In 2026, MotoGP will return to Brazil with a Grand Prix – something that hasn’t happened since the Rio de Janeiro GP in 2004, more than two decades ago.
On that occasion, the event took place at the Autódromo Internacional Nélson Piquet (Jacarepaguá) in Rio de Janeiro – which has since been demolished. It was the third season of the MotoGP era, when the support categories were still 125cc and 250cc.
At the time, in MotoGP, the pole position was taken by the surprising Kenny Roberts Jr. (Suzuki), who outqualified Max Biaggi (Camel Honda) by 0.154s with a new lap record (1m48.418s). There was a Brazilian competing at home: Alex Barros (Repsol Honda), who qualified in fifth.
The race was intense and wild. Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda) made a mistake on the first lap and crashed, opening the door for Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) to take the lead in the championship… but he too would fall later, while fighting for podium positions.
But the biggest surprise of the day came from Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda), who, after starting from seventh, found a way to challenge Biaggi and Hayden for the win. The Japanese rider secured the victory, beating Biaggi by 2.019s. Hayden finished third, and Barros bid farewell to the Brazilian Grand Prix with a fifth-place finish.
In addition to the best-ever lap in MotoGP at the now-demolished Rio circuit (1m48.418s by Roberts Jr. in qualifying), the race also saw the lap record in the race: 1m49.789s by Tamada.
In the other classes, Manuel Poggiali defeated Dani Pedrosa to claim victory in the 250cc category, while in the 125cc class, Héctor Barberá triumphed over two names who would go on to become stars in the following years – Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso.