 Over the course of 1998 and 1999, Sete Gibernau, who replaced the injured Takuma Aoki rode the official V2 and reached the podium on two more occasions.More private teams had also purchased V2 machines and by 2000, the machine had become a realistic option for privateers to compete in the category, with the bikes being consistently able to finish in the points.In 2000 Jurgen van den Goorbergh won Best Privateer, with Haruchika Aoki winning the same award the following year – both on board NSR500Vs.