From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM PREVIEW

Rio Grand Prix
Jacarepagua
September 18/19/20 2003


FIRST ‘FLYAWAY’ AND FORTUNA YAMAHA EVER HOPEFUL FOR GLORY This weekend Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri will pack up their bags and start their epic six-week journey around the world for the final sector of the MotoGP World Championship. This weekend’s action will take place at the Jacarepagua circuit in Rio, Brazil, for the eleventh round of the contest. After Rio, the team continues its voyage to Japan, Malaysia and Australia, before the season’s closing round in Valencia, Spain on 2 November.

The Spanish and Italian Fortuna Yamaha riders have both been striving to achieve a much sought after podium finish, which has unfortunately eluded them until now. Nevertheless Melandri’s recent fighting form which stood out at the British, German and recent Portuguese rounds of the championship, and Checa’s continually bullish efforts, indicate that the podium target might not be far from their reach.

The MotoGP World Championship itself is closer than it has been in the recently all-Rossi-dominated years, as just 36 points separate current leader Valentino Rossi and second placed rider Sete Gibernau. At the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril two weeks ago the Fortuna Yamaha riders collected more valuable points, with Marco Melandri riding to seventh place, his best finish of the season so far, and team-mate Carlos Checa finishing eighth.

As Team Director for the Fortuna Yamaha Team, and many years of experience managing racing teams, Davide Brivio appreciates the need for the team to remain positive and focused at a time when every point is crucial, “Carlos’ result in Estoril was not what we were expecting but we have looked into the problems he experienced there and understand where we need to improve certain aspects of his set-up,” said Brivio. “We have high hopes for him in Rio, where he had such an amazing fight last year in the rain, and the year before in the dry. I think he could have the chance to go for a podium finish as it’s a track he feels comfortable with. Carlos has enough years of experience to be able to make a comeback, and I hope Rio is just the start.

“Marco is on a real roll at the moment, and in Estoril proved that he can ride a good race to a good finish. Although he had some surges of brilliance where he was in the top places in Donington and Sachsenring, he did not necessarily have the experience with the M1 to see that through to the race finish. Then in Brno he had a troublesome weekend in terms of setting up the bike, but he worked as thoroughly as possible with his crew all weekend and recognised that given the tight competition in this year’s MotoGP class, the racing has to be strategic. It’s not just about riding as fast as you can. Last weekend he found a reasonable set-up much earlier in the weekend, and managed to ride his best race yet to the finish line. I have every confidence that he can do the same or better this weekend in Rio.”

Both Fortuna Yamaha riders flew directly from the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril to a Yamaha event at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, where they launched Yamaha’s new R1 model. Many other Yamaha riders attended the event, including Checa and Melandri’s fellow MotoGP riders Alex Barros and Olivier Jacque, recent FIM Motocross Grand Prix championship winner Stefan Everts, Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Simone Sanna, Christian Kellner, Jorgen Teuchert, and others.

“It was a great event and a chance for our riders to take their minds off the pressures of the MotoGP championship,” said Brivio about the event. “It was a really good experience to have so many Yamaha riders in the same place at the same time – it’s amazing how competitive they are even away from their own sports. It took all our efforts to slow them down when riding the new R1!”


CHECA RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF LAST YEAR’S DRAMA
Carlos Checa experienced perhaps the most dramatic race of his career in last year’s Rio Grand Prix. The Fortuna Yamaha Team rider enjoyed a reasonable weekend of qualifying in the dry to finally take fifth place on the starting grid. His Rio race started in mayhem when he found himself in neutral as the contest began, and he was the last rider away from the grid. However the Spaniard fought back by carving his way through the pack of riders at an amazing speed. He was regularly lapping over one second faster than the leaders, and as high as 2.5 seconds quicker at one stage.

Eventually he took race leader Rossi seven laps from the chequered flag but frustratingly slid off a few corners later. Checa had raced from last, to first, to DNF in under one hour! He is not perturbed by the disappointing finish of last year though, and is keen to prove himself again at the Brazilian circuit but this time to the finish line.

“Last year I had probably the best race of my life but with the worst ever finish,” said a philosophical Checa. “I had some fun in the race but then ended up with a bad finish and no points. I did really enjoy that race though, even though it was wet, but I had a good weekend for qualifying in the dry as well.

“Our bike went pretty well there but as always maybe I could do with a bit more front feeling. Anyway we can hopefully have quite a good race there again this year. I like Rio; the place and the track, it’s one of the best for us. There is talk of taking it off the MotoGP calendar but I think that would be a real shame and I would prefer to keep it.”

Checa’s 2003 season has been testing; his high moments have so far included a fourth place at his home Catalunya Grand Prix, another fourth in Assen, sixth in Donington and another fourth at the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno over a month ago. He was not so fortunate at the Portuguese Grand Prix two weeks ago, when despite putting in fast qualifying laps all weekend, some problems when braking in the early stages of the race meant the Spaniard could only ride to eighth place. He has however retained his sixth place in the championship standings, and is desperate to move up the points ladder during the remainder of the season.

“There aren’t many races until the season is over,” he acknowledged, “so every point will count now to decide where everyone finishes in the championship. I really would like to get at least one podium, if not more, and earn some more valuable points to finish better than sixth, which is where I finished last year. I’m going to put in every effort with my team to do so.”


MELANDRI HOPES TO BETTER HIS ESTORIL FINISH AND THEN SOME
Youngster Marco Melandri’s season has gone from strength to strength after a most difficult start, and it reached its peak at the Estoril race two weeks ago. Melandri had his best finish of the season so far there when he headed the Yamaha riders with seventh position. Two weeks prior to that, at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno, he scored his first top ten finish in the MotoGP class. Melandri appears to be on an upwards climb and no one deserves it more than the Ravenna-born Italian, after the season he has had.

The MotoGP rookie and 250cc World Champion missed the first two races of the year due to injury after an enormous accident at the Japanese Grand Prix in April. His recuperation was impressively speedy, however, and he secured his first MotoGP front row start at the French Grand Prix in May. Since then he has battled his way along, with some impressive race-attacking manoeuvres but a lack of consistency completing races and gaining points. However the twenty-one-year old has not rested for one moment in seeking a comfortable set-up with his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine, and all the hard work is now paying off.

Melandri shows an incredible maturity in his methodical approach to the sport, and claims to enjoy riding his M1 more and more each time he races, “At the Rio GP last year I finished fourth on the 250cc machine in the wet,” explained Melandri. “I’m not too worried about whether it rains there this year because I’ve already had some experience riding the M1 in the wet, at Assen and a bit at Brno. I quite like the Jacarepagua track, it’s quite fun because it’s very smooth. There’s not too much hard braking and the corners particularly are very smooth. There are some bumps but that’s the same for everyone. There is the one big main straight, and we’ll need a lot of power for that.

“This will be my first time at this circuit with the M1 but I’m feeling quite confident because this year I have been feeling better and better with the bike in general at each race. I still have a small amount of pain in my right arm, which started at the Portuguese Grand Prix, so I hope it’s better for Rio. I won’t ride my motocross bike again before then and will try to rest it as much as possible.”


TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Although it was resurfaced just four years ago, the Jacarepagua circuit doesn’t have a reputation for offering the traction one would hope for while racing a 200-plus horsepower machine. In fact a combination of many bumps, low grip levels and camberless medium to high-speed corners make this a challenging circuit to stay on, let alone race on. Despite that, the circuit has held rounds of motorcycling championships since the mid-nineties – the first Grand Prix was held there in 1995. Since there’s only one extremely hard braking corner, most of the technical team’s attention will be focused on manoeuvrability, but more importantly drive.

As Jacarepagua is an acceleration circuit the power characteristics will be concentrated towards the midrange and top-end, while offering a good consistent delivery rather than a progressive power curve. The latter can make it difficult to drive off the side of the tyre effectively without the rear breaking traction as the revs rise rapidly.


CARLOS CHECA : INFORMATION
Age: 30
Lives: Great Ayton, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 2 (500)
First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500)
First GP: Europe, 1993 (125)
GP starts: 146 (26 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Rio 2002 results. Grid: 5th, Race: DNF

MARCO MELANDRI : INFORMATION
Age: 21
Lives: Derby, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 17 (10 x 250, 7 x 125)
First GP victory: Assen, 1998 (125)
First GP: Brno, 1997 (125)
GP starts: 84 (8 x MotoGP, 42 x 250, 34 x 125)
Pole positions: 8
First pole: Sachsenring, 1998 (125)

Rio MotoGP lap record
1:51.928 (Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1997)

Circuit best lap
1:50.568 (Max Biaggi (Yamaha) 2002)


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda Racing Information:

Rio’s Nelson Piquet circuit ready for 12th round of World Road Racing Championship

The 2003 championship is heating up. This week sees the first of four transoceanic transfers: Brazil, in South America. Then, one after the other on 5, 12 and 19 October there will be three crucial races: Motegi (Japan), Sepang (Malaysia) Phillip Island (Australia). But the curtain will come down on the 2003 season back in the Old World, in Valencia (Spain), at the end of the last round: Sunday 2 November.

The Rio circuit, which bears the name of Brazilian F1 legend Nelson Piquet, was built in 1975 and started hosting motorcycling competitions two years later, in 1977. The first international races, however, took place in 1982, but the glory was short-lived. The track was often not in ideal conditions due to the extreme climate, with considerable heat and very high levels of humidity, and this persuaded the world championship “circus” to stay away for a long time.

A full-scale reconstruction project in 1995 once again gave the circuit the credentials it needed to host the World Championship on a permanent basis. The track is technical, hard to interpret and, even though entirely resurfaced, there are many uneven parts. The technicians and riders will need to bring all their skills to bear in order to work out the best settings so that their powerful MotoGP bikes can deal with the irregularities of the track.

The Nelson Piquet in Rio also has one of the longest straights in the MotoGP: 1,000 metres of steaming tarmac where the engines drive the rev counters into the red.

THE CIRCUIT. Length: 4,933 metres – 8 left-handers- 4 right-handers
Longest straight: 1,000 metres
Maximum width: 18 metres
Constructed in: 1975
Modified in: 1995.

Winners in 2002.
125cc class: Azuma (JAP) Honda
250cc class: Porto (ARG) Yamaha
MotoGP Class: Rossi (ITA) Honda

CIRCUIT RECORDS
125cc: 1:59.368, Giansanti 2000
250cc: 1:54.230, Rossi, 1999
MotoGP: 1:51.928, Okada, 1997

MAX BIAGGI SECOND AT ESTORIL, THIRD OVERALL

CAMEL PRAMAC PONS TEAM SECOND IN TEAM RATINGS

Four-times world champion Massimiliano Biaggi finished the Estoril race in Portugal with a splendid second place. But the colours of the Camel Pramac Pons team were also shining bright when Tohru Ukawa came in close to the rostrum ratings with seventh place in Portugal. Two good results that keep the Camel Pramac Pons Team firmly in second place in the world championship, 65 points from the leaders. Massimiliano Biaggi earned another 20 precious points and secured his third place in the overall standings with a total of 161 points, but the gap separating him from the top is still very big: 76 points. In the past 4 years, Max Biaggi has twice come second in the premier class in Brazil: last year and in 1999. He came third in 2001 and 5th in 2000. Always up with the leaders, this year might really be the time he makes top spot.

PRAMAC HONDA TEAM PLACES MAKOTO TAMADA IN ESTORIL’S TOP TEN

Once again in the top 10, Makoto Tamada rode a good race on Sunday 7 September in Portugal. With excellent settings on his RC211V, and with constant top-quality work by Bridgestone, who provided him with high-performance material, the Japanese from Casole d’Elsa found his way into the bunch of the best. It was a pity about his start: this is one part of the race that Makoto still needs to improve. A few moments, a few metres. The Pramac Honda Team rider loses a number of places and then has to claw them back.

At Rio, he will once again be racing on a track he has never seen before. Here again, Tamada will have to bring to bear all his adaptability, listening carefully to the advice given by a true friend and former team manager Tady Okada. The advice will be coming from a highly qualified source since the unbeaten record-holder on the Rio circuit is none other than Okada – and that was way back in 1997. Then Makoto will be riding his “home” race, when the 13th round of the world championship, on 5 October, will be disputed on the Motegi circuit in Japan, a friendly track in a friendly atmosphere.

Makoto Tamada is 12th in the overall standings with 53 points and in the special MotoGP Rookie of the Year competition, which consists of six riders (Bayliss – Hayden – Tamada – Edwards – Melandri – Pitt), the 53 points collected so far put the Pramac Honda Team’s Japanese rider into third place.


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Proton KR Four-strokes go for the flag in Rio

Proton Team KR have a special mission in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, September 20. After achieving their first double finish at the last round at Estoril, the aim is to consolidate the ever-improving reliability and performance with a repeat, while back at base in Britain engineers are hard at work to continue engine and chassis development.

The Portuguese GP was only the fifth race for the radical new 990cc V5 racer with Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aok 19th and 20th, in close formation. The howling Proton pair had been ahead of the factory Kawasakis, until one of them retired, and had the factory Suzukis in sight up ahead. The dramatic-sounding and looking racers are still in their infancy, having come straight out fighting after the start of the season, without any prior track testing or development.

The Rio GP, the only round in South America, is a single long-haul trip preceding the three successive flyaway rounds in Japan, Malaysia and Australia.

Of these, the Malaysian race at Sepang on October 12 is a special event. Malaysian automotive giant Proton Cars has provided steadfast backing for King Kenny Roberts’s independent motorcycle racing and engineering project, making it a second home race for the England-based team.

“At Rio we will have four bikes in more or less the same spec as in Portugal, and the aim is to get them through to the end of the race again,” said team manager Chuck Aksland.

“Points would be a bonus. The important thing is to finish. This year there is a very high finish rate, and people are still racing hard all down the field. Our job is to keep the things running,” he continued.

At the same time, back at the impressive Banbury headquarters engineers would be concentrating on the next stage of engine tuning, another step forward for the infant racer. “There’s a lot more development work going on at Banbury, and we hope to bring new stuff on stream as soon as possible,” said Aksland.

The V5 machine has a unique 60-degree angle, using a balance shaft to quell vibrations. The first version is in a relatively mild state of tune, with full development potential still to be unleashed as teething problems are solved race by race.

“We also learned a lot about the chassis at Portugal,” added Aksland. “That will be for next year’s machine. We will be able to build a much better motorcycle for next year.”

The Rio GP is held in coastal flat-lands amid dramatic mountainous scenery at Jacarepagua, outside of Rio de Janeiro. The Nelson Piquet Circuit, 3.065 miles / 4.933 km in length, is fast, wide and bumpy – especially where the looping road-race course crosses the join with the Nascar-style oval circuit incorporated in the layout.

Last year, Jeremy McWilliams qualified the 500cc Proton KR3 on the front row of the grid, setting a fastest-ever two-stroke lap for the circuit. In the race, however, he was one of many victims to crash out in cold and wet conditions. Nobu Aoki was innocent victim of a first-corner collision, but recovered to come through from last to 12th.

Jeremy McWilliams – More like a racing bike
It’s the sort of race-track that seems to quite suit me – you have to be aggressive to beat the bumps. Having said that, the four-stroke will be a different proposition from the two-stroke. It’s a bit of an unknown quantity, but it’s been getting better, with quite a big step before Portugal. I said there it’s feeling more like a racing bike, so the development’s all in the right direction, and it’s getting better and better to ride.

Nobuatsu Aoki – Hard work, full effort
For sure, Rio will be a hard race. Every race so far has been hard, and anyway even if everything goes smoothly, it’s very competitive this year, even in the lower positions. The team has been working really hard, and we are solving problems with the new bike all the time. It’s very interesting, but it can also be frustrating. I’ll give 100 percent, as always.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI JOINS THE ROAD-RACE TO RIO

First of the flyaways, the Rio GP on Saturday, September 20, is an event with its own unique agenda. Run on Saturday to accommodate Sunday’s football fever, amid imposing scenery and round a fast, bumpy and challenging circuit, Rio’s race often finds other surprises to spice up the MotoGP experience.

Last year, it was rain – giving Kenny Roberts the chance to fight for victory, and claim the new GSV-R Suzuki’s second rostrum finish in its first season. The 2000 World Champion’s riding skill and the machine’s stable performance brought out the best in each.

This year, the challenge for the Suzuki riders is very different. The second-generation 990cc GSV-R is a completely redesigned machine, incorporating cutting edge technology and electronics. It is a machine of clear competitive potential, but the search for the right combination of settings and software to realise that potential has still not born full fruit.

Development has been step by step, and the Rio GP is another step on that journey. It gives the engineers another chance to refine the complex systems, towards a more effective third generation GSV-R for 2004. It also gives the riders a chance to prove the progress so far, by adding to the machine’s tally of world championship points.

“This has been a difficult season so far for the team, but everyone has continued to give 100 percent,” said team manager Garry Taylor.

“The riders have sustained their focus, contributing to steady progress with the machine while getting the best possible results. The dedication of the team as always has been amazing. And we have the full backing and support of the factory, to resolve our problems and get back to the winner’s circle,” he added.

The Rio GP is the 12th of 16 rounds of the second MotoGP World Championship, approaching the end of an exciting season, with the big 990cc four-strokes taking a significant step forward in lap times and in close, competitive racing.

There is a weekend off after the sole South American round, then the gruelling round-the-world trio – Japan, Malaysia and Australia – before the season closes at Valencia on November 2.

KENNY ROBERTS – DOWN SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Every weekend, I look forward to seeing what developments we have for the bike, and we work towards getting the best out of it for the race. We’re also analysing and looking for ways of taking the next step forward. Realistically, the best I can aim for is to be in the points.

JOHN HOPKINS
It was a pretty crazy race last year. It was real wet and slippery, and I crashed – but still finished in the points. This is my first year there on the four-stroke: the track has a good layout, but the bumps and the surface can be critical. We need to get the bike so it’s balanced and predictable. I’ll be ready to give 100 percent, like usual.

ABOUT THIS RACE
The first GP in Brazil took place in 1987, at the inland circuit of Goiania. The race stayed there for two more years, then began a troubled search for a new home. After several false starts and cancellations, and a single round at the F1 circuit of Interlagos at Sao Paulo, the event moved to the rebuilt Nelson Piquet circuit outside Rio in 1995. The next year saw the name change to the Rio GP for 1996 and 1997. Another late cancellation in 1998 continued the oft-interrupted history of Brazilian GP racing, but it rejoined the calendar in 1999 to resume business as usual. This year’s race is the only one apart from the Dutch TT to be held on a Saturday – a concession to crowds who put football ahead of motorcycle racing.

ABOUT THIS CIRCUIT
The Rio circuit was an early example of a modern trend – circuits incorporating NASCAR-style banked oval tracks, with the three-mile road-racing circuit sharing part of the tarmac. Bumps and surface-changes at these junctions further complicate an already bumpy surface, of a track much more technically challenging than the simple layout suggests. Apart from a spectacular location on reclaimed marshland, among towering granite peaks, the Nelson Piquet’s plus point is its scale. With huge grandstands adding to atmosphere, looping corners are wide and fast. Like other seldom-used tracks, the surface is hard to read. Grip varies according to temperature, and though the racing line improves with use during practice and qualifying days, the track remains very slippery off line. Accurate riding is important, and overtaking difficult.

RACE DATA
Nelson Piquet Circuit – Jacarepagua
Circuit Length: 3.065 miles / 4.933 km.
Lap Record: 1:51.928 -98.588 mph / 158.662 km/h. T Okada (Honda), 1997
2002 Race Winner: V Rossi (Honda)
2002 Race Average: 49:09.516 – 89.789 mph / 144.502 km/h
2002 Fastest Race Lap: 1:59.827, C Checa, Yamaha
2002 Pole Position: M Biaggi (Yamaha) 1:50.568
2002 Kenny Roberts: Third, qualified 16th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 Sete Gibernau: Eighth, qualified 18th (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
2002 John Hopkins: 14th, qualified 14th (Red Bull Yamaha 500)