Season opener. Overall, not the most notable race, with a Rossi win of 5+ seconds after starting on pole—although he did finish lap 1 in 3rd. I enjoyed his fight to gain back 1st place throughout the first few laps, but once he passed Biaggi on lap 5 it was over. Back for a new season after his 2002 domination, Rossi really reminded the rest of the grid that they were already beaten before they got on their bikes! Remember that Rossi led the championship from Japan 2001-Jerez 2004 (that's 49 races, but who’s counting?).
They did a bad job of showing many battles for very long, but I appreciated seeing the Biaggi/Capirossi scuffle for 2nd, the Suzuki struggle for 12th and the fight between rookie Nicky Hayden and rookie Colin Edwards for… Well… a place above the other guy. America!
Another highlight is the nice camera angles we get, from the start with a view from the side to Biaggi’s foot while shifting gears and a few good onboards (camera glitches and all).
Of course, this race is also a sad watch. It was unsettling to see Dajiro Kato dead/dying in the middle of the track without a red or even yellow flag, and to hear the commentators brush off his crash so easily. I’m sorry to Kato that it took his death for the riders’ safety concerns to be listened to.