How it unfolded
Championship leader Rossi and reigning champion Stoner effectively raced each other alone for all 32 laps at Laguna Seca. The two traded places nearly every other corner, with the highlight coming at the Corkscrew, the sharp downhill left-right sequence. Rossi dove to the inside from an angle no normal line would allow, ran off the track across the dirt, and came out ahead of Stoner. Stoner lost his line completely, and Rossi kept the lead without penalty. The pressure continued. Stoner lost the front late in the race and crashed, picked the bike back up and restarted, eventually finishing second. Rossi went on to win nine races that season and reclaim the title after four years, in a season that pitted two styles directly against each other under the 800cc formula: Rossi's line flexibility against the straight-line speed the Ducati generated for Stoner.
Why it still matters
The Corkscrew pass is one of the most replayed moments in the sport and stands as one of the last symbols of an era before track-limits enforcement became as strict as it is today. The rules were later tightened to force riders to immediately give back any advantage gained by running off the track, and the same move today would draw a long lap penalty.