Results of Last 500cc GP in History of the World

It was fitting that this last 500cc GP ever to be held, was won by Valentino Rossi (Nastro Azzuro Honda). For the next two or three years the winner of the most prestigous class in mororcycle racing will not neccessarily be the best rider in the class. It will be much more dependant on the machine rather than the rider and the best of competitors may find themselves at a serious disadvantage due to the machines they are forced to ride. After over 15 years of incremental development, the 4-cylinder 500cc two-strokes are so close in performance that the best rider could win on any of them (Suzuki perhaps excluded). Next season will be a lottery. Hence the hesitation of Rossi or Biaggi to committ themselves to the 4-strokes.

For the last race of the 500 cc era, it was fitting that it should come down to a neck-and-neck race between Honda and Yamaha, with Honda taking the win by the smallest of margins. It was almost like a metaphor for the struggle between these marques over the last 20 years. Rather than Biaggi leading the Yamaha challenge it was team-mate Carlos Checa (Marboro Yamaha), as always experiencing a season of few highs and many lows. In Rio, he was at his best and was devastated not to have won the race, claiming that his defeat was at the hands of backmarker Anthony West (Dee Cee jeans Honda), who was lapped for the second time as Checa and Rossi dived for the line. Perhaps he was, but the symbolic victory of Honda over Yamaha, Rossi over everyone, is the way things should be as 52 years of 500 GP racing ends.

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda) had upset the pundits by claiming pole position, usually struggling during qualification and occasionally doing well in the race. His pole position was almost of no use to him as riders tangled on the first corner. Kenny Roberts (Telefonica Movistar Suzuki) was fastest away and into turn 1 as Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Tech 3 Yamaha), coming through from the second row, got crossed up just behind him. Jacque fell and took team-mate Nakano into the gravel trap with him, amazingly leaving the rest of the field unharmed. Nakano could rejoin the race, but Jacque's season was over. Ukawa kept his concentration and joined Roberts at the front, the two swapping places several times in the opening laps. Rossi was a slow starter and took a couple of laps to catch and pass Capirossi (West Pons Honda), Abe (Antena 3 D'Antin Yamaha) and Checa. Then it was Alex Barros's turn to go nuts and carve through the field to join the front by lap 3. Rossi was closing slowly on Roberts and Ukawa, when the riders decided it had started to rain and stopped the race on lap 6.

When the race re-started, everyone had fitted some sort of rain-sensitive tire, mostly cut-slicks and intermediates. Rossi took off like a scalded cat and looked like he had the race sown up. Behind him, the Repsol boys were scrapping it out, until Ukawa slid off on the third lap of the second race. Criville and Barros continued to fight for position, but they had clearly made the wrong tire choice. Initially Biaggi looked like closing down on Rossi, but it became clear that the advantage lay with team-mate Carlos Checa. With 9 laps to go, Checa had caught and passed Rossi, whose tires were also far from perfect on the now dry track. Checa had got ahead of the Italian, but was never able to open a gap that exceeded 0.5 second and Rossi found a few places on the track where he could close on the Yamaha rider. It really looked like it could go either way, Checa riding as well as he ever has. Back markers were a serious problem and as the last half lap of the race approached, it was clear that one more rider would be caught. Checa came up on West for the second time at the approach to the last corner. Checa cut inside of the Honda rider, with Rossi going around the outside. The NSR Honda seemed to get a fraction better grip and pulled up to half a bike length on the Yamaha, with Checa crossing the line first, but loosing the race on aggregate. Biaggi was a safe third place, taking second place in the championship over Loris Capirossi (West Pons Honda)

Next year everything will be different. Rossi will be on a Honda, but still has to decide 2-stroke v. 4-stroke. Checa will be on the Yamaha 4-stroke, Biaggi has yet to decide. Capirossi will remain with Sito Pons and will be on an NSR Honda alongside Barros. Ukawa will probably be on a 4-stroke Honda or whatever the factory tells him to ride. Alex Criville will retire, althoigh he is still talking about a ride with Aprilia. vd Goorbergh will be on a Kanemoto NSR and Katoh on a Gresini NSR. Red Bull will run US rider John Hopkins and Haga will not be in the Red Bull team. Yamaha will find a home for him somewhere, probably with D'Antin. Kenny Roberts will still be on the Suzuki RGV.

So after 580 races, 500cc GP racing no longer exists. The new 4-stroke era, may be techically exciting, but if it doesn't produce spectacle like this year's Australian GP, it will be a racing failure.

See you next year, perhaps.