Proton face four-strokes alone.

For Proton Team KR the start of the 2003 season has come a little bit too early. With their all-new V5 four-stroke still undergoing tests back at base in Britain, MotoGP's only truly independent manufacturer will race last year's 500cc KR3 this Sunday at Suzuka.

As such, riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki will be on the only two-strokes in the class - but the distinction need not be totally negative. Bad weather has been forecast and could play into their hands in terms of race results, since their lighter weight and lower power would become an advantage rather than a drawback.

"Obviously it's disappointing to be on the old bike when we're all looking forward to the new one," admitted Ulsterman McWilliams. "The four-strokes have so much speed in a straight line, and though we had some fun last year beating them through the corners, we were always the underdog. Same again for Suzuka.

"But look on the bright side: we're out there racing again, and you never know what might happen on the day, if it's rainy, or if the weather changes during the race," he added.

Team-mate Aoki will have the added incentive of racing in front of his home fans, and is hoping to cause an upset.

"This is the first of two home GPs for me, and there will be a lot of friends and family and fans there," began Nobu. "As always, I will try to give us all something to be happy about. For sure the race will be hard if it is dry. Last year, we had some results that surprised us, as well as other people, so I never say there is no chance. I'll do my best, and see what happens."

Both riders will benefit from the latest Bridgestone tyres and - if nothing else - this weekend will allow them to gain track time, as they prepare for the much anticipated arrival of the radical new four-stroke in the near future.

"We always knew there was a chance we would run the two-stroke at the first race, and at this stage I'm not going to put a date on when the four-stroke will be ready," said team owner Kenny Roberts. "We won't run the four-stroke until we are confident it is ready. That doesn't mean we've ruled it out for the second race.

"The project always did have a crazy time scale," added the former triple champion and racing legend continued. "We're just a little behind at this point. With the engine on the test bench, we found some details that are taking time to get settled.

"So while the engineering team carries on work in England, for this race we'll be giving everyone a last chance to look at a racing two-stroke 500 - I guess we're the last of the breed."

First qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix starts this Friday.