Alex Barros
A new era had begun. The 500cc class is now officially called the MotoGP class and the specifications have been upped from 500cc 2-strokes to 990cc 4-strokes. This is the opening round so no points had been given out for the world championship, but this year's favourites were Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa and Alex Barros.