A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Race 1 of 16 races in the 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 6 April 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official name | SKYY vodka Grand Prix of Japan[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Suzuka Circuit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course |
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| MotoGP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 250 cc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 125 cc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2003 Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the 2003 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 April 2003 at Suzuka. The meeting was overshadowed by the death of Daijiro Kato in the MotoGP race, after he crashed at 130R and hit the barrier at high speed in the ensuing Casio Triangle. Since the accident, Suzuka has been removed from the MotoGP calendar, with the Japanese Grand Prix having been moved to Twin Ring Motegi, the previous home of the Pacific Grand Prix.
MotoGP classification
After the Friday timed sessions Norifumi Abe, who was already competing in the event as a wild card entry, was designated as the replacement rider for the injured Marco Melandri.[4]
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 |  Valentino Rossi
|
Repsol Honda | Honda | 21 | 44:13.182 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 3 | Max Biaggi
|
Camel Pramac Pons | Honda | 21 | +6.445 | 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 65 | Loris Capirossi
|
Ducati Marlboro Team | Ducati | 21 | +8.209 | 15 | 16 |
| 4 | 15 |  Sete Gibernau
|
Telefónica Movistar Honda | Honda | 21 | +13.209 | 6 | 13 |
| 5 | 12 |  Troy Bayliss
|
Ducati Marlboro Team | Ducati | 21 | +23.099 | 13 | 11 |
| 6 | 45 |  Colin Edwards
|
Alice Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 21 | +29.040 | 9 | 10 |
| 7 | 69 | Nicky Hayden
|
Repsol Honda | Honda | 21 | +29.126 | 22 | 9 |
| 8 | 4 |  Alex Barros
|
Gauloises Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 21 | +30.526 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | 56 |  Shinya Nakano
|
d'Antín Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 21 | +33.447 | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | 7 | Carlos Checa
|
Fortuna Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 21 | +40.200 | 4 | 6 |
| 11 | 17 | Norifumi Abe
|
Fortuna Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 21 | +44.790 | 14 | 5 |
| 12 | 41 | Noriyuki Haga
|
Alice Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 21 | +1:03.358 | 17 | 4 |
| 13 | 21 | John Hopkins
|
Suzuki Grand Prix Team | Suzuki | 21 | +1:03.950 | 12 | 3 |
| 14 | 10 | Kenny Roberts Jr.
|
Suzuki Grand Prix Team | Suzuki | 21 | +1:04.085 | 7 | 2 |
| 15 | 19 |  Olivier Jacque
|
Gauloises Yamaha Team | Yamaha | 21 | +1:09.990 | 21 | 1 |
| 16 | 8 | Garry McCoy
|
Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | 21 | +1:16.572 | 20 | |
| 17 | 88 | Andrew Pitt
|
Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | 21 | +1:17.380 | 23 | |
| 18 | 48 | Akira Yanagawa
|
Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki | 21 | +1:23.605 | 18 | |
| 19 | 25 | Tamaki Serizawa
|
Moriwaki Racing WCM | MD211VF Proto | 21 | +1:35.459 | 16 | |
| 20 | 11 | Tohru Ukawa
|
Camel Pramac Pons | Honda | 21 | +1:57.128 | 3 | |
| Ret | 6 | Makoto Tamada
|
Pramac Honda | Honda | 12 | Accident | 5 | |
| Ret | 9 | Nobuatsu Aoki
|
Proton Team KR | Proton KR | 7 | Retirement | 19 | |
| Ret | 99 |  Jeremy McWilliams
|
Proton Team KR | Proton KR | 6 | Accident | 24 | |
| Ret | 74 | Daijiro Kato
|
Telefónica Movistar Honda | Honda | 2 | Fatal accident | 11 | |
| DNS | 35 | Chris Burns
|
WCM | Harris WCM | Did not start | |||
| Sources: [5][6][7] | ||||||||
