#rio 2002

Rio 2002: Sete congratulates Valentino on winning the race and clinching the 2002 Championship 👍

In what was the most dominating display of the 2002 GP250 season, Petronas Sprinta Yamaha TVK rider Sebastian Porto claimed his first race win during the Brazilian round of the MotoGP world championship. In drizzling rain, the Argentinian demolished the opposition from the outset, building a 2.5secs buffer on lap one, before increasing that to nearly 15secs soon after. Although the competition - which included Roberto Rolfo (Honda), Toni Elias (Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia) - attempted to bridge the gap, Porto responded each time with yet another fastest lap, leaving the trailing trio to battle it out for the final two podium places. "It was a fantastic, but tiring race," 'Sebas' admitted, "Considering the weather condition was completely different from the last two days, however, I'm very happy with the result." Pre-empting MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi's trademark celebration a couple of hours later, Porto was greeted by happy fans clad in replicas of the Argentine football shirt complete with his name on the back.