The 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 56th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted of 16 races, beginning with the South African motorcycle Grand Prix on 18 April 2004 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 31 October.
Season summary MotoGP class At the end of 2003, HRC and Valentino Rossi had parted ways, and HRC held Rossi to the letter of their contract which stipulated he could not ride another manufacturer's machine until 31 December 2003.Honda refuse Rossi test request. bbc.co.uk. 17 November 2003. Rossi's move to Yamaha, therefore, was a gamble on a manufacturer that hadn't had won a world championship in 12 years. Rossi won the first round of the season and lay to rest doubts about whether the rider or the motorcycle was more important when he achieved what no rider since Eddie Lawson had done in the history of the premier-class: he won back-to-back championships on different machines, Honda in 2003 and Yamaha in 2004.
Runner-up Sete Gibernau gave Rossi a strong challenge initially, but faded towards the end of the season. The friendship between him and Rossi frayed over the season, and snapped completely at the Qatar round.
Another change in 2004 was also d'Antin Team, who switched their alliance from Yamaha to Ducati motorcycles after five-year alliance with Yamaha, marked the first time Ducati MotoGP manufacturer introduced a satellite customer team.
At the Italian round, the race ran for 17 laps before rain started, and according to the rules at the time, the race was decided on a second, 6-lap race and the previous 17 laps only counted for grid positions. Conditions dried enough that the riders started the new race in slicks instead of wet-weather tires. In 2005 the rules were changed so that rain would no longer stop a race in MotoGP.
The Rookie of the Year was Rubén Xaus.
250cc class The 250cc title was won by Daniel Pedrosa on a Honda.
125cc class The 125cc title was won by Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda.
2004 Grand Prix season calendar On 19 August 2003, the FIM released the initial 2004 calendar. In it, both the Japanese and the Pacific GPs were originally scheduled to take place. On 24 October 2003, the FIM confirmed the 2004 calendar. In it, the Japanese GP at Suzuka had been scrapped and was moved to Motegi and the all-new Qatar GP were to be held on a Saturday. On 16 December 2003, changes were made to the calendar. The date of the British GP was moved from 11 to 25 July and the date and day of the Rio GP were moved from Saturday 31 July to Sunday 4 July.
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2004: RoundDateGrand PrixCircuit 1 18 April betandwin.com Africa's Grand Prix Phakisa Freeway 2 2 May Gran Premio Marlboro de España Circuito de Jerez 3 16 May Grand Prix Polini de France Bugatti Circuit 4 6 June Gran Premio Cinzano d'Italia Mugello Circuit 5 13 June Gran Premi Gauloises de Catalunya Circuit de Catalunya 6 26 June †† Gauloises TT Assen TT Circuit Assen 7 4 July Cinzano Rio Grand Prix 8 18 July Veltins Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenring 9 25 July Cinzano British Grand Prix Donington Park 10 22 August Gauloises Grand Prix České republiky Brno Circuit 11 5 September Grande Prémio Marlboro de Portugal Autódromo do Estoril 12 Camel Grand Prix of Japan Twin Ring Motegi 13 2 October †† Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar Losail International Circuit 14 10 October Marlboro Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit 15 17 October Cinzano Australian Grand Prix Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 16 31 October Circuit Ricardo Tormo
†† = Saturday race
Calendar changes The Japanese Grand Prix moved from the Suzuka Circuit to the Twin Ring Motegi after the fatal accident of Japanese rider Daijiro Kato. The Japanese Grand Prix was moved back, from 6 April to 18 September. The Pacific Grand Prix was dropped after the Japanese Grand Prix was relocated to Twin Ring Motegi. The Qatar Grand Prix was added to the calendar.
Regulation changes The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2004 season:
Sporting regulations Restrictions have been introduced for testing. It is forbidden to test any bike between the fifteenth of one year and fifteenth of January of the next year, both dates being inclusive. This restriction counts for all teams in all three the classes who participated in the previous seasons as well as the teams that have been accepted to participate in the next season. The restriction applies to the testing of any bike used in any class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix with riders who are submitted for the Championship, or test riders.
The end of a practice session will be designated by the waving of a chequered flag after which the exit of the pit lane will be closed. The time of a rider continues to be recorded until time has run out, after which a red light will be shown on the start line. After the chequered flag is out, all riders are allowed to compete one additional lap before they have to enter the pits.
The grid positions will be changed. From now on, the grid will consist out of a singular row with three bikes compared to the previous four, sorted in a diagonal echelon formation. This change will only count for the MotoGP class, the 125 and 250cc classes will maintain the old four-row format. Each line will be offset and there must be a distance of nine metres between each row. If any rider delays the start, he may be penalised with a fine, a ride through penalty, disqualification or a withdrawal of championship points.
During the race, the rider will be asked to ride through the pits, to which he may rejoin the race afterwards. Each rider must respect the speed limit, which is 85 km/h plus 10% according to Article 1.21.14. In case of a speed limit breach, a ride through will be issued and if a rider breaks the speed limit again, the black flag will be shown. If a race is restarted, this regulation will also be applied. If a race is interrupted before the penalty is enforced, and if there is a second part, the rider must take the ride through after the start of the second part of the race. In case a rider carries forward a penalty for anticipation of the start into the second part of an interrupted race and is subsequently found to have anticipated said second start, the rider will be shown a black flag and disqualified. After the team is notified, a yellow board (100 cm horizontal X 80 cm vertical) will be shown at the finish line displaying the rider's number (black colour, height 50 cm, stroke width 10 cm). This information will also be shown on the timekeeping monitors. If the rider fails to take the ride through after the board is shown to him three times, the rider will be shown a black flag and disqualified. If more than one rider is penalised, the riders will be instructed to take a ride through on the subsequent laps. The order of the riders will be based on the qualifying times where the faster rider goes first. If a rider fails to respond to instructions of the ride through and there multiple riders penalised, no rider will be signalled to take a ride through until the previous rider has completed the procedure or if he has been shown the black flag. If the organisation is unable to execute the ride through penalty before the end of the race, the penalised rider will get a time penalty of 20 seconds.
New rules have been introduced regarding the behaviour of riders during practice runs as well as the race. All riders must obey the flag and light signals, as well as the boards which show instructions. Any infringement of this rule will then be penalised according the rules of Article 1.22. Riders must also ride in a responsible way, preventing danger to other competitors or participants either on the circuit or in the pits. If a rider breaks this rule, he will be penalised with a fine, a ride through, disqualification, a withdrawal of championship points or a suspension. Furthermore, riders are only allowed to use the circuit and the pits. However, if a rider accidentally leaves the track, he is allowed to rejoin it at the indicated place by the marshalls or at a specific place that does not give the rider an advantage. Any infringement of this rule during either the practice or warm-up will be penalised by the cancellation of the lap time and during the race by a ride through penalty. Other penalties such as a fine, disqualification or a withdrawal of championship points may also be imposed.
New rules have been created for the flags and lights which are used to provide information. A blue flag waved at a flag marshall post indicates to a rider that he is about to be passed. During the practice sessions, the rider must keep his line and slow down gradually to allow a faster rider to pass him. If a rider is about to be lapped during the race, he must allow the following rider(s) to pass him at the earliest opportunity. Any infringement of this rule will be penalised via a fine, disqualification or a withdrawal of championship points. The blue flag will be shown waved to a rider who leaves the pit lane if traffic is approaching on the track at all times.
If a yellow flag is waved at a flag marshal post, it indicates that there is a danger ahead. The rider must slow and be prepared to stop if needed. All overtaking is forbidden up to the point where the green flag is shown. Any infringement of this rule during a practice session will result in the cancellation of the lap time. If a rider breaks this rule during the race, he will be penalised with a ride through penalty. In both cases, other penalties such as a fine or suspension may also be imposed. If a rider realises he committed an infraction immediately after having overtaken someone, he must raise his hand and let the rider(s) past. If this happen, no penalty shall be issued.
If a practice session or race is interrupted, the red flag will be waved at each flag marshal post and the red lights around the track will be switched on. All riders must adhere to the flags and lights and return slowly to the pits. When the pit exit is closed, the flag will be shown motionless at the exit and the light will be switched on. During this time, riders are forbidden to exit the pits. Any infringement of this rule will be penalised with a fine, disqualification, a withdrawal of championship points or a suspension. At the end of every practice and warm-up session, the red lights will be switched on at the start line. The red flag will be shown motionless on the starting grid at the end of the sighting lap(s) and at the end of the warm-up lap. The red flag may also be used to close the circuit. The red lights will be switched on at the start line for between two and five seconds to start each race.
The flag is used to transfer instructions to a specific rider and is displayed motionless at each flag marshal post, together with the rider's number. The rider must stop at the pits at the end of his current lap and is not allowed to restart. This flag will only be shown after the rider's team has been notified. Any infringement of this rule will be penalised with a fine, disqualification, a withdrawal of championship points or a suspension.
The black flag with orange disk is used to transfer instructions to a specific rider and is displayed motionless at each flag marshal post, together with the rider's number. This flag informs the rider that his motorcycle has mechanical problems which could endanger himself or others around him and therefor must leave the circuit immediately. Any infringement of this rule will be penalised with a fine, disqualification, a withdrawal of championship points or a suspension.