Not only were the two Ducatis at the head of a very tight grid, but they also pushed Rossi onto row two. Four Honda riders followed the Italian machines, with the non-works RCVs of Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa leading the factory-supported examples of Rossi and Sete Gibernau. Seventh place went to John Hopkins’ Suzuki, from the 500cc two-stroke Proton of Nobuatsu Aoki. The leading Yamahas were next, with Olivier Jacque and Carlos Checa ahead of Colin Edwards’ Aprilia.

The start of the race saw Bayliss take the lead from team-mate Capirossi. Behind them came the impressive Hopkins, leading Biaggi, Gibernau, Ukawa and Checa. Rossi was only eighth, with Edwards ninth. Gibernau had an aggressive first lap, the winner from Welkom passing Biaggi on the back straight and Hopkins through the last turn. As they crossed the line, Sete was second behind Capirossi, with Bayliss now third from Hopkins, Biaggi, Checa and Rossi.

‘The Doctor’ wasn’t hanging around, though, and he was soon up to fourth as he overtook Checa and Hopkins in quick succession, and also Biaggi. Indeed, although Capirossi and Gibernau looked in danger of stretching away from the pack, Rossi passed both Bayliss and Gibernau to establish an early second place. Hopkins now held fifth, but with Biaggi and Checa leading the pursuit.

Capirossi held a useful lead over his compatriot, but Valentino was speeding up and didn’t take long to mount an attack. Gibernau stayed with this pair, whilst Bayliss was soon out on his own in P4. Biaggi moved through to the next slot, and Checa also passed Hopkins on the GSV-R, whilst Ukawa came up behind the 19-year-old. Sadly for Checa, his YZR-M1 chose this moment to give up on him, and he looked pretty angry about having to withdraw from sixth in his home race.

But it was looking increasingly like being an Italian winner. Biaggi passed Bayliss for fourth, whilst Capirossi and Rossi were duelling for the lead. As they went through the last corner on lap three, Rossi made his move, and he was soon building his usual lead. Loris was next caught by the Gibernau-Biaggi duo, making it a three-way tussle for second position. When the Ducati man went wide in the last corner, his two rivals pounced and he was instantly down to fourth. Biaggi was not done at that, and he went for Gibernau next, only to find the Spaniard fighting back and regaining the place.

Bayliss maintained fifth, a little way clear of Hopkins and Ukawa, with the chasing group now consisting of Alex Barros, Jacque, Makoto Tamada, Noriyuki Haga and Marco Melandri. This group all gained as the dramatics started to happen at the front. Firstly, Gibernau’s Telefónica Honda went out of the race. The home favourite went down as the front end of his bike slid away from him. He was understandably distraught, especially after having graduated to the 2003 RC211V following his South African victory.

At this stage, Tamada’s Bridgestone-shod Honda was attacking Barros’ Gauloises Yamaha for fifth place, this duo now leading Ukawa and Hopkins. However, this battle was soon for fourth, as Capirossi became the second of Rossi’s challengers to throw it away, falling from the Desmosedici and ending up in the gravel. Rossi already had a good lead, but now he was well clear of perennial rival Biaggi, and looking safe. Bayliss was in an equally lonely third.

Most of the positions were decided by now, although the next group were still racing in close company. Barros, his knee not yet fully recovered from a crash at Suzuka, remained just ahead of Tamada, but the Japanese rider was able to pass him on the brakes. However, their tussle became one for fifth, as Ukawa mounted a recovery that took him past both men. Barros had already regained his position ahead of Tamada before Ukawa arrived.

All that remained now was Rossi’s customary demonstration of his advantage, and he treated the fans to a wicked slide on the final lap. Biaggi finished second, joining Rossi on the podium for the third time, while Bayliss’ result was his first GP rostrum, and moved him to third in the points. Ukawa, Barros and Tamada were followed home by Hopkins, Shin’ya Nakano, Aoki, Jacque, Haga, and Jeremy McWilliams. Given that Aoki and McWilliams are still campaigning the 500 Proton triple, tenth and thirteenth were highly creditable, especially as World Champions Kenny Roberts and Colin Edwards were behind the Ulsterman at the flag.

Standings after three races: Rossi 70; Biaggi 56; Bayliss 40; Gibernau 38; Barros 30; Ukawa 23; Nakano 20; Nicky Hayden 18; Capirossi 16; Hopkins 15.

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