Champion Edwards finishes World Superbike with a win
16 October 2000
2000 FIM World Superbike Championship, Round 13, Brands Hatch, Kent, England, October 15, 2000 It was official before the last race even started: Colin Edwards II, the Texas Tornado, is the World Superbike World Champion for 2000. His win gives Honda's RC51 its first world title in its first season of competition. The sanctioning body, the FIM, ruled on Thursday, October 12, that Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga would be suspended immediately for two weeks for having tested positive for a banned substance at the opening round at Kyalami. Edwards' day didn't start especially promising, though. On the first 25-lap leg, he finished eighth in front of the 75,000 fans. The result didn't sit well with Edwards, who was determined to finish the season the same way he started it, with a win -- and he proceeded to do just that in the second leg. It was his seventh win this season, and his 15th career victory in the class. Teammate Aaron Slight, still feeling the effects of brain surgery prior to the season, finished eighth in points for the series. "I'd made my mind up," said Edwards. "It was the only way to go into the winter, with a win. I was so happy at the end of that second race, days like this don't come along too often and it's been fantastic. "With all the ups and down of the season, it had never sunk in that I was world champion until that last race was over. We've raced a brand-new machine this year, and it's all credit to Honda that they've produced their first twin-cylinder Superbike, and it's a winner first time out." Brands Hatch World Superbike, Race One, Top Finishers 1. John Reynolds -- Ducati 2. Troy Bayliss -- Ducati 3. Chris Walker -- Suzuki 4. Neil Hodgson -- Ducati 5. Juan Borja -- Ducati 8. Colin Edwards II -- Honda 13. Aaron Slight -- Honda Brands Hatch World Superbike, Race Two, Top Finishers 1. Colin Edwards II -- Honda 2. Pier-Francesco Chili -- Suzuki 3. Troy Corser -- Aprilia 4. John Reynolds -- Ducati 5. Gregorio Lavilla -- Kawasaki 8. Aaron Slight -- Honda WSC Final Points Standings, Top Riders 1. Colin Edwards II -- Honda -- 400 points 2. Noriyuki Haga -- Yamaha -- 335 points 3. Troy Corser -- Aprilia -- 310 points 4. Pier-Francesco Chili -- Suzuki -- 258 points 5. Akira Yanagawa -- Kawasaki -- 247 points 8. Aaron Slight -- Honda -- 153 points 2000 FIM 500cc Grand Prix Series, Round 15: Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Japan, October 15, 2000 As they have so many times this season, NSR500 Hondas dominated the top-10 finishing positions at the penultimate round of the 2000 500 GP season here at the Honda-owned Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. Nastro Azzurro's Valentino Rossi -- a rookie in the 500 GP class, but previously champion in both the 125 and 250 classes -- clinched second overall in the points standings with a second-place finish on the 3-mile-long, 14-turn track. Kenny Roberts Jr., who clinched the title for 2000 just over a week ago at the Brazilian round, stamped his authority on the class with a win, some 6 seconds ahead of the battle between Rossi and Biaggi for second. Despite brilliant starts -- on the first lap Tadayuki Okada, Alex Criville and Sete Gibernau were running second, third and fourth -- the Repsol Honda team had a day of problems. Criville would finish sixth, Tadayuki Okada 10th and Sete Gibernau 12th. Two other Honda riders, teammates Alex Barros and Loris Capirossi , finished seventh and eighth respectively. With first and second positions in the 500 GP World Championship already decided, the next battle at the last round in Australia in two weeks will be for third overall, and for the Constructor's World Championship. Alex Barros has a chance to leapfrog from fifth in the points to third, and Honda is only two points away from winning another Constructor's title. Japanese 500 GP, Top Finishers 1. Kenny Roberts Jr. -- Suzuki 2. Valentino Rossi -- Honda 3. Max Biaggi -- Yamaha 4. Carlos Checa -- Yamaha 5. Norick Abe -- Yamaha 6. Alex Criville -- Honda 7. Alex Barros -- Honda 8. Loris Capirossi -- Honda 10. Tadayuki Okada -- Honda 12. Sete Gibernau -- Honda FIM 500cc GP Points Standings 1. Kenny Roberts Jr. -- Suzuki -- 249 points 2. Valentino Rossi -- Honda -- 193 points 3. Carlos Checa -- Yamaha -- 155 points 4. Garry McCoy -- Yamaha -- 150 points 5. Alex Barros -- Honda -- 150 points 8. Loris Capirossi -- Honda -- 134 points 9. Alex Criville -- Honda -- 122 points 12. Tadayuki Okada -- Honda -- 100 points 14. Sete Gibernau -- Honda -- 72 points Upcoming rounds: Final Round -- Phillip Island, Australia, October 29