As in the previous season, Honda’s V5-engined RC211V motorcycle was the machine to beat, and reigning champion Valentino Rossi once again set the pace on it. Unlike in recent years, however, the closest challenger was not Yamaha, now without Max Biaggi, but the all-new Ducati. The Italian Superbike experts were appearing in the top Grand Prix class for the first time although, with four 125cc victories to their name in the late 1950s, they were not exactly novices.

The works Repsol Honda team ran rookie Nicky Hayden - AMA Superbike champion - alongside Rossi, and therefore ‘the Doctor’ found his immediate opposition coming from the more experienced men. Within the Honda set-up, this meant Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa (both Camel Pramac Pons), Daijiro Kato and Sete Gibernau (Telefónica MoviStar Gresini). At Ducati, GP star Loris Capirossi was joined by his SBK counterpart, Troy Bayliss. Yamaha were not without talented riders - Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Shin’ya Nakano, Olivier Jacque and Marco Melandri - but the straight-four YZR-M1 was in fact less competitive than the new V4 Desmosedici, which took advantage of Ducati’s four-stroke experience and considerable success with the 998 Superbike.

MotoGP suffered a huge blow in the first race of the season, at Suzuka in Japan. Daijiro Kato, the 2001 250cc World Champion, died as the result of injuries sustained in an early crash. It may have been a freak occurrence, but the sport’s danger was brought home in the worst way, and perhaps Japan’s best hope of a first GP1 champion was lost. He was just 26 years old, and will be greatly missed.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2003 was the way Kato’s team-mate, Suzuki refugee Gibernau, took up the challenge following the loss of his number one. Inheriting a full-works spec RCV, Sete was on superb form in round two, winning the race from pole and dedicating it to Daijiro’s memory. He talked of feeling an external presence, to which he accounted his inspired riding. With Biaggi on a customer spec Honda, Gibernau now emerged as Rossi’s most consistent rival. The ever rapid duo of Biaggi and Capirossi renewed the Italian struggle for supremacy, while rookies Hayden, Bayliss and Makoto Tamada - on a Bridgestone-shod Pramac Honda - came on strong during the season’s latter stages. With an under-developed Proton, and the particularly disappointing Japanese factories of Kawasaki and Suzuki, other moments of note came from Aprilia’s ‘novice’ Colin Edwards - the World Superbike champion - and the best of the Yamaha men, when they were fit enough.

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1 Valentino Rossi - Repsol Honda
As mentioned above, Valentino Rossi and the Honda RC211V were the standards against which the rest were measured. Alex Barros had already proved that the right rider on equal equipment was capable of beating Rossi, and the same thing happened with Gibernau during 2003. However, on a couple of occasions Rossi made small but costly mistakes, such as at the finish in Germany. On the whole, he was virtually unbeatable and, with nine pole positions and twelve fastest laps, proved he was ahead of the rest on pace. There was also the matter of his staggering finishing record, which saw him reach the podium at every single race. The supreme performance came in Australia, where Rossi had to overcome a ten second penalty, and the rest were powerless to stop him. It will be interesting to see how he gets on following the switch to Yamaha.

2 Sete Gibernau - Telefónica MoviStar Honda
Following an erratic couple of years at Suzuki, Sete Gibernau returned to Honda as Fausto Gresini’s second rider, next to Daijiro Kato. What happened next was tragic, but Sete emerged from the trauma of Kato’s death with great dignity, and became a regular GP winner for the first time in his career. Indeed, at one stage it looked as if the Spaniard had a chance of unseating Rossi, as he beat the champion four times in eight races with some mature performances. When it mattered, Rossi was a class above, but Gibernau had proved a great deal, and it was no mean feat for him to beat Max Biaggi by almost fifty points. In 2004 he will be looking to capitalise while Rossi is learning the ropes at Yamaha.

3 Max Biaggi - Camel Pramac Pons
It looked like the only way Max Biaggi would be able to take on Valentino Rossi, and beat him, would be by racing the same Honda as the champion. Unfortunately, with Rossi as their leading rider, any thoughts of Honda providing a works bike to his big rival were soon dispelled. Despite this, Max raced as hard as ever, bringing his customer machine home first or second on six occasions. On other days, however, the task seemed a bit too much, and Biaggi’s consistency suffered as a result. Points lost in Spain, Germany and Australia were more than enough to drop him out of contention. But, despite this, Max was still the second quickest rider, based on qualifying positions, and only two men beat him in the points. He will no doubt have something to prove when Rossi takes over his old mount.

4 Loris Capirossi - Ducati Marlboro Team
Having been saddled with second class machinery in three years at Honda Pons, Loris Capirossi was quick to take up the offer to lead Ducati on their graduation to MotoGP. Even allowing for their domination of Superbike racing, it was still a surprise to see the team on the pace so quickly, and eclipsing experienced manufacturers like Yamaha and Suzuki. Loris only qualified fifteenth in Japan, but the race was a different story, and his third place was a precursor to regular front row starts and top four finishes. One of the bike’s strengths was its speed in a straight line - often over 200mph - and this helped Capirossi to a well-earned victory in Barcelona, as well as a couple of second places and three pole positions. If there is more to come from the bike, which seems inevitable, Capirossi will be a serious threat in 2004.

5 Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda
As a MotoGP rookie, it was no great surprise to see Nicky Hayden down in the second half of the grid to begin with. But the American rider came home seventh in both of the first two races, and by mid season was making significant progress. His first top six finishes came in rounds nine and ten, and single figure grid slots followed. By the year’s end, Nicky was promising much and running with the leaders, and he scored thirds at Motegi and Phillip Island, plus fourth at Sepang. The final meeting saw him on the front row for the first time, but a tumble in the race ended a useful opportunity. His new team-mate is yet to be revealed, but Repsol will be confident that there is more to come from Hayden in 2004.

6 Troy Bayliss - Ducati Marlboro Team
As with Tamada, Melandri, Edwards and Hayden, Troy Bayliss had the expectations of a rookie but with recognised talent and success already behind him. He made his mark early on, finishing fifth, fourth and then third at the season’s opening, and qualifying second in Spain. There then followed a more barren sequence, with one or two non-finishes, before he got back on track at Donington, and racked up 53 points over a four-race run, with two more podium placings. On the whole, Troy was not quite on Capirossi’s pace, although he did beat the Italian at the Sachsenring. However, as with Hayden, Bayliss can surely only move forward, and could be a bet for race victories not far into the future.

7 Makoto Tamada - Pramac Honda
Makoto Tamada’s reward for regular Honda race wins in Superbike, including three as a World Championship wildcard rider, was a season in MotoGP for 2003. Tamada’s RCV was run by Pramac, their grid slot loaned by the Yamaha d’Antín team. On a familiar circuit, Makoto was quick in race one, but failed to finish. This set the pattern for an up and down season, with the significant factor being his Bridgestone tyres. When conditions suited the rubber, Tamada became a serious threat to the front runners, and he showed this with fourth in the Italian GP, round five. Even better followed in round twelve, where he finished third with an impressive ride. On the front row in the next two events, Makoto looked to have hit his best form, and the Motegi race saw him denied another podium by a rather harsh penalty after clashing with Gibernau. His performances have ousted Tohru Ukawa for 2004.

8 Carlos Checa - Fortuna Yamaha Team
With a year’s experience on the Yamaha M1, Carlos Checa might have been expected to capitalise on Max Biaggi’s defection, and take over as the main focus for Yamaha. Unfortunately, the latest version of the M1 didn’t look like winning against the best of the Hondas, and Carlos was usually off the front row, albeit as his team’s quickest man. It was not until the sixth race that he achieved a top six result, but then a fairly consistent run, including three fourths and two fifths, took him to P7 overall - level on points with Tohru Ukawa. In Malaysia, Checa qualified second, but he couldn’t live with the Honda men in the race. With Rossi helping develop the bike, he might just have a better time of it in 2004.

9 Alex Barros - Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros effectively took over from Max Biaggi as Yamaha’s leading rider, but his season started off on the wrong note with a knee injury sustained at Suzuka. After that it was always going to be a struggle, but he managed to record a couple of fifths before an impressive third place in the rain affected French race, where he started from P2. However, across the mid-season fitness problems caught up with him again, and it wasn’t until round thirteen that he again made it home in the top six. He repeated this in the last race, but joint ninth overall was his worst result in four years, and not what Yamaha would have expected. Both Honda and Yamaha have shown in faith in him, though, as they tussle for his signature for 2004.

10 Shin’ya Nakano - Yamaha d’Antín
One of the two Gauloises Yamaha riders had to make way for Alex Barros in 2003, and Olivier Jacque’s performance in Germany meant that the decision went against Shin’ya Nakano, the rookie of the year in 2001. Yamaha found room for the 25-year-old at Luís d’Antín’s team, moving Norick Abe into a testing role. Once again, Shin’ya put together an impressively consistent season on the under-performing M1, only failing to score in the final race. Nakano was, on balance, the second quickest Yamaha man in qualifying, whereas Jacque was sometimes disappointing. However, the Japanese rider’s high point in the races was a pair of fifths, which didn’t quite match the best of other Yamaha men. His challenge escalates as he moves to Kawasaki for 2004.

The remainder of the field
Yamaha’s three other runners were Marco Melandri, Olivier Jacque, and occasional wildcard Norick Abe. Of these, Abe was the most dependable, although the other two turned in one or two really great races - but also a few too many off days. Tohru Ukawa remained a regular points scorer on the Camel Honda, but rarely matched the marque’s four ‘big name’ riders, and only stood on the podium once. Newcomer Ryuichi Kiyonari didn’t really stand out, although he matched the points haul of Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts. The former champion had a trying time with the 2003 GSV-R, and youngster John Hopkins seemed marginally quicker on the disappointing bike. Wildcards Yukio Kagayama and Akira Ryo didn’t get any more from the Suzuki, and Hopkins’ seventh in Spain was its best finish.

On the tricky Aprilia, Colin Edwards did his career no harm by occasionally muscling it towards the top six. Noriyuki Haga had his moments, too, but apparently not enough for the team to keep him on. Proton’s new KR5 was behind schedule, but Jeremy McWilliams qualified a highly creditable second in Germany, on the old 500, and he took sixth in France on the same bike. Nobuatsu Aoki was fairly close to ‘Jezza’ on a regular basis, but the new bike has a way to go yet. Kawasaki’s primary focus in 2003 was the MotoGP series, with race winner Garry McCoy as lead rider, but they were in effect humbled by the modest Proton team. Of their other riders, Alex Hofmann looked more promising than either Andrew Pitt or Akira Yanagawa. McCoy beat Hofmann by three points, despite running in eleven more races than the German youngster.

The Harris WCM990 endured a troubled start to its life as, with the engine based on that of a production Yamaha R1, it was not considered a true racing prototype. Revisions were made to make the bike eligible, but in the meantime the team were left to run outdated ROC-Yamaha and Sabre 500cc machines. On top of that, Chris Burns was frequently out of action through injury. Neither he nor David de Gea got into the points. Finally, Moriwaki Racing campaigned their Honda-engined ‘Dream 211V Fighter’ in the two Japanese races, with Tamaki Serizawa not making much impact.

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