Conforming with tradition for the Japanese round of the World Superbike series, the local Japanese riders did very well, with one of them, Hitoyasu Izutsu (Kawasaki) taking a double win.
Of the WSB regulars, Noriyuki Haga (2/4; Yamaha); and Colin Edwards (5/3; Honda) left the round with the most points.
The factory Ducati squad of Ben Bostrom and Troy Bayliss had a miserable day, with both riders going down in the first race and Bayliss getting knocked out of the second race. Bostrom finished 13th in race two.
Results Race One (Top 10)
1. Hitoyasu Izutsu (#64 - KAWASAKI) 2. Noriyuki Haga (#41 - YAMAHA) 3. Pierfrancesco Chili (#7 - SUZUKI) 4. Akira Ryo (#58 - SUZUKI) 5. Colin Edwards (#2 - HONDA) 6. Keiichi Kitigawa (#59 - SUZUKI) 7. Makoto Tamada (#61 - HONDA) 8. Wataru Yoshikawa (#57 - YAMAHA) 9. Troy Corser (#3 - APRILIA) 10. Gregorio Lavilla (#6 - KAWASAKI)
Results Race Two (Top 10)
1. Hitoyasu Izutsu (#64 - KAWASAKI) 2. Wataru Yoshikawa (#57 - YAMAHA) 3. Colin Edwards (#2 - HONDA) 4. Noriyuki Haga (#41 - YAMAHA) 5. Troy Corser (#3 - APRILIA) 6. Akira Yanagawa (#4 - KAWASAKI) 7. Tamaki Serizawa (#62 - KAWASAKI) 8. Keiichi Kitigawa (#59 - SUZUKI) 9. Akira Ryo (#58 - SUZUKI) 10. Gregorio Lavilla (#6 - KAWASAKI)
Championship Points Standings After Round Three of 13 (Top 10)
1. Noriyuki Haga (#41 - YAMAHA) 104 pts. 2. Colin Edwards (#2 - HONDA) 94 pts. 3. Troy Corser (#3 - APRILIA) 69 pts. 4. Pierfrancesco Chili (#7 - SUZUKI) 59 pts. 5. Gregorio Lavilla (#6 - KAWASAKI) 54 pts. 6. Hitoyasu Izutsu (#64 - KAWASAKI) 50 pts. 7. Anthony Gobert (#501 - BIMOTA) 36 pts. Carl Fogarty (#1 - DUCATI) 36 pts. 9. Wataru Yoshikawa (#57 - YAMAHA) 28 pts. 10. Katsuaki Fujiwara (#9 - SUZUKI) 27 pts. Akira Yanagawa (#4 - KAWASAKI) 27 pts.
