Season Summary
At the end of 2003, HRC and Valentino Rossi had parted ways, and HRC held Rossi to the letter of their contract which stipulated he could not ride another manufacturer's machine until December 31, 2003. Rossi's move to Yamaha, therefore, was a gamble on a manufacturer that hadn't had a world champion in 10 years. Rossi won the first round of the season and lay to rest doubts about whether the rider or the motorcycle was more important when he achieved what no rider since Eddie Lawson had done in the history of the premier-class: he won back-to-back championships on different marques, Honda in 2003 and Yamaha in 2004.
Runner-up Sete Gibernau gave Rossi a strong challenge initially, but faded towards the end of the season. The friendship between him and Rossi frayed over the season, and snapped completely at the Qatar round.
At the Italian round, the race ran for 17 laps before rain started, and according to the rules at the time, the race was decided on a second, 6-lap race and the previous 17 laps only counted for grid positions. Conditions dried enough that the riders started the new race in slicks instead of wet-weather tires. In 2005 the rules were changed so that rain would no longer stop a race in MotoGP.
Rookie of the Year was Rubén Xaus.
Read more about this topic: 2004 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season
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