Despite a poor start, and after several of the leaders crashed out, Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) took the victory at the Malaysian 500cc GP today. Loris Capirossi (Honda) and Alex Criville (Honda) crashed on the first lap (both apparently without major injuries), while 500cc rookie Valentino Rossi (Honda) crashed again this week — this time while fighting for third position with last week’s winner, Garry McCoy (Yamaha). McCoy ended the race in third (the championship points leader at this time), while Carlos Checa (Yamaha) finished second. Rain halted the 500 race after enough laps were completed to make the results official.
In 250’s, Shinya Nakano (Yamaha) rode hard to take first place. Another first lap crash took out several riders, including the rider on pole position, Tohru Ukawa (Honda). Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) finished second, while Daijiro Katoh (Honda) finished third.
250cc Final (Top 10)
1. Shinya Nakano (#56 - YAMAHA) 2. Olivier Jacque (#19 - YAMAHA) 3. Daijiro Katoh (#74 - HONDA) 4. Ralf Waldmann (#6 - APRILIA) 5. Marco Melandri (#13 - APRILIA) 6. Anthony West (#14 - HONDA) 7. Luca Boscoscuro (#37 - APRILIA) 8. Sebastian Porto (#9 - YAMAHA) 9. Alex Debon (#30 - APRILIA) 10. Alex Hoffman (#66 - APRILIA)
250cc Points Standing (Top 5)
1. Shinya Nakano (50 pts.) (YAMAHA) 2. Daijiro Katoh (36 pts.) (HONDA) 3. Olivier Jacque (33 pts.) (YAMAHA) 4. Ralf Waldmann (22 pts.) (APRILIA) 5. Anthony West (21 pts.) (HONDA)
500cc Final Results (Top 10)
1. Kenny Roberts (#2 - SUZUKI) 2. Carlos Checa (#7 - YAMAHA) 3. Garry McCoy (#24 - YAMAHA) 4. Max Biaggi (#4 - YAMAHA) 5. Nobuatsu Aoki (#9 - SUZUKI) 6. Tadayuki Okada (#8 - HONDA) 7. Sete Gibernau (#5 - HONDA) 8. Alex Barros (#10 - HONDA) 9. Regis Laconi (#55 - YAMAHA) 10. Jeremy McWilliams (#99 - APRILIA)
500cc Points Standing (Top 5)
1. Garry McCoy (41 pts.) (YAMAHA) 2. Carlos Checa (40 pts.) (YAMAHA) 3. Kenny Roberts (35 pts.) (SUZUKI) 4. Alex Barros (21 pts.) (HONDA) 5. Nobuatsu Aoki (19 pts.) (SUZUKI)
