2002 World Champions

Valentino Rossi became the MotoGP World Champion

Marco Melandri became the 250cc World Champion

Arnaud Vincent became the 125cc World Champion

The2002Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 54thF.I.M.Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted of 16 races, beginning with theJapanese motorcycle Grand Prix on 7 April 2002 and ending with theValencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 3 November.

Thepremier class, now renamed MotoGP, introduced new rules and regulations which allowed 990ccfour-stroke bikes to race alongside the previous year's 500cctwo-stroke bikes. Defending championValentino Rossi won his second premier class title by winning 11 races and scoring 355 points. He clinched the title at theRio de Janeiro Grand Prix, with four races left in the season.^[1]

The250cc title was won byMarco Melandri who won nine races and scored 298 points. He clinched the title at theAustralian Grand Prix and became the youngest ever champion in the 250cc class.^[2]Arnaud Vincent won the125cc title by 19 points difference over defending championManuel Poggiali. The title was decided in thelast race of the season atValencia with Vincent finishing in second place to secure the title.^[3]

The season marked the start of a new era in the premier class with the arrival of 990ccfour-stroke bikes. Four factory teams,Repsol Honda,Marlboro Yamaha,Suzuki andAprilia, raced with the new four-stroke bikes while all the satellite teams raced with the 500cctwo-stroke bike.^[4] The season also marked the return ofDunlop and the entry ofBridgestone to the premier class.^[5] Dunlop supplied the tyres for Suzuki, Aprilia,Yamaha WCM andPramac Honda.^[6] Bridgestone supplied the tyres forTeam Roberts andKanemoto Racing.^[7][8][9]Michelin supplied the tyres for the remaining six teams. However, after only two races, Suzuki switched back to Michelin tyres for the remainder of the season.^[10][11]

Valentino Rossi, riding the four-strokeHonda RC211V bike, won thefirst race of the season atSuzuka under wet conditions. Suzuki's test riderAkira Ryō, who raced as awildcard entry, and Yamaha'sCarlos Checa completed the all four-stroke podium.^[12] Rossi's teammate,Tohru Ukawa, won thesecond race before Rossi went on to dominate the championship by winning seven consecutive races.Max Biaggi handed the four-strokeYamaha YZR-M1 its first win in theCzech Republic Grand Prix atBrno, while Rossi had to retire due to tyre problems.^[13] In that race, Honda also expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the RC211V bike forHonda Gresini riderDaijiro Kato.^[14] Rossi then won two consecutive races inPortugal andBrazil, clinching theworld championship in the latter.^[1]

In thePacific Grand Prix,Honda Pons riderAlex Barros won his first race riding the RC211V bike.^[15] In that race,Kawasaki returned to the world championship after 20 years absence. Kawasaki, with their four-strokeNinja ZX-RR, raced aswildcards in the last four races of the season as a preparation before entering the championship full-time in the following season.^[16] In thefollowing race atSepang, Yamaha expanded their four-stroke presence by providing the YZR-M1 bikes toTech 3 pairOlivier Jacque andShinya Nakano.^[17] Another Yamaha rider,Norifumi Abe, raced the fifth YZR-M1 on the grid for the last two races of the season.^[18]

Rossi ended the season with 355 points from 11 wins and four second places. Biaggi finished second to Rossi with 215 points and two race wins. Ukawa and Barros completed the top four with 209 and 204 points respectively. Previous year's 250cc championDaijiro Kato finished in seventh position with two podium finishes and was named as the Rookie of the Year.^[19] All races were won by the four-stroke bikes, while the two-strokes only managed to record five podiums finishes. Honda won the constructors championship with 390 points and 14 wins, followed by Yamaha who won the other two races. Repsol Honda team won the teams championship by winning 12 races and scoring 564 points from Rossi and Ukawa. Marlboro Yamaha and Honda Pons who won two races each was second and third respectively.

The 250cc class was certain to have anew champion asprevious year's championDaijiro Kato and 1993 championTetsuya Harada, who finished second to Kato last year, both moved up to the MotoGP class. Only three riders remained from previous year's top six:Marco Melandri,Roberto Rolfo andFonsi Nieto. Melandri was the only rider in the 250cc class who has previously won a 250cc race; he won his first and only race in the2001 German Grand Prix.^[20] The 250cc entry list also included three former125cc World Champion:Haruchika Aoki,Roberto Locatelli andEmilio Alzamora.

The season started witha wet race atSuzuka which was won by Japanesewildcard riderOsamu Miyazaki, who was riding for DaytonaYamaha team.^[21]Honda's wildcard riderDaisaku Sakai andAprilia'sRandy de Puniet completed the podium.^[22] In thefollowing race atWelkom, Aprilia's Marco Melandri took his second career 250cc win.^[23] Fonsi Nieto then took his first ever race win in theSpanish Grand Prix.^[24] Nieto also took the lead in the championship standings from de Puniet andFranco Battaini. Nieto then won thefollowing race atLe Mans before Melandri won the next three races and overtook the championship lead from Nieto after theDutch TT.^[25] Melandri continued his streak to six consecutive wins and extended his lead in the standings to 37 points after theCzech Republic Grand Prix.^[26]

Nieto won thePortuguese Grand Prix for Aprilia's tenth consecutive victory. Nieto, who crashed in lap 13, recovered from seventh position to win the rain-soaked race over Melandri.^[27][28] Aprilia's winning streak was broken whenYamaha'sSebastián Porto won theRio de Janeiro Grand Prix under wet race condition.^[29] RookieToni Elías won thefollowing race atMotegi after a last-lap battle with Melandri. Melandri finished second and increase his lead over Nieto in the championship standings to 52 points.^[30] With 52 points lead and three races to go, Melandri only need to finish in front of Nieto in theMalaysian Grand Prix to clinch the championship.^[31] However, he suffered a mechanical failure on the first lap, while Nieto won the race to reduce the gap to 27 points.^[32] Melandri finally clinchedthe 250cc title in theAustralian Grand Prix with a close win over Nieto. They fought until the last lap and Melandri won the race with just 0.007 second gap at the finish line.^[2] Melandri became the youngest 250cc world champion at the age of 20 years and 74 days.^[33]

Melandri ended the season with 298 points from nine race wins, three second-place finishes and one fourth-place finish. Nieto finished second in the standings with 241 points and four wins, followed Honda's Roberto Rolfo and rookie Toni Elías with 219 and 178 points respectively. Elías, who recorded one race win and four further podium finishes, was named as the Rookie of the Year.^[34] Aprilia won the constructors championship with 382 points and 14 race wins from Melandri, Nieto and Elías. Honda finished second in the standings with 244 points but failed to record any race win. Yamaha, who won two races courtesy of Miyazaki and Porto's wins in the wet, finished third with 211 points.

The 125cc entry list was headlined by defending championManuel Poggiali and two-time championship runners-upYouichi Ui andNoboru Ueda. There were five other riders who have previously won a 125cc race:Masao Azuma,Lucio Cecchinello,Stefano Perugini,Simone Sanna andArnaud Vincent.

Arnaud Vincent, who returned toAprilia after a year with Honda, won theopening race atSuzuka under wet condition.^[35] He then extended his lead in the championship with two second places in thesecond andthird race behind Manuel Poggiali and Lucio Cecchinello respectively.^[36][37] In thefollowing race atLe Mans, Cecchinello won his second successive race ahead of Poggiali, while Vincent finished fourth.^[38] Poggiali then took over the championship lead from Vincent after winning theItalian Grand Prix.^[39] Poggiali won thefollowing race atCatalunya with a late overtake at the finish line over Spanish teenagerDaniel Pedrosa.^[40] Two weeks later, Pedrosa bounced back to win his first ever race in the2002 Dutch TT, with Poggiali finishing in second place.^[41]

Vincent, who led the championship in the first four races, returned to the top of the podium with two consecutive wins atDonington Park andSachsenring.^[42][43] After finishing third behind Cecchinello and Pedrosa atBrno, Vincent won the wetPortuguese Grand Prix and retook the championship lead from Poggiali.^[44][45] Honda riders, Masao Azuma and Pedrosa, won the following two races atRio de Janeiro andMotegi while Poggiali reduced Vincent's lead to just eight points courtesy of two podium finishes and Vincent's mechanical problem at Motegi.^[46][47] Vincent extended his lead by winning theMalaysian Grand Prix while Poggiali finished in fourth.^[48] However, Poggiali won thefollowing race atPhillip Island while Vincent finished in fourth to reduce the lead back to eight points.^[49] In thelast race of the season atValencia, Vincent finished second behind Pedrosa to clinchthe 125cc title while Poggiali finished in seventh place.^[3]

Vincent ended the season with 273 points and five race wins, 19 points ahead of defending champion Poggiali who scored 254 points and four race wins. Pedrosa and Cecchinello finished third and fourth in the standings with three wins each. The Rookie of the Year title was won by Finnish riderMika Kallio who scored 78 points with theRed Devil Honda team. Aprilia won the constructors championship with 341 points and eight race wins from Vincent and Cecchinello. Honda finished second in the standings with 285 points and four wins from Pedrosa and Azuma whileGilera finished third with 254 points and three wins from Poggiali.

On 18 October 2001, the FIM confirmed the 2002 calendar.^[50] On 4 December 2001, the FIM confirmed that the dates of the Rio and Valencian Community Grands Prix had swapped places.^[51]

The following sixteen Grands Prix were scheduled to take place:^[52][53]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	7 April	SKYY vodka Grand Prix of Japan	Suzuka Circuit
2	21 April	Africa's Grand Prix †	Phakisa Freeway
3	5 May	Gran Premio Marlboro de España	Circuito de Jerez
4	19 May	Polini Grand Prix de France	Bugatti Circuit
5	2 June	Gran Premio Cinzano d'Italia	Mugello Circuit
6	16 June	Gran Premi Marlboro de Catalunya	Circuit de Catalunya
7	29 June ††	Gauloises Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen
8	14 July	Cinzano British Grand Prix	Donington Park
9	21 July	Cinzano Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland	Sachsenring
10	25 August	Gauloises Grand Prix České republiky	Brno Circuit
11	8 September	Grande Prémio Marlboro de Portugal	Autódromo do Estoril
12	21 September ††	Cinzano Rio Grand Prix	Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
13	6 October	Gauloises Pacific Grand Prix of Motegi	Twin Ring Motegi
14	13 October	Gauloises Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit
15	20 October	SKYY vodka Australian Grand Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
16	3 November	Gran Premio Marlboro de la Comunitat Valenciana	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

† =Gauloises was the original sponsor for the South African Grand Prix, but withdrew due to South African government passing a ban on tobacco advertising in motorsport events a week before the race.^[54]

†† = Saturday race

• TheMalaysian andAustralian Grand Prix swapped places. The Malaysian round became the 14th round, while the Australian round became the 15th round on the calendar.
• TheValencian Community Grand Prix swapped position with theRio Grand Prix. The Valencian round became the last race of the season as the world championship returned to Europe after four flyaway races that started with Rio Grand Prix.

The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2002 season:^[55][56]

• The name '500cc', which was already used formally since2000 on promotional material, is now officially changed to 'MotoGP'.
• All riders in the new MotoGP class must possess an FIM Grand Prix Super License.
• The maximum age of new riders to participate in the 125cc class has been set at the new standard of 25 years. This also counts for wildcard riders.
• It is now mandatory for manufacturers in all classes to own a FIM Manufacturers License.
• If a rider has been entered for participation of a 125cc or 250cc race, the team is not allowed to replace said rider after 17:30 on the first day of the event, which is Friday. An exception is made in the case of the MotoGP class where substitutions can be made up until 12:00 on the second day of the event, which is Saturday.
• In case of a home grand prix, each grand prix host federation (FMNR) may enter three wildcard riders for the 125cc and 250cc classes.
• The MSMA can also nominate one wildcard entry for the 250cc and MotoGP classes at all given races.
• The FIM may nominate two wildcard entries for the 125cc and 250cc classes as well.
• Dorna, together with the FIM, can nominate one wildcard entry for the MotoGP class at all races.
• The timetable for qualifying has been changed: The start time for the 125cc has gone from 13:15 to 13:45, the start time for the MotoGP has gone from 14:00 to 15:00 and the 250cc start time has gone from 15:15 to 16:00.
• Restrictions are imposed on the practice sessions. If there is a break in the championship that lasts two or more consecutive weekends, the testing exceptions will not apply from 09:00 that Wednesday until the start of the following race. The winter testing for the 125cc and 250cc teams will either be restricted to their own continental zones or official IRTA tests.
• Starter engines may now also be used on the grid. The number of people for each rider on the grid has been set to seven in the MotoGP class and to a maximum of two, three minutes before the start of a race.
• Riders will only be permitted to start the race from their assigned grid position if they complete at least one sighting lap. It is forbidden for anyone, even the rider, to push the motorcycle onto the grid from the pit lane.
• Riders are allowed to complete more than one sighting lap via the pit lane if they make any changes on their main bike, swap bikes or have to refuel.
• Riders who fail to complete at least one sighting lap will have to start the warm-up lap at the back of the grid from the pits under instructions of a marshal who is positioned at the pitlane exit. These riders are not allowed to have any tyre warmers on and cannot change wheels after the display of the "3 minutes" board.
• In case of two or more riders starting from the back of the grid, they will line up in the order of which they qualified during the Saturday qualification.
• It's forbidden to communicate anything between a moving motorcycle and anyone who is connected to the motorcycle's rider. Exceptions are made for the signal from the timekeeping transponder, the on-board camera's or the voice communication between the rider and team.
• All teams will from this season onwards compete for a MotoGP Team Championship and all teams will be consisting out of two riders. The names of the teams will consist out of multiple elements. The first one is the name of the manufacturers of the motorcycle or engines, which is mandatory. The second one is the name of the team, which is mandatory except when the team name is the same as the manufacturer name. The third is the name of the main sponsor, which is optional. All the points which are scored by both riders in the team, including the substitute or replacement riders, will count towards the team's constructors championship. If the team consists out of only one rider, the points by said rider will also count. An exception is made for wild card entries, which do not score any points.
• In case of an entry, a rider is considered to have taken part the race weekend if he has, at least, participated in one practice session. A rider is considered to have started a race if he, at least, participates in the first lap.
• For a rider to be classified as a finisher of the race and be included in the final results, he must cross the finish line on the circuit and not in the pitlane within five minutes of the race winner. The rider must, at all times, be in contact with his motorcycle also.
• The white line which indicates the pole position must be painted one meter before the start/finish line.
• From 1 January 2003 onwards, races which have changes in the climate because of rain or mixed conditions and have thus changes in adhesion of the circuit, will no longer be stopped.

• The 500cc two-stroke machines - in use since the late 1970s - are going to be phased out this season for the new 990cc four-stroke machines.^[57]
• Helmets must now conform to one of the recognized international standards and be of the full face type. The European standards are ECE 22-04 & ECE 22-05 'p', the British standards are BS 6658 Grade A and the American standards are USA: DOT Federal Standard n? 218/SNELL M95 & M2000.
• The use of materials has been restricted. The basic structure of the crankshaft and camshafts must be created from either steel or cast iron. It is not allowed to use composite structures which use either carbon or aramid fiber reinforcing material on components such as pistons, cylinder heads and cylinder blocks. It is mandatory to have brake calipers which are made from aluminium material with a modulus of elasticity that does not exceed the 80 GPA. None of the parts on the bike can be made from metallic materials which have a specific elasticity modus that is greater than 50 GPA.

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	MotoGP winner	Report
1	7 April	Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix	Suzuka	Arnaud Vincent	Osamu Miyazaki	Valentino Rossi	Report
2	21 April	South African motorcycle Grand Prix	Phakisa	Manuel Poggiali	Marco Melandri	Tohru Ukawa	Report
3	5 May	Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix	Jerez	Lucio Cecchinello	Fonsi Nieto	Valentino Rossi	Report
4	19 May	French motorcycle Grand Prix	Le Mans	Lucio Cecchinello	Fonsi Nieto	Valentino Rossi	Report
5	2 June	Italian motorcycle Grand Prix	Mugello	Manuel Poggiali	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
6	16 June	Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix	Catalunya	Manuel Poggiali	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
7	29 June ††	Dutch TT	Assen	Daniel Pedrosa	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
8	14 July	British motorcycle Grand Prix	Donington	Arnaud Vincent	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
9	21 July	German motorcycle Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Arnaud Vincent	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
10	25 August	Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix	Brno	Lucio Cecchinello	Marco Melandri	Max Biaggi	Report
11	8 September	Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix	Estoril	Arnaud Vincent	Fonsi Nieto	Valentino Rossi	Report
12	21 September ††	Rio de Janeiro motorcycle Grand Prix	Rio de Janeiro	Masao Azuma	Sebastián Porto	Valentino Rossi	Report
13	6 October	Pacific motorcycle Grand Prix	Motegi	Daniel Pedrosa	Toni Elías	Alex Barros	Report
14	13 October	Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix	Sepang	Arnaud Vincent	Fonsi Nieto	Max Biaggi	Report
15	20 October	Australian motorcycle Grand Prix	Phillip Island	Manuel Poggiali	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Report
16	3 November	Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix	Valencia	Daniel Pedrosa	Marco Melandri	Alex Barros	Report

†† = Saturday Race

FIM released a 20-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.^[58]Àlex Crivillé, who was listed on the entry list, was replaced byPere Riba at theAntena 3 Yamaha d'Antín team before the start of the season.^[59] For 2002 Michelin was joined by Bridgestone and Dunlop as tire manufacturers, beginning a six-yeartyre war.

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds MS Aprilia Racing Aprilia RS Cube D 55 Régis Laconi All Repsol Honda Team Honda RC211V M 11 Tohru Ukawa All 46 Valentino Rossi All Team HRC 72 Shinichi Ito 1 West Honda Pons 4 Alex Barros 13–16 NSR500 1–12 65 Loris Capirossi 1–7, 10–16 66 Alex Hofmann 8–9 Fortuna Honda Gresini 74 Daijiro Kato 1–9 RC211V 10–16 Pramac Honda Racing Team NSR500 D 31 Tetsuya Harada All Kanemoto Racing B 17 Jurgen van den Goorbergh All 72 Shinichi Ito 15 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR D 48 Akira Yanagawa 13 84 Andrew Pitt 14–16 /Proton Team KR ProtonKR KR3 B 9 Nobuatsu Aoki All 99 Jeremy McWilliams All 29 David García 16 Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R D 10 Kenny Roberts Jr. 1–2 M 3–8, 10–16 51 Yukio Kagayama 9 15 Sete Gibernau 3–16 D 1–2 Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Team Suzuki 33 Akira Ryō 1 M 6–10, 14 Marlboro Yamaha Team Yamaha YZR-M1 M 3 Max Biaggi All 7 Carlos Checa All Yamaha Racing Team 45 Wataru Yoshikawa 13 Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 19 Olivier Jacque 14–16 56 Shinya Nakano 14–16 YZR500 19 Olivier Jacque 1–13 56 Shinya Nakano 1–13 Yamaha Tech 3 50 Sylvain Guintoli 10 Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín YZR-M1 6 Norifumi Abe 15–16 YZR500 1–14 20 Pere Riba 1–3, 5–8, 10–11, 13 30 José Luis Cardoso 4, 9, 12, 14–16 Red Bull Yamaha WCM D 8 Garry McCoy 1–3, 8–16 18 Jean-Michel Bayle 4–5 66 Alex Hofmann 6–7 21 John Hopkins All Source:[60]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

The FIM released a 25-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.^[58]Alex Hofmann, who was listed on the entry list, withdrew before the start of the season.^[59]

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds MS Aprilia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 3 Marco Melandri All Fortuna Honda Gresini Honda Honda NSR250 D 4 Roberto Rolfo All 7 Emilio Alzamora 1–9, 11–16 84 David García 10 Campetella Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 6 Alex Debón All 17 Randy de Puniet All Dark Dog Yamaha Kurz Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 8 Naoki Matsudo All 76 Taro Sekiguchi 1–9 13 Jaroslav Huleš 10–16 Petronas Sprinta Yamaha TVK Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 9 Sebastián Porto All 18 Shahrol Yuzy All Telefónica Movistar – Repsol YPF Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 10 Fonsi Nieto All 24 Toni Elías All DeGraaf Grand Prix Team Honda Honda NSR250 D 11 Haruchika Aoki All 41 Jarno Janssen 1–9 29 Henk van de Lagemaat 10 30 Rob Filart 11 96 Jakub Smrž 12–16 Cibertel Honda BQR Honda Honda RS250R D 12 Jay Vincent All 19 Leon Haslam All 34 Eric Bataille 3, 6, 11–12, 16 Motoracing / TU Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 15 Roberto Locatelli All Imola Circuit Exalt Cycle Race Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 21 Franco Battaini All RFME Equipo Nacional Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 22 Raúl Jara All 32 Héctor Faubel All Equipe de France – Scrab GP Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 25 Vincent Philippe 1–9 36 Erwan Nigon 10–16 51 Hugo Marchand 1–10, 12–16 57 Grégory Lefort 11 Safilo Oxydo Race LCR Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 27 Casey Stoner All 42 David Checa All Aprilia Germany Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 28 Dirk Heidolf All UGT 3000 – Abruzzo Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 26 Ralf Waldmann 7, 9–10 Ipone Tecmas Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 35 Thierry van den Bosch 4 77 7, 9 Edf Espoir Honda Honda RS250R D 36 Erwan Nigon 4 Aspi Honda Honda RS250R D 37 Yann Lussiana 4 Cordoba Patrimonio Hum. Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 39 Luis Castro 3, 16 Faster by Fuller Racing Honda Honda RS250R D 43 Christopher Sansome 8 Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 44 Andrew Whittley 8 Team Racer Bike Honda Honda RS250R D 45 Samuel Aubry 4 RM Racing Honda Honda RS250R D 47 Jason Boyce 8 Team Kotake RSC Honda Honda RS250R D 48 Shinichi Nakatomi 1 Burning Blood R.T. Honda Honda RS250R D 49 Chojun Kameya 1 Endurance Honda Honda NSR250 D 50 Daisaku Sakai 1 Kiefer Castrol Honda Honda Honda RS250R D 52 Christian Gemmel 9 Neukirchner Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R D 53 Max Neukirchner 9 Kehrer Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R D 54 Nico Kehrer 9 MRTT – Hugen Racing Honda Honda RS250R D 58 Jan Blok 7 59 Peter Politiek 7 Sierhekwerk W v/d Pol Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 60 Gert Pieper 7 Jovink Raps Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 61 Jarno Boesveld 7 Klub Racing Team Znojmo Honda Honda RS250R D 62 Radomil Rous 10 Bird Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R D 63 Gábor Rizmayer 10 Slovnaft Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 64 Vladimir Častka 10 Heierli Racing Pvm Team Honda Honda RS250R D 65 Roger Heierli 10 Hitman RC Koshien Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 68 Tekkyu Kayo 13 SP Tadao Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 69 Nobuyuki Osaki 13 Morinokumasan Miztec RT Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 70 Ryuji Yokoe 13 Technospeed Nakasuga Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 71 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 13 Team HRC Honda Honda NSR250 D 72 Yuki Takahashi 13 Racing Damas Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 74 Ángel Rodríguez 16 EMS Racing Honda Honda RS250R D 78 Peter Taplin 15 RGV Spares Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 79 Russell Holland 15 Impact Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 80 Earl Lynch 15 STU Avant – Msr – Elf Honda Honda RS250R D 81 Mark Stanley 15 Motorex Daytona Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 D 89 Osamu Miyazaki 1 Team Stargel Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 90 Chuck Sorensen 16 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda RS250R D 92 Hiroshi Aoyama 1, 13 Ferro Moto Sport Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 D 93 Hervé Mora 4 Source:[61]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

FIM released a 33-rider entry list on 13 March 2002.^[58]

Team Constructor Motorcycle Tyres No. Rider Rounds Gilera Racing Gilera Gilera 125 GP D 1 Manuel Poggiali All Safilo Oxydo Race LCR Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 4 Lucio Cecchinello All 15 Alex de Angelis All Tribe by Breil Honda Honda RS125R B 5 Masao Azuma All Scot Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 6 Mirko Giansanti All 34 Andrea Dovizioso All Italjet Racing Service Italjet Italjet F125 B 7 Stefano Perugini All 24 Leon Camier 6–8 42 Christian Pistoni 9–16 D 8 Gábor Talmácsi 1–5 PEV Moto ADAC Sachsen Honda Honda RS125R B 10 Jarno Müller 1–3 30 Gaspare Caffiero 5 8 Gábor Talmácsi 7–16 12 Klaus Nöhles 1–5, 9–16 66 Shuhei Aoyama 7–8 Semprucci Angaia Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 9 Noboru Ueda 1–5, 11–16 44 Alessandro Brannetti 6 75 Fabrizio Lai 7–8 76 Matej Smrž 9 72 Dario Giuseppetti 10 20 Imre Tóth All 76 Matej Smrž 10 Motoracing / TU Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 11 Max Sabbatani 13–16 16 Simone Sanna All Bossini Sterilgarda Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 11 Max Sabbatani 1–5, 8–11 32 Gianluigi Scalvini 6–7 33 Stefano Bianco 1–8, 10–16 B 50 Andrea Ballerini 12–16 UGT 3000 – Abruzzo Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 17 Steve Jenkner All 19 Alex Baldolini All 23 Gino Borsoi All Elit Grand Prix Honda Honda RS125R D 18 Jakub Smrž 1–7 B 77 Thomas Lüthi 9–12, 14–16 97 Hideyuki Nakajo 13 Imola Circuit Exalt Cycle Race Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 21 Arnaud Vincent All Master – Aspar Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 22 Pablo Nieto All 47 Ángel Rodríguez 1–9 80 Héctor Barberá All Telefónica Movistar jnr Team Honda Honda RS125R D 25 Joan Olivé All 26 Dani Pedrosa All 52 Julián Simón 3, 6, 11, 16 CWF – Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 39 Jaroslav Huleš 1–7 28 Ivan Goi 8–9 37 Marco Simoncelli 10–12, 14–16 57 Chaz Davies All Team Italia Gilera Gilera 125 GP D 31 Mattia Angeloni All 84 Michel Fabrizio All Red Devil Honda Honda Honda RS125R D 36 Mika Kallio All 88 Robbin Harms 10 Caja Madrid Derbi Racing Derbi Derbi 125 GP D 41 Youichi Ui All 48 Jorge Lorenzo 3–16 Sutthisam Vaewsamana Honda Honda RS125R D 46 Suhathai Chaemsap 1 OMV Team Hanusch Honda Honda RS125R D 49 Igor Kalab 10 FCC – TSR Honda Honda RS125R B 50 Andrea Ballerini 1–11 72 Dario Giuseppetti 12–16 83 Josh Waters 14–15 Atletico de Madrid Aprilia Aprilia RS125R B 51 Álvaro Bautista 3, 6, 16 Team Gabrielli Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 53 Gioele Pellino 5, 10 RCGM – Rubincone Corse Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 54 Marco Petrini 5 Team Machado Honda Honda RS125R D 55 Javier Machado 6 Kart Centrum Honda Honda RS125R D 56 Lukáš Pešek 10 Team Technimoto Cavaillon Honda Honda RS125R D 58 Yohann Tiberio 4 Team Philippe Coulon Honda Honda RS125R D 59 Vincent Braillard 4, 16 MG Parts – RG Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 60 Randy Gevers 7 De Graaf Junior Team Honda Honda RS125R D 61 Raymond Schouten 7 Roteg Racing Honda Honda RS125R B 62 Gerald Perdon 7 Racing Moto Sport Honda Honda RS125R D 63 Jimmy Petit 4 Holmes Earth Moving Honda Honda RS125R D 64 Peter Holmes 15 Honda Kumamoto Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 65 Toshihisa Kuzuhara 1, 13 Showa Denki Honda Honda RS125R D 66 Shuhei Aoyama 1, 13 Team Plus One Honda Honda RS125R D 67 Hideyuki Ogata 1, 13 Dinky Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 68 Akira Komuro 1, 13 UK Racing Honda Honda RS125R D 69 Christian Elkin 8 Wilson Racing Honda Honda RS125R B 70 Chris Martin 8 MIR Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R B 71 Ruben Catalan 3, 16 Giuseppetti Viba Team Honda Honda RS125R D 72 Dario Giuseppetti 9 Kiefer Castrol Honda Honda Honda RS125R D 73 Claudius Klein 9 RPS Racing Saalfeld Honda Honda RS125R D 74 Jascha Büsch 9 TZM Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 78 Pedro Monteiro 11 International Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 79 João Pinto 11 CMSA Protectaprint Honda Honda RS125R D 81 Tim Inkster 15 Ruffnuts/Gulf Western Honda Honda RS125R D 82 Jeremy Crowe 15 RMS Honda Honda RS125R D 85 Gregory Leblanc 4 Provence Motor Sport Aprilia Aprilia RS125R D 86 Gregory Lefort 4 Polini Honda Honda RS125R D 87 Simone Corsi 5 DB Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R D 89 Adri den Bekker 7 Red Bull Rookies Honda Honda RS125R D 90 Guy Farbrother 8 91 Midge Smart 8 ADAC Sashsen Motorrad Unger Honda Honda RS125R D 92 Patrick Unger 9 ADAC Sachsen Honda Honda RS125R D 93 Manuel Mickan 9 Sergi Motos Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 D 94 Filipe Costa 11 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda RS125R D 95 Takashi Yasuda 13 Bikecards.com Honda Honda RS125R D 98 Chris Peris 16 Source:[62]

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.
• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards.

Pos Rider Bike Team JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts 1 Valentino Rossi Honda Repsol Honda Team 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ret 1 1 2 2 1 2 355 2 Max Biaggi Yamaha Marlboro Yamaha Team Ret 9 DSQ 3 2 4 4 2 2 1 6 2 Ret 1 6 3 215 3 Tohru Ukawa Honda Repsol Honda Team Ret 1 3 2 3 2 5 WD 3 3 3 Ret 4 4 3 5 209 4 Alex Barros Honda West Honda Pons 6 Ret 5 8 5 5 2 3 Ret 9 5 4 1 3 2 1 204 5 Carlos Checa Yamaha Marlboro Yamaha Team 3 5 Ret Ret 4 3 3 Ret 4 5 2 Ret 5 7 11 Ret 141 6 Norifumi Abe Yamaha Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín 5 7 6 4 7 16 9 4 6 8 7 6 8 10 DNS 10 129 7 Daijiro Kato Honda Fortuna Honda Gresini 10 4 2 Ret Ret 8 12 7 Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret 5 4 4 117 8 Loris Capirossi Honda West Honda Pons 9 3 4 7 6 6 Ret 6 Ret 5 3 9 Ret Ret 109 9 Kenny Roberts Jr. Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret Ret 8 5 Ret 7 6 14 11 4 3 6 8 9 Ret 99 10 Olivier Jacque Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 Ret 6 11 Ret 9 9 14 5 Ret 10 Ret 7 7 Ret 8 9 81 11 Shinya Nakano Yamaha Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 Ret 8 17 13 11 Ret 8 10 5 Ret 12 Ret 16 6 13 6 68 12 Nobuatsu Aoki ProtonKR Proton Team KR 7 Ret 7 6 Ret Ret Ret 9 8 Ret Ret 12 9 Ret 7 Ret 63 13 Jurgen van den Goorbergh Honda Kanemoto Racing Ret 11 12 15 14 Ret 10 15 12 12 Ret 9 13 13 5 7 60 14 Jeremy McWilliams ProtonKR Proton Team KR Ret Ret 16 10 Ret 12 Ret Ret 7 7 9 Ret 10 12 10 8 59 15 John Hopkins Yamaha Red Bull Yamaha WCM 12 14 13 11 12 10 7 8 DNS Ret 8 14 14 18 16 11 58 16 Sete Gibernau Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret 16 9 12 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 Ret 8 Ret 14 12 13 51 17 Tetsuya Harada Honda Pramac Honda Racing Team 11 12 10 Ret 10 13 13 11 Ret 15 10 13 15 Ret 14 14 47 18 Akira Ryō Suzuki Team Suzuki 2 11 15 13 11 14 11 41 19 Régis Laconi Aprilia MS Aprilia Racing 8 15 14 9 8 14 Ret 16 Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 17 Ret Ret 33 20 Garry McCoy Yamaha Red Bull Yamaha WCM Ret 10 15 12 9 13 11 10 17 15 18 Ret 33 21 Shinichi Ito Honda Team HRC 4 13 Kanemoto Racing Ret 22 Alex Hofmann Yamaha Red Bull Yamaha WCM Ret 11 11 Honda West Honda Pons 17 10 23 José Luis Cardoso Yamaha Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín 16 13 11 16 15 Ret 9 24 Jean-Michel Bayle Yamaha Red Bull Yamaha WCM 14 13 5 25 Wataru Yoshikawa Yamaha Yamaha Racing Team 12 4 26 Andrew Pitt Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team 19 17 12 4 27 Pere Riba Yamaha Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín DNQ 13 Ret Ret 15 Ret DNS DNS Ret DNS 4 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha Yamaha Tech 3 17 0 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki Telefónica Movistar Suzuki Ret 0 Akira Yanagawa Kawasaki Kawasaki Racing Team Ret 0 David García ProtonKR Proton Team KR Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike Team JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap

• Each constructor got the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.
• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.

Pos	Constructor	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts
1	Honda	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	390
2	Yamaha	3	5	6	3	2	3	3	2	2	1	2	2	5	1	6	3	272
3	Suzuki	2	16	8	5	Ret	7	6	6	11	4	4	3	6	8	9	13	143
4	/ProtonKR	7	Ret	7	6	Ret	12	Ret	9	7	7	9	12	9	12	7	8	96
5	Aprilia	8	15	14	9	8	14	Ret	16	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	11	17	Ret	Ret	33
6	Kawasaki													Ret	19	17	12	4
Pos	Constructor	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts

• Each team got the total points scored by their two riders, including replacement riders. In one rider team, only the points scored by that rider was counted. Wildcard riders did not score points.
• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.

Pos	Team	Bike No.	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts
1	Repsol Honda Team	11	Ret	1	3	2	3	2	5	DNS	3	3	3	Ret	4	4	3	5	564
		46	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	Ret	1	1	2	2	1	2
2	Marlboro Yamaha Team	3	Ret	9	DSQ	3	2	4	4	2	2	1	6	2	Ret	1	6	3	356
		7	3	5	Ret	Ret	4	3	3	Ret	4	5	2	Ret	5	7	11	Ret
3	West Honda Pons	4	6	Ret	5	8	5	5	2	3	Ret	9	5	4	1	3	2	1	319
		65	9	3	4	7	6	6	Ret			6	Ret	5	3	9	Ret	Ret
		66								17	10
4	Telefónica Movistar Suzuki	10	Ret	Ret	8	5	Ret	7	6	14		11	4	3	6	8	9	Ret	150
		15	Ret	16	9	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	4	Ret	8	Ret	14	12	13
		51									Ret
5	Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3	19	Ret	6	11	Ret	9	9	14	5	Ret	10	Ret	7	7	Ret	8	9	149
		56	Ret	8	17	13	11	Ret	8	10	5	Ret	12	Ret	16	6	13	6
6	Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antín	6	5	7	6	4	7	16	9	4	6	8	7	6	8	10	DNS	10	142
		20	DNS	13	Ret		Ret	15	Ret	DNS		DNS	Ret		DNS
		30				16					13			11		16	15	Ret
7	/Proton Team KR	9	7	Ret	7	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	8	Ret	Ret	12	9	Ret	7	Ret	122
		99	Ret	Ret	16	10	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	7	7	9	Ret	10	12	10	8
8	Fortuna Honda Gresini	74	10	4	2	Ret	Ret	8	12	7	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	4	4	117
9	Red Bull Yamaha WCM	8	Ret	10	15					12	9	13	11	10	17	15	18	Ret	101
		18				14	13
		21	12	14	13	11	12	10	7	8	DNS	Ret	8	14	14	18	16	11
		66						Ret	11
10	Kanemoto Racing	17	Ret	11	12	15	14	Ret	10	15	12	12	Ret	9	13	13	5	7	60
11	Pramac Honda Racing Team	31	11	12	10	Ret	10	13	13	11	Ret	15	10	13	15	Ret	14	14	47
12	MS Aprilia Racing	55	8	15	14	9	8	14	Ret	16	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	11	17	Ret	Ret	33
Pos	Team	Bike No.	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	RIO	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	Pts

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

• Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.
• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards.

Pos Rider Bike JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts 1 Marco Melandri Aprilia Ret 1 Ret 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 2 Ret 1 1 298 2 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia 13 3 1 1 3 3 5 2 4 4 1 Ret 4 1 2 Ret 241 3 Roberto Rolfo Honda 8 4 2 5 8 2 3 5 2 Ret 4 2 6 3 4 2 219 4 Toni Elías Aprilia 11 16 10 6 4 10 2 3 6 3 13 5 1 2 5 10 178 5 Sebastián Porto Yamaha 5 8 7 8 7 Ret 4 Ret 3 2 3 1 8 4 3 Ret 172 6 Franco Battaini Aprilia 10 2 4 Ret 6 5 9 4 8 Ret Ret 3 7 5 7 7 142 7 Emilio Alzamora Honda 4 7 3 7 11 9 Ret 12 Ret 6 7 5 8 13 3 120 8 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia 16 5 5 4 2 Ret 7 13 5 7 5 Ret 9 13 Ret 5 119 9 Randy de Puniet Aprilia 3 6 Ret 3 5 4 Ret 6 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 6 6 4 119 10 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha 6 11 9 11 14 7 14 8 7 8 Ret 8 16 7 14 8 92 11 Alex Debón Aprilia 9 9 8 9 Ret 13 12 9 10 13 Ret Ret 10 Ret 9 9 72 12 Casey Stoner Aprilia Ret Ret 6 Ret DNS 6 8 11 Ret 5 Ret 6 17 11 10 13 68 13 David Checa Aprilia DNS 10 Ret 10 10 12 16 15 15 18 8 12 21 10 8 6 60 14 Haruchika Aoki Honda Ret 13 12 Ret 12 11 6 7 Ret 9 Ret Ret 13 12 11 12 58 15 Shahrol Yuzy Yamaha Ret Ret 13 13 9 8 10 10 11 Ret Ret 9 18 9 15 11 58 16 Osamu Miyazaki Yamaha 1 25 17 Daisaku Sakai Honda 2 20 18 Leon Haslam Honda Ret 15 19 Ret 18 18 Ret 17 13 17 7 10 Ret 17 18 17 19 19 Ralf Waldmann Aprilia 11 9 11 17 20 Dirk Heidolf Aprilia DNQ 14 Ret 18 Ret 21 20 18 12 14 9 14 20 18 16 19 17 21 Yuki Takahashi Honda 3 16 22 Jay Vincent Honda Ret 12 17 15 15 19 19 16 14 12 Ret Ret 19 14 Ret 14 16 23 Héctor Faubel Aprilia Ret Ret 11 14 16 20 Ret 20 18 Ret 10 17 22 Ret 19 15 14 24 Jaroslav Huleš Yamaha Ret Ret 11 15 15 12 16 11 25 Raúl Jara Aprilia 15 Ret 16 19 17 15 13 Ret 17 15 11 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 26 Chojun Kameya Honda 7 9 27 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 12 11 9 28 Erwan Nigon Aprilia 16 12 13 23 Ret Ret 20 7 Honda 20 29 Taro Sekiguchi Yamaha Ret Ret 15 12 Ret 16 17 14 16 7 30 David García Honda 10 6 31 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha 12 4 32 Vincent Philippe Aprilia Ret Ret 18 16 13 17 15 Ret Ret 4 33 Hugo Marchand Aprilia 14 Ret Ret DNQ Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 DNS Ret 4 34 Eric Bataille Honda 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 35 Ryuji Yokoe Yamaha 14 2 36 Jakub Smrž Honda 15 24 16 17 Ret 1 Jarno Janssen Honda Ret 17 20 17 Ret 22 18 19 Ret 0 Ángel Rodríguez Aprilia 18 0 Max Neukirchner Honda 19 0 Henk van de Lagemaat Honda 19 0 Gábor Rizmayer Honda 20 0 Russell Holland Yamaha 20 0 Peter Politiek Honda 21 0 Andrew Whittley Aprilia 21 0 Chuck Sorensen Aprilia 21 0 Jarno Boesveld Aprilia 22 0 Gert Pieper Aprilia 23 0 Thierry van den Bosch Honda Ret DNQ Ret 0 Shinichi Nakatomi Honda Ret 0 Christian Gemmel Honda Ret 0 Nico Kehrer Honda Ret 0 Vladimir Častka Yamaha Ret 0 Grégory Lefort Aprilia Ret 0 Tekkyu Kayo Yamaha Ret 0 Noboyuki Osaki Yamaha Ret 0 Radomil Rous Honda DNS 0 Yann Lussiana Honda DNQ 0 Samuel Aubry Honda DNQ 0 Hervé Mora Aprilia DNQ 0 Jan Blok Honda DNQ 0 Christopher Sansome Honda DNQ 0 Jason Boyce Honda WD 0 Roger Heierli Honda DNQ 0 Rob Filart Honda DNQ 0 Peter Taplin Honda DNQ 0 Earl Lynch Yamaha DNQ 0 Mark Stanley Honda DNQ 0 Luis Castro Yamaha DNQ 0 Pos Rider Bike JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR RIO PAC MAL AUS VAL Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap