or trying different things. I was just murdering the tyre, and I’m pretty surprised it lasted full race distance. I have to hand it to Michelin for that. As I said, the team carried me this weekend, because with the wind I wasn’t able to give them much feedback. Next year’s bike is already on the drawing board, and I hope we’ll be able to give it the opposite power characteristics.

SETE GIBERNAU – 12th Position.
The bike went better this morning, and better again in the race. My start was not so bad, and I felt comfortable lapping in the mid-1:33s, which was the race pace. But after eight laps something went wrong and I lost engine performance. My team are checking now to try to find the problem, but I lost seven km/h top speed on the straight, and after that my lap times got slower. I was also suffering some wheelspin, but if I had been able to keep at my earlier pace I know I could have got a much better finish.


More, from a press release issued by Michelin:

ROSSI BEATS BARROS FOR 50th GP VICTORY

Honda duo run away at front of the MotoGP pack in fastest-ever Australian Grand Prix

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) scored his 50th Grand Prix victory at Phillip Island this afternoon, winning a titanic duel with Alex Barros (West Honda Pons RC211V-Michelin). The pair finished the race well ahead of third-finisher Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) who won a similarly frantic battle for the final podium place with Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini RC211V-Michelin), giving Honda’s V5 four-stroke a clean sweep at the epic Australian circuit. Michelin riders filled seven of the first nine positions and currently hold the top ten places in the MotoGP World Championship.

Rossi and Barros ran away from the pack from the very first laps, pulverising the track record time and again as they fought for supremacy through the Island’s sweeping, high-speed curves. Barros led from the start, chased hard by Rossi, who had slipped 1.5 seconds behind at one-third distance before mounting a spirited counter-attack. The Brazilian veteran and Italian youngster are getting used to sharing racetracks together – they’ve now battled side by side on three successive Sundays, Barros beating Rossi for the win at Motegi and again for second place at Sepang, but losing out today when the pair attacked Honda hairpin for the final time, Rossi slightly ahead and Barros running off the track

“That was another great race between the two, and their tyre choices worked really well, with a fast, consistent pace and both lap and race records broken,” said Michelin Grand Prix manager Emmanuel Fournier. “Alex chose a slightly softer rear than Valentino today, just because he liked the feel of the tyre. Their lap times were as fast as in qualifying, which isn’t so surprising, since they both used race tyres in qualifying. Although we didn’t get pole here, our strategy will be to continue without qualifying tyres because we believe this gives our riders the best chance to get their bike settings correct for the race, and World Championships are won on Sundays, not Saturdays.”

Rossi was delighted with his half-century of victories, which ended an unusual two-race drought. “Fifty wins is a dream, and Alex was so difficult to beat,” said the 23-year old, who has won every one of his 24 premier-class successes with Michelin. “His pace was incredible in the beginning, but then he had some slides and I was able to catch him. I waited until the final laps before going past and I expected his attack at the hairpin, so I took the inside line. He did come past but he ran off the track and the battle was over.”

Barros was happy enough with his third successive podium finish. “I used a slightly softer rear than Valentino, so I pushed really hard early on to try and open a gap,” said Barros, who celebrated his 32nd birthday last Friday. “Even though I maintained a fast rhythm he came back at me. I had no engine braking on the last lap, that was my problem, but he deserved the win.”

Ukawa’s third-place finish was crucial, since it brought him to within one point of second overall Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), who could only manage sixth today. The Japanese beat compatriot Kato by less than two tenths of a second, with Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Honda NSR500) a close fifth. “I tried to follow the leaders but I couldn’t quite keep their pace,” said Ukawa after his first podium finish since last month’s Portuguese GP. “That left me in a big fight with Kato and van den Goorbergh, but I really needed those points!”

Diminutive Kato struggled throughout to get his RCV to change direction through the track’s fast corners, but he was still able to get the better of top two-stroke rider van den Goorbergh on the final lap.

Today’s Australian GP ended a gruelling run of three back-to-back Grands Prix which have taken the MotoGP circus from Japan to Malaysia and Australia in double-quick time. The first-ever four-stroke-based MotoGP World Championship concludes at Valencia, in Spain, on November 3.



More, from a press release issued by Honda:

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, PHILLIP ISLAND
Race Day, Sunday October 20th, 2002

ROSSI ROMPS TO WIN NUMBER 11

Blanket Honda domination of the top five places at the outstandingly beautiful Phillip Island circuit was headed by a two-man battle for the win, the 27-lap race contested between Alex Barros (West Honda Pons RC211V) and Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V). The former had the advantage for the vast majority of the blustery race, with Rossi first hunting down and then shadowing the Brazilian until lap 22, before finally blasting past the Motegi race winner.

An ambitious overtake on the brakes from Barros on the final lap sealed his fate, shooting off down the escape road at Honda corner before re-joining in second place.

For Rossi, it was his 50th race win in all classes of GP competition, and his 11th victory of a quite outstanding season, during which he was crowned champion four races early. At Valencia in two weeks time he will have the chance to equal another Honda legend, Michael Doohan, in terms of the most races won in a single MotoGP season, 12. Rossi is also within touching distance of the record single-season points score in the premier class of racing.

The RC211V was once more the dominant machine on the MotoGP grid, filling the first four places, and propelling Rossi to a new lap record of 1:32.233, and a weekend-best top speed of 323.5km/h, achieved in the first qualifying session.

Despite his good race up and wise tyre choice, Rossi stated that the race was as tough as any this year, despite being gifted the win in the final analysis.

“The 50th GP win is a very good result for me; a dream, and the race with Alex was very difficult,” said the four-time GP champion. “My start was good from the second row, and I didn’t lose any time, so it seemed possible to follow Alex. In the beginning his rhythm was incredible but I tried to push hard all the time and I knew that when his tyre started to slide I could come back on him. When I arrived I waited a bit for the last laps to come around, then passed him. On the final lap I expected his attack at the hairpin so I stayed very close to the inside. He overtook me but he ran off and the battle was finished. Today the bike worked like I wanted, and I could ride it the way I liked, but Barros was still very difficult to beat.”

For Barros, a small technical glitch contributed to his eventual second place, after what was his 150th consecutive Grand Prix start.

“I tried to push at the beginning and I had a slightly softer tyre than Vale, so maybe I had some opportunity to make a gap on the first 10 or 15 laps,” said Barros of his early race tactics. “I kept a good rhythm when Valentino arrived and as soon as he overtook me I tried to get back past him. I was having a little problem with the clutch, however, and I had no engine braking at all, because it was slipping so much. But Vale deserved the win.”

Rossi’s team-mate Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) found himself too far from the rapidly disappearing RC211V duo of Barros and Rossi to go with them, and ended up in a constantly changing battle with another two Honda riders for the final podium spot. It was Ukawa’s first podium finish since Round 11, at Estoril, and he is now just a single point from the second place rider in the championship table.

“I am quite happy because it has been a long time since I was here on the podium,” said the Repsol rider. “Staying with the two top riders was bit too difficult because of the gap they had on me, although I tried to follow them in the early laps. Kato and van den Goorbergh were with me anyway and we made a big fight. I am happy to finish third and I have to beat Biaggi again next weekend to finish second in the championship.”

Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini RC211V) out-dragged Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500) across the line by less than a tenth of a second to take fourth place.

“I did not find this race easy because it was difficult to change direction,” said the slightly built Japanese rider. “The transmission and clutch didn’t give us any problems in this race.”

For his part, van den Goorbergh was delighted to be challenging for a podium finish again, after some difficult races in his 2002 campaign. Using his high cornering speed and nimble NSR to outmanoeuvre the heavier four-strokes of Ukawa and Katoh, the Dutchman was nonetheless at a disadvantage under acceleration.

“I was the best two-stroke rider into the first corner and once I had got a good feel for the tyres I was confident. I knew we were in for a good race,” grinned van den Goorbergh. “When Kato joined Ukawa and me, I thought we were racing for third place. I knew he could pass me on the run down the main straight and that’s just what happened. I was very happy with my race anyway and I was smiling away during the race under my crash helmet.

Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) was forced to retire on lap three, after suffering front suspension problems on his two-stroke.

“I don’t know what happened,” said a bemused Capirossi. “The front suspension was vibrating a lot and it was uncontrollable. I had two choices, come into the pit box or fall off. I am disappointed because the track was in perfect condition and I had a good feeling. I think I could have at least equalled the result of van den Goorbergh, and maybe have battled for another podium finish.”

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) stuck to his task during the cool Phillip Island race, finishing with two points for 14th place.

Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) battled for third place almost throughout the 25-lap 250cc Grand Prix, only yielding on the final circuit as he fell at the hairpin, re-mounting to finish fourth.

“It’s a pity that the steering tucked on me when I touched the brakes entering the hairpin,” said a rueful Rolfo. “This crash cost me time and a podium place. I did not have the best feeling with the front end and I have suffered with this problem all season. Anyway, I was riding well and I have to congratulate my mechanics, who all worked very well.”

Rolfo’s 13-points guaranteed he would finish no higher and no lower than third in the World Championship fight, even though there is still one race to run.

Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) ran in 13th in the 250 race, toiling against an imperfect race set-up.

“My bike wasn’t OK and it was sliding around very much. I only thought about finishing the race and earning some points. I’m waiting for Valencia to put in a good race and give my fans a good result.”

The best of the privateer Hondas was ridden by Haruchika Aoki (DeGraaf Grand Prix Team Honda RS250R/W) scoring a top 11 on the evolution spec machine.

Jakub Smrz (DeGraaf Grand Prix Team Honda RS250R/W) missed out on points in 17th, one place ahead of Leon Haslam (By Queroseno Racing Honda RS250R/W). Jason Vincent (By Queroseno Racing Honda RS250R/W) was lucky to escape injury after falling mid pack after 16 laps.

Marco Melandri (Aprilia) took the race win and the World Championship, beating his only remaining title rival Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia).

Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) took a fifth place finish in the 125 Grand Prix, with his last lap charge netting him the new lap record of 1:37.983. Too far from the leading quartet for his last gasp turn of pace to translate into a podium finish, Pedrosa was nonetheless only 0.575 from the race winner’s race time. A few spots of rain after a few laps came to nothing substantive, but did make for a few disquieting moments for the top riders.

The 11 points Pedrosa scored in Australia confirmed his third place in the championship battle, irrespective of the outcome at the Valencia GP in two weeks’ time. The 125cc class is now the only GP championship category yet to be decided.

Pedrosa said: “I’m not disappointed with this fifth place, because I think I got the best result possible with my bike the way it is. The suspension problems are turning into a nightmare. During the race I Ied several times but in the last corner the rear tyre was sliding badly. In the last lap I made a desperate attempt and set the fastest lap of the race, but it just wasn’t quite enough to get to the podium.”

Joan Olive (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) battled hard for his ninth place finish, having to give best in a bitter handlebar-to-handlebar fight with Masao Azuma (Tribe by Breil Honda RS125R), yet Olive narrowly overcame Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS125R).

“There were many different situations in the race that determined my result,” said Olive after his struggle with his fell