2002 MotoGP Rd 1 – Japan – Suzuka – 7th April

ID	Race_id	Year	Event	Circuit	Category	Result	Rider	Mins	Secs	Gap	Machine	Grid	Date	Sprint?
1	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	1	Valentino Rossi	49	32.766	0	Honda	1	07/04/2002	Race
2	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	2	Akira Ryo	49	34.316	1.55	Suzuki	7	07/04/2002	Race
3	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	3	Carlos Checa	49	41.119	8.353	Yamaha	4	07/04/2002	Race
4	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	4	Shinichi Itoh	49	43.595	10.829	Honda	3	07/04/2002	Race
5	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	5	Norick Abe	49	53.189	20.423	Yamaha	12	07/04/2002	Race
6	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	6	Alex Barros	50	5.025	32.259	Honda	13	07/04/2002	Race
7	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	7	Nobuatsu Aoki	50	12.399	39.633	Proton KR	15	07/04/2002	Race
8	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	8	Regis Laconi	1 Lap			Aprilia	19	07/04/2002	Race
9	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	9	Loris Capirossi	1 Lap			Honda	2	07/04/2002	Race
10	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	10	Daijiro Kato	1 Lap			Honda	6	07/04/2002	Race
11	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	11	Tetsuya Harada	1 Lap			Honda	16	07/04/2002	Race
12	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	12	John Hopkins	5 Laps			Yamaha	18	07/04/2002	Race
13	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Max Biaggi				Yamaha	5	07/04/2002	Race
14	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Sete Gibernau				Suzuki	14	07/04/2002	Race
15	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Olivier Jacque				Yamaha	8	07/04/2002	Race
16	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Garry McCoy				Yamaha	17	07/04/2002	Race
17	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Jeremy McWilliams				Proton KR	21	07/04/2002	Race
18	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Shinya Nakano				Yamaha	9	07/04/2002	Race
19	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Kenny Roberts Jnr				Suzuki	10	07/04/2002	Race
20	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Tohru Ukawa				Honda	11	07/04/2002	Race
21	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNF	Jurgen Van den Goorbergh				Honda	20	07/04/2002	Race
22	2255	2002	Japan	Suzuka	MotoGP	DNQ	Pere Riba				Yamaha	0	07/04/2002	Race

Conditions – Wet

Notes:

• First MotoGP race, replacing the 500cc category as the premier-class of Grand Prix racing. The MotoGP formula had 990cc 4-strokes competing alongside the 500cc 2-stroke machines.

• Nine 4-strokes start the race on the grid of 21. Rossi and Ukawa on the V5 Honda, along with wild-card Itoh. Biaggi and Checa on the across-the-frame 4-cylinder Yamaha. Roberts and Gibernau on the V4 Suzuki, along with wild-card Ryo. Laconi was the sole entry on the Aprilia triple.

• Rossi wins from pole position after dropping down to 5th place at the end of the first lap and then taking the lead from Akira Ryo on the 16th lap.

• Three different manufacturers on the podium.

• First 500cc bike across the line: Norick Abe in 5th.

• First Grand Prix win for a four-stroke machine since Giacomo Agostini won the 500cc German GP in 1976 at the Nurburgring circuit.

• Rossi becomes only the second rider ever to win on both 2-stroke and 4-stroke machinery in the premier-class of Grand Prix racing; other rider to achieve this is Giacomo Agostini who won on a four-stroke MV Agusta and two-stroke Yamaha.

• For the first time ever less than 3 seconds covered all the qualifiers for a premier-class Grand Prix.

• Ride through penalty for Olivier Jacque for making a jump-start.

• Quoting Julian Ryders about this race “My overwhelming memory of this race is the new 4-strokes trampling all over the 2-strokes on the run down to turn 1. To see it was to understand the future and instantly realise the strokers were dead. Before the lights went out the 2-strokes were man eaters. A few moments later they were as scary as your average moped. It was instant and astonishing”.

2002 MotoGP races

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