PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia, 18 October 2004 — Italy’s Valentino Rossi won his fourth successive world championship with a narrow victory in yesterday’s Australian MotoGP Grand Prix over main rival Sete Gibernau.
“Every world championship has another feeling, another story,” Rossi said.
For sure the first one was incredible. The emotion is incredible. But this one for me is the best,” added the 25-year-old, who switched from top team Honda to Yamaha this year.
Rossi held a 30-point lead over Spain’s Gibernau with two races remaining in the season and needed a top-two placing to clinch the title.
Rossi staged a two-man duel with Gibernau from the start the 27-lap race and the two men exchanged the lead several times in the final stages.Rossi’s winning margin was 0.097 seconds over the Honda rider with Italy’s Loris Capirossi third.
Ducati’s Capirossi was more than 10 seconds behind Rossi.
Gibernau sat stony-faced and with his arms crossed beside Rossi during the news conference, unable to conceal his disappointment.
The final race of the season is in Valencia on Oct. 31. Gibernau has 244 points with Rossi on 279.
Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa, 19, became the youngest 250cc world champion yesterday with a fourth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix won by Argentina’s Sebastian Porto.
Porto won the race in 39 minutes 24.604 seconds on an Aprilia to secure second place in the championship on 256 points with Honda rider Pedrosa on 292.
San Marino’s Alex De Angelis finished second on an Aprilia, 5.941 seconds behind Porto, with compatriot Manuel Poggiali in third on another Aprilia.
Italy’s 125cc world champion Andrea Dovizioso continued his dominant season with victory in yesterday’s Australian Grand Prix by a margin of 0.123 seconds.
