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70-563: 2002 was the first season which allowed 990 cc 4-strokes to be raced alongside 500 cc 2-strokes . In a change from their V-4 YZR500 , Yamaha designed the YZR-M1 (for "Mission One") with an inline-4 engine because it was the format considered to have the best mutual balance with the frame. Also, Yamaha wanted to preserve the superior handling of the YZR500, so the M1's engine was designed to fit in

140-451: A 250cc race; he won his first and only race in the 2001 German Grand Prix . The 250cc entry list also included three former 125cc World Champion : Haruchika Aoki , Roberto Locatelli and Emilio Alzamora . The season started with a wet race at Suzuka which was won by Japanese wildcard rider Osamu Miyazaki , who was riding for Daytona Yamaha team. Honda 's wildcard rider Daisaku Sakai and Aprilia 's Randy de Puniet completed

210-411: A V4 engine while maintaining the desirable engine packaging of a traditional inline four-cylinder. These developments significantly improved the torque characteristics of the engine, and coupled with slight changes to the position of the engine in the chassis, made the M1 much easier to control at the limit of adhesion while exiting corners. After a frantic winter of development and testing, the team showed

280-417: A chassis developed around the basic structure of the YZR500. The M1 was outfitted with an electronic engine management system that controlled the engine braking endemic to 4-strokes. The new engine had 5 valves per cylinder, was fed by carburetors and began with a displacement of 942 cc; in the second half of the season it progressed up to the full 990 cc regulation limit. The frame design also evolved during

350-587: A heart attack in the Chevrolet Corvette pace car at the esses during an evaluation run. The pole position speed was 83.079 mph (133.703 km/h). During qualifying for the 1997 race, rain caused Goodyear to use rain tires on Winston Cup cars for the first time in the modern era. It was announced on June 21, 2010, that the east section of the Suzuka Circuit would host the Japan round of

420-481: A mechanical failure on the first lap, while Nieto won the race to reduce the gap to 27 points. Melandri finally clinched the 250cc title in the Australian Grand Prix with a close win over Nieto. They fought until the last lap and Melandri won the race with just 0.007 second gap at the finish line. Melandri became the youngest 250cc world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days. Melandri ended

490-470: A quite remarkable race, Rossi came through to claim the victory, not only silencing his critics but becoming the first man in history to win two GPs back to back with two different manufacturers. Rossi would go on to claim 8 more GP wins on his way to win the 2004 Championship, with a tally of 304 points. Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi took second and third with 257 and 217 points respectively. The 2004 season would, therefore, unfold to give Rossi

560-677: A re-opening day on April 12, 2009. Suzuka also hosts other motorsport events including the Suzuka 1000 km endurance race. Previously a part of multiple GT racing series including the now defunct group C class of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship , the Suzuka 1000 km as of 2006 is now a points round of the Super GT Series, and is the only race of such length in that series. In 2010 ,

630-531: A recovery vehicle, and died in hospital as a result nine months later. In the wake of the accident, the Dunlop corner was slightly changed and revised in safety standards, and the organisers of the Japanese Grand Prix installed a large crane in place of the tractor that Bianchi hit. Suzuka, openly touted by F1 drivers and fans as one of the most enjoyed, is also one of the oldest remaining tracks of

700-532: A string of performances that would close down a large points gap on Championship leader Nicky Hayden aboard the Honda RC211V. It was only in the final race of the season that the M1 and Valentino Rossi were beaten by just five points and Yamaha relinquished the Championship back to Honda in the hands of Nicky Hayden , who only won two races that season. Hayden would later state that Rossi deserved to be

770-443: A year with Honda, won the opening race at Suzuka under wet condition. He then extended his lead in the championship with two second places in the second and third race behind Manuel Poggiali and Lucio Cecchinello respectively. In the following race at Le Mans , Cecchinello won his second successive race ahead of Poggiali, while Vincent finished fourth. Poggiali then took over the championship lead from Vincent after winning

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840-505: Is a 5.807 km (3.608 mi) long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City , Mie Prefecture , Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland , a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd . It has a capacity of 155,000. Soichiro Honda decided to develop a new permanent circuit in Mie prefecture in the late 1950s. Designed as a Honda test track in 1962 by Dutchman John "Hans" Hugenholtz ,

910-610: The Namco Museum versions of the game as the "Wonder Circuit" ("Orange Circuit" in Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade ), after Namco's "Wonder" series of amusement parks, despite its logo appearing on the starter's box since 1983. The Suzuka Circuit is also featured in the Final Lap series of games which first appeared in 1987. Another Namco racing game, Suzuka 8 Hours , based on the motorcycle race of

980-508: The 2011 WTCC season instead of the Okayama International Circuit . At the 2012 event, the pole position time was 52.885 seconds, for an average speed of 94.875 mph (152.687 km/h). Following two major accidents in 2002 and 2003, one of the main issues in safety has been at the corner 130R (marked 15 in the track map above). In 2002, Toyota F1 driver Allan McNish suffered a high-speed crash through

1050-413: The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix . The unofficial all-time track record is 1:27.064, set by Sebastian Vettel during the qualifying for the aforementioned 2019 race. As of July 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Suzuka Circuit are listed as: Along with Fuji Speedway , the Suzuka Circuit was one of the four tracks featured in the video game Pole Position II . The track is referred to in

1120-629: The Dutch TT . Melandri continued his streak to six consecutive wins and extended his lead in the standings to 37 points after the Czech Republic Grand Prix . Nieto won the Portuguese Grand Prix for Aprilia's tenth consecutive victory. Nieto, who crashed in lap 13, recovered from seventh position to win the rain-soaked race over Melandri. Aprilia's winning streak was broken when Yamaha 's Sebastián Porto won

1190-570: The Formula One World Championship, and has a long history of races as venue of the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987. Its traditional role as one of the last Grands Prix of the season means numerous world championships have been decided at the track. Four years consecutively in its early history the circuit saw the world championship decided. These include the 1988 championship, which went to Ayrton Senna ,

1260-593: The Italian Grand Prix . Poggiali won the following race at Catalunya with a late overtake at the finish line over Spanish teenager Daniel Pedrosa . Two weeks later, Pedrosa bounced back to win his first ever race in the 2002 Dutch TT , with Poggiali finishing in second place. Vincent, who led the championship in the first four races, returned to the top of the podium with two consecutive wins at Donington Park and Sachsenring . After finishing third behind Cecchinello and Pedrosa at Brno , Vincent won

1330-592: The NASCAR Thunder 100 , a pair of exhibition 100-lap races on the east circuit, a 1.4 mi (2.3 km) layout which utilizes the pit straight and esses, before rejoining the main circuit near the Casio triangle. The cars were Sprint Cup Series and Camping World West Series cars and the field was by invitation for the two races, run after the 1996 and 1997 seasons. The 1996 event was marred by tragedy when during practice, pace car driver Elmo Langley died of

1400-546: The Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix under wet race condition. Rookie Toni Elías won the following race at Motegi after a last-lap battle with Melandri. Melandri finished second and increase his lead over Nieto in the championship standings to 52 points. With 52 points lead and three races to go, Melandri only need to finish in front of Nieto in the Malaysian Grand Prix to clinch the championship. However, he suffered

1470-478: The following race at Phillip Island while Vincent finished in fourth to reduce the lead back to eight points. In the last race of the season at Valencia , Vincent finished second behind Pedrosa to clinch the 125cc title while Poggiali finished in seventh place. Vincent ended the season with 273 points and five race wins, 19 points ahead of defending champion Poggiali who scored 254 points and four race wins. Pedrosa and Cecchinello finished third and fourth in

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1540-581: The 130R. Following the death of Daijiro Kato at the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix , Suzuka reconfigured the motorcycle variant of what is now known as the Hitachi Automotive Systems Chicane before the final turn, and added a second chicane, between the hairpin and 200R. The circuit can be used in five configurations; the car full circuit, the motorcycle full circuit, the "Suzuka east," "Suzuka west car," and "Suzuka west motorcycle" configurations. The "east" portion of

1610-556: The 800 cc YZR-M1 was expected to get quicker as its development continued. The chatter that plagued the early 2006 YZR-M1 has been eliminated in the switch to 800 cc. The main sponsor for the Official Factory Yamaha Team switched from Camel with their distinctive yellow and blue livery, to that of the Italian motor manufacturer Fiat . The team ran initially in a blue and white colour scheme and hinted at

1680-505: The FIM confirmed the 2002 calendar. On 4 December 2001, the FIM confirmed that the dates of the Rio and Valencian Community Grands Prix had swapped places. The following sixteen Grands Prix were scheduled to take place: The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2002 season: FIM released a 20-rider entry list on 13 March 2002. Àlex Crivillé , who was listed on the entry list,

1750-573: The GT500 pole position time was 1:55.237. In 2007 , the GT300 pole position time was 2:06.838. Another major motorsport event is the Suzuka 8 Hours for motorcycles, which has been run since 1978. This event usually attracts big name riders and with the exception of 2005, due to the importance of the major manufacturers' involvement, the FIM ensures that no motorcycle races clash on the date. NASCAR organized

1820-569: The Japanese Grand Prix from 2009. However, after Fuji announced in July 2009 that it would no longer be part of the F1 calendar, Suzuka signed a deal to host the Japanese Grand Prix in 2009 , 2010 and 2011 . The circuit closed for a year for renovations to make it F1-compliant for 2009, with the last major event held on November 18, 2007, although some annual events (for instance, the Suzuka 8 Hours and Suzuka 1000 km ) were still held. The track held

1890-522: The Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix). In 2002, the chicane was slightly modified, 130R (marked as 15 on the diagram) was also modified and some of the snake curves were made a bit straighter and faster; additionally, the runoff area at the Dunlop Curve was doubled from 12 metres to 25 metres, and the corner itself was made slightly tighter. In 2003, the chicane was made slightly faster and closer to

1960-454: The M1's traditionally strong traits such as good braking and quick handling (which impressed Rossi), and marry them with good balance and transition to power. Working closely with Rossi and Burgess, Yamaha engineers under YZR-M1 project leader Koichi Tsuji experimented with a number of engine modifications in an attempt to fix the power delivery, and finally, it was decided to go ahead with a four-valve per cylinder head configuration (as opposed to

2030-556: The RC211V bike. In that race, Kawasaki returned to the world championship after 20 years absence. Kawasaki, with their four-stroke Ninja ZX-RR , raced as wildcards in the last four races of the season as a preparation before entering the championship full-time in the following season. In the following race at Sepang , Yamaha expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the YZR-M1 bikes to Tech 3 pair Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano . Another Yamaha rider, Norifumi Abe , raced

2100-522: The Rookie of the Year. All races were won by the four-stroke bikes, while the two-strokes only managed to record five podiums finishes. Honda won the constructors championship with 390 points and 14 wins, followed by Yamaha who won the other two races. Repsol Honda team won the teams championship by winning 12 races and scoring 564 points from Rossi and Ukawa. Marlboro Yamaha and Honda Pons who won two races each

2170-427: The YZR-M1 would continue in 2007 in 800 cc form. In post-2006 and in 2007 pre-season testing, the new 800 cc equipped YZR-M1 (along with other 800 cc MotoGP bikes) has been paradoxically quicker straight out of the box than the 990 cc version of the M1. This is by virtue of later, harder braking, quicker handling, higher corner speeds, and more controllable traction, and as the 2007 season got underway,

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2240-410: The bump, which sent him through a metal fence; he was not seriously injured. Track officials revised the 130R, redesigning it as a double-apex section, one with an 85 m (93 yd) radius, and then a second featuring a 340 m (370 yd) radius, leading to a much closer Casio triangle (chicane), with the chicane becoming a "bus stop" type for motorcycles. However, the problem continued for

2310-444: The champion, but luck and DNFs cost him the championship. Valentino Rossi would win 5 races in 2006 to Nicky Hayden's 2, a fact that was well played during the offseason. Regulations again changed for the 2007 season with the capacity of MotoGP machines reduced to 800 cc in an effort by the FIM to reduce the ever-increasing speeds of the 990 cc bikes (capable of well in excess of 210 mph (340 km/h) ); therefore

2380-568: The controversial 1989 championship, which went to Alain Prost , and the 1990 and 1991 world championships, which both went to Senna. Suzuka was dropped from the Formula One calendar for the 2007 and 2008 seasons in favour of the Toyota -owned Fuji Speedway , after the latter underwent a transformation and redesign by circuit designer Hermann Tilke . Suzuka and Fuji were to alternate hosting

2450-530: The course consists of the pit straight to the first half of the Dunlop curve (turn seven), before leading back to the pit straight via a tight right-hander. The "west" course is made up of the other part of the full circuit, including the crossover bridge; the straight leading to the overpass is used for the start/finish line and the grid. The chicane between the hairpin and 200R separates the west and full course sections between cars and motorcycles. The Degner curve

2520-421: The earlier five-valve head), with a specially refined cylinder firing order. This turned the straight four-cylinder engine from a traditional "screamer", where the power pulses are spaced equally (every 180 crank degrees) in the four-stroke cycle, into a so-called "long bang" engine where the power pulses are grouped unevenly across the cycle (270-180-90-180). This firing order mimics the constant kinetic energy of

2590-426: The early season to understand and overcome the problems. This setback for Yamaha and the YZR-M1 was largely responsible for Valentino Rossi's mediocre season start in 2006, manifest by poor qualifying performances and a brace of bad luck, he also suffered a wrist injury midseason, which added to his woes. In the final third of a memorable season, the M1's problems were virtually eradicated, and Valentino Rossi turned in

2660-407: The fifth YZR-M1 on the grid for the last two races of the season. Rossi ended the season with 355 points from 11 wins and four second places. Biaggi finished second to Rossi with 215 points and two race wins. Ukawa and Barros completed the top four with 209 and 204 points respectively. Previous year's 250cc champion Daijiro Kato finished in seventh position with two podium finishes and was named as

2730-569: The final race in Taito's racing game Continental Circus . The east course was featured in NASCAR 98 . Suzuka's Ferris wheel was paid homage in the "Big Forest Track" in Virtua Racing . The track has been modded into Mario Kart Wii . Project CARS and Project CARS 2 have a Japanese circuit inspired by Suzuka, called Sakitto Circuit . Sakitto has numerous visual differences from

2800-514: The final standings as did Yamaha in the manufacturers' championship. In 2003 , the engine went from carburetion to fuel injection , and the engine brake control system was replaced with an Idle Control System that automatically adjusted the throttle valve opening on two of the four cylinders to improve stability and handling during deceleration. M1 riders were Checa, Alex Barros , Olivier Jacque , Marco Melandri , Shinya Nakano and Norifumi Abe , and there were no wins and Yamaha came in third in

2870-514: The first corner was made slightly slower. In 1987 the circuit was brought up to F1 and Grand Prix motorcycle standards for both Japanese Grands Prix of their respective championships, the F1 Grand Prix being the first held at Suzuka. The Degner curve was made into two corners instead of one long curve, and more crash barriers , more run-off areas were added, exposed vegetation was barricaded off and straw bales were removed (but still used for

Yamaha YZR-M1 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-428: The first third of the season, and was thought to be a function of three major winter season developments; namely a significant hike in engine power, a new stiffer chassis and a new construction of Michelin tire with an even stickier compound and revised profile. Because all three developments occurred almost simultaneously, the usual meticulous testing of one development at a time was compromised and it would take much of

3010-399: The four-stroke Honda RC211V bike, won the first race of the season at Suzuka under wet conditions. Suzuki's test rider Akira Ryō , who raced as a wildcard entry, and Yamaha's Carlos Checa completed the all four-stroke podium. Rossi's teammate, Tohru Ukawa , won the second race before Rossi went on to dominate the championship by winning seven consecutive races. Max Biaggi handed

3080-602: The four-stroke Yamaha YZR-M1 its first win in the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno , while Rossi had to retire due to tyre problems. In that race, Honda also expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the RC211V bike for Honda Gresini rider Daijiro Kato . Rossi then won two consecutive races in Portugal and Brazil , clinching the world championship in the latter. In the Pacific Grand Prix , Honda Pons rider Alex Barros won his first race riding

3150-447: The last curve to slow the cars into the pit straight; the original circuit was an incredibly fast track with only one slow corner; without the Casio chicane some cars would go through the final long right-hand corner flat out and then would go past the pits at more than 200 mph (320 km/h). In 1984 the first part of Spoon was made slightly slower and the corner was brought closer to the track to expand run-off area there, and in 1985

3220-467: The manufacturers' championship. Valentino Rossi signed a two-year contract with Yamaha, reportedly worth in excess of US$ 6 million per season, in a move that was described by the press as "biting off more than he could chew". It was widely felt not only by his critics and media pundits but also by many fans, that even he would not be able to bring the struggling YZR-M1 up to the level of the hereto all-conquering Honda RC211V . A well-publicised increase in

3290-475: The most iconic feature of the track is its "figure eight" layout, with the 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long back straight passing over the front section by means of an overpass . It is the only FIA Grade 1 licensed track to have a "figure eight" layout, after the Fiorano Circuit was downgraded to Grade 2 in 2024. The circuit has been modified at least eight times: In 1983 a chicane was inserted at

3360-408: The new revised section. During the 2003 MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan , the track's first major event since the revisions, MotoGP rider Daijiro Kato was killed when he crashed in the new section, on his way to the braking zone for the Casio triangle. MotoGP has not returned to Suzuka since the incident. The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:30.983, set by Lewis Hamilton during

3430-402: The opportunity he had sought; to prove that it was his talent rather than just the bike that had won him his championships. In so doing, he also achieved one of the great coups in the history of Motorcycle Racing. The YZR-M1 and Rossi partnership continued to dominate in 2005 when the Championship was won by a massive 147 point margin over Honda rider Marco Melandri in second place. The 2005 M1

3500-582: The pace of development of the Honda machine over the winter season fuelled expectation that a Honda RC211V in the hands of riders the calibre of Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau would have no problem in retaining the World Title for Honda. Meanwhile, Rossi wasn't the only defection Honda had to contend with; Jeremy Burgess (crew chief for Rossi at Honda), along with the majority of his long-established crew, were convinced by Rossi to join him at Yamaha. This

3570-488: The podium. In the following race at Welkom , Aprilia's Marco Melandri took his second career 250cc win. Fonsi Nieto then took his first ever race win in the Spanish Grand Prix . Nieto also took the lead in the championship standings from de Puniet and Franco Battaini . Nieto then won the following race at Le Mans before Melandri won the next three races and overtook the championship lead from Nieto after

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3640-425: The return of Dunlop and the entry of Bridgestone to the premier class. Dunlop supplied the tyres for Suzuki, Aprilia, Yamaha WCM and Pramac Honda . Bridgestone supplied the tyres for Team Roberts and Kanemoto Racing . Michelin supplied the tyres for the remaining six teams. However, after only two races, Suzuki switched back to Michelin tyres for the remainder of the season. Valentino Rossi , riding

3710-563: The same name was released for arcades in 1992, followed by a port for the Super NES in 1993. It can also be seen in arcade games and video games such as Ferrari F355 Challenge , Super Monaco GP , Forza series, Gran Turismo series, RaceRoom , iRacing , R: Racing Evolution , Shift 2 Unleashed , Le Mans 24 Hours , The Cycles , MotoGP 3 of PlayStation 2 , MotoGP 4 , Tourist Trophy , Auto Modellista , Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix , Real Racing 3 , and as

3780-502: The season with 298 points from nine race wins, three second-place finishes and one fourth-place finish. Nieto finished second in the standings with 241 points and four wins, followed Honda's Roberto Rolfo and rookie Toni Elías with 219 and 178 points respectively. Elías, who recorded one race win and four further podium finishes, was named as the Rookie of the Year. Aprilia won the constructors championship with 382 points and 14 race wins from Melandri, Nieto and Elías. Honda finished second in

3850-462: The season, with adjustment of the engine mounting position and change in the fuel tank shape. The M1 was test-ridden and developed by Max Biaggi , John Kocinski , Norihiko Fujiwara and Kyoji Namba throughout 2001. It was raced in the 2002 season by Biaggi and Carlos Checa on the factory team, and towards the end of the season M1s were also provided to Norifumi Abe , Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano . Biaggi achieved two wins and placed second in

3920-528: The standings with 244 points but failed to record any race win. Yamaha, who won two races courtesy of Miyazaki and Porto's wins in the wet, finished third with 211 points. The 125cc entry list was headlined by defending champion Manuel Poggiali and two-time championship runners-up Youichi Ui and Noboru Ueda . There were five other riders who have previously won a 125cc race: Masao Azuma , Lucio Cecchinello , Stefano Perugini , Simone Sanna and Arnaud Vincent . Arnaud Vincent, who returned to Aprilia after

3990-519: The standings with three wins each. The Rookie of the Year title was won by Finnish rider Mika Kallio who scored 78 points with the Red Devil Honda team. Aprilia won the constructors championship with 341 points and eight race wins from Vincent and Cecchinello. Honda finished second in the standings with 285 points and four wins from Pedrosa and Azuma while Gilera finished third with 254 points and three wins from Poggiali. On 18 October 2001,

4060-400: The title at the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix , with four races left in the season. The 250cc title was won by Marco Melandri who won nine races and scored 298 points. He clinched the title at the Australian Grand Prix and became the youngest ever champion in the 250cc class. Arnaud Vincent won the 125cc title by 19 points difference over defending champion Manuel Poggiali . The title

4130-614: The top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points. Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points. Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points. Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap Suzuka Circuit The Suzuka International Racing Course ( 鈴鹿国際レーシングコース , Suzuka Kokusai Rēsingu Kōsu ) , a.k.a. “Suzuka Circuit” ( 鈴鹿サーキット , Suzuka Sākitto ) ,

4200-478: The unusual intention of running a variety of colour schemes throughout the season. Casey Stoner won the 2007 Championship with the factory Ducati. Rossi won the 2008 Championship, by a record margin and dominated podium finishes all season. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo managed a first-ever Rookie win on the M1 at the Portuguese GP , and had 6 podium finishes. For the 2012 season , the maximum engine capacity

4270-440: The wet Portuguese Grand Prix and retook the championship lead from Poggiali. Honda riders, Masao Azuma and Pedrosa, won the following two races at Rio de Janeiro and Motegi while Poggiali reduced Vincent's lead to just eight points courtesy of two podium finishes and Vincent's mechanical problem at Motegi. Vincent extended his lead by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix while Poggiali finished in fourth. However, Poggiali won

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4340-510: The world that they had made a significant step in the right direction, when Rossi and the M1 won the BMW car at the 2004 pre-season IRTA test at Catalunya, by posting the fastest lap of the open session (similar to normal race qualifying). With the traditional first race of the season at Suzuka off the list due to safety considerations, the 2004 season started at Welkom in South Africa . In

4410-412: Was a shrewd move and was cited by Rossi in his autobiography as being instrumental in providing him with the strong basis necessary for launching an attack on the Championship with the YZR-M1. During 2003/2004 winter testing, Yamaha stepped up to the plate by pulling out all the stops in their collaboration with Rossi and Burgess. Through a systematic regime of innovation and testing, they sought to refine

4480-440: Was decided in the last race of the season at Valencia with Vincent finishing in second place to secure the title. The season marked the start of a new era in the premier class with the arrival of 990cc four-stroke bikes. Four factory teams, Repsol Honda , Marlboro Yamaha , Suzuki and Aprilia , raced with the new four-stroke bikes while all the satellite teams raced with the 500cc two-stroke bike. The season also marked

4550-438: Was hailed by insiders to be a great race bike, it illustrated that Yamaha with input from Rossi had created a race bike to beat the others quite easily. Rossi would go on later to say that the 2005 M1 was the greatest bike he has ever ridden. The 2006 season proved a little more problematic for Yamaha, with the M1 suffering from chatter from the very first race of the year. It would be a recurring problem for all Yamaha riders in

4620-520: Was increased to 1,000  cc (1.0  L ; 61.0  cu in ), with a limit of 4 cylinders and a maximum 81 mm cylinder bore. Jorge Lorenzo won the 2012 Championship, closely followed by Dani Pedrosa . These results are accurate up to the 2022 Dutch TT . ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) * Season still in progress. 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season The 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

4690-451: Was named in honour of Ernst Degner after he crashed his factory Suzuki 50 there during Suzuka's inaugural All Japan Championship Road Race meeting on 3 November 1962. The hairpin (turn 11) was coined 'Kobayashi Corner' after Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi passed five drivers with aggressive moves at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix . At the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix , F1 driver Jules Bianchi suffered serious injuries after colliding with

4760-484: Was replaced by Pere Riba at the Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín team before the start of the season. For 2002 Michelin and Dunlop entered the sport as tire manufacturers beginning a 6 year Tyre war . The FIM released a 25-rider entry list on 13 March 2002. Alex Hofmann , who was listed on the entry list, withdrew before the start of the season. FIM released a 33-rider entry list on 13 March 2002. Points were awarded to

4830-477: Was second and third respectively. The 250cc class was certain to have a new champion as previous year's champion Daijiro Kato and 1993 champion Tetsuya Harada , who finished second to Kato last year, both moved up to the MotoGP class. Only three riders remained from previous year's top six: Marco Melandri , Roberto Rolfo and Fonsi Nieto . Melandri was the only rider in the 250cc class who has previously won

4900-680: Was the 54th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted of 16 races, beginning with the Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix on 7 April 2002 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 3 November. The premier class , now renamed MotoGP, introduced new rules and regulations which allowed 990cc four-stroke bikes to race alongside the previous year's 500cc two-stroke bikes. Defending champion Valentino Rossi won his second premier class title by winning 11 races and scoring 355 points. He clinched

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