ESTORIL, 6 September 2004 — Italy’s Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix yesterday for the fourth year in a row after snatching the lead on the first lap.
The Yamaha rider outdueled second-place finisher Makoto Tamada of Honda to extend his lead on top of the championship standings. Brazilian Alex Barros, also of Honda, was third.Rossi won in 46:34.911, 5.111 seconds ahead of Tamada. The victory extends his lead at the top of the standings to 29 points over Spaniard Sete Gibernau of Honda who finished fourth.
Hector Barbera of the Aprilia team won the 125cc race ahead of second-place finisher Finn Mika Kallio of KTM with Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo of Derbi finishing third.
Spain’s Toni Elias of Honda outduelled Argentine Sebastian Porto, riding an Aprilia, to win the 250cc race.
