2001: Rossi ruffles feathers in the final 500cc year

VJMC’s Steve Cooper looks back..The 2001 season might have marked the coming to an end of the 500cc era, but it always was going to go out with a bang. Honda’s sullen 2000 was forgotten as the motorcycle giant went for it big time. There were some seven riders on the fearsome NSR500 and another eight on the V twin NSR500V. Not wanting to put all its eggs in one basket Honda spread the risk across some six teams – Repsol Honda, Pons Racing, Shell Advance Honda, Arie Molenaar Racing, Dee Cee Jeans Racing and Nastro Azzurro Honda. The last team featured Italian riders Lors Capirossi and Valentino Rossi and these two guys, along with fellow countryman Max Biaggi, would go on to dominate the season to all intents and purposes.

The previous year had been Rossi’s rookie season playing with the big boys and he rattled more than a few cages by coming second and one place ahead of the ‘Roman Emperor’ Biaggi… that hadn’t gone down well. Obviously, Max’s ire had been raised and the Yamaha rider went into the opening Suzuka, Japan, round with the notion he was going to put the ‘young cub’ Rossi in his place, which didn’t work out too well to be honest. Under what’s politely referred to as a racing incident, Biaggi pushed Rossi off the track and into the dirt at some 150mph – of course Rossi wasn’t having any of it. Two laps later Valentino blasted past Max and extended his middle finger to the Yamaha rider. Rossi took first and to Max’s disgust fellow Yamaha rider Gary McCoy took second to the Roman’s third. Apparently the animosity culminated with a full-on fight in parce ferme at Catalunya away from the cameras!

Rossi’s start was in the ascendant and he took the title with 325 points, leaving Biaggi second on 215 and teammate Capirossi on 210. Despite Honda’s mass of riders and machines outside of the top three, the next Honda rider was Àlex Crivillé in eighth with just 120 points. However, Honda had won the title via Valentino at only his second attempt and taken the Manufacturers’ Title with 367 points to Yamaha’s 295 – Suzuki could only manage third with 153.

Even as Rossi was stamping his authority on the final 500cc stinkwheels season HRC was back in its happy place with four-strokes developing a machine for the 2002 season. The all-new RC211V would feature a 75-degree V, 990cc motor, with five cylinders delivering in excess of 210bhp at 14,000rpm. That might sound impressive but it had taken an almost 100% increase in capacity to get a four-stroke to match the power of the old 500cc smokers. And, just in case you were wondering, yes, Rossi spanked Biaggi on the new 990 ‘diesels’ (as some uncharitably referred to them) for the 2002 title as well – 355 points to 215! The VJMC – run by motorcyclists for motorcyclists. For membership enquiries only Tel: 01454 501310Email: [email protected] Address: PO Box 1949, Yate, Bristol BS37 0BX  Office hours: Mon-Thurs,10am-4pm (please leave a message)

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