MOTEGI, 20 September 2004 — Japan’s Makoto Tamada won his home Grand Prix yesterday as world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy claimed second place to take his new Yamaha team closer to its first championship in 12 years.
Riding a Honda from pole position, the 27-year-old Tamada covered 24 laps in 43min 43.220sec in the premier MotoGP class at the 4.8-kilometer (three-mile) Twin Ring Motegi circuit, the 12th leg of the 16-round world championship.
Yamaha rider Rossi was the runner-up, tightening his grip on a fourth straight world crown.
Rossi now leads the championship by 39 points with four races remaining after the Japan Grand Prix. Third place went to Shinya Nakano of Japan, on a Suzuki.
The race had a sensational beginning when six riders, including Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi, became tangled in a crash at the first corner. Barely avoiding the pile-up, Rossi stormed into an early lead in the warm and dry conditions before he was caught and overtaken by Tamada on the sixth lap.
The two riders remained locked in a battle for the next few laps. But Tamada, whose bike had more straight-line speed on the stop-and-go circuit, powered away and opened up a sizable gap between the pair.
In the 250cc battle Daniel Pedrosa led Honda’s 1-2-3 finish to easily score his fifth victory of the season. Toni Elias of Spain took second and Hiroshi Aoyama of Japan third, both riding Hondas.
In the 125cc class, Andrea Dovizioso made an Italian 1-2-3 finish. Fabrizio Lai of Italy finished second. Third place went to their compatriot Simone Corsi.
