Barros rides new Honda to Motegi triumph

Alex Barros made good use of his new Honda to register his first MotoGP victory of the season in the Pacific Grand Prix at Motegi, Japan, yesterday.

Barros's West Honda team introduced a new four-stroke machine and it paid dividends, with the Brazilian storming to a victory that keeps him in the hunt for second place in the championship.

Local favourite Daijiro Kato started from pole on his Fortuna Honda but a mechanical problem forced him out of the race after eight laps. The world champion Valentino Rossi put in a trademark charging ride on his Repsol Honda to recover from a lowly sixth position on the grid and claim second place behind Barros while the other West Honda of Loris Capirossi took third.

The Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams brought his Team KR Proton home in tenth while in the 250cc class Jason Vincent was the only British finisher – in 19th – after his Cibertel Honda team-mate Leon Haslam retired with 12 laps to go.

The Welsh schoolboy Chaz Davies finished 24th on his Matteoni Aprilia in the 125cc category.